Tyrrell Hatton admitted Ross Fisher's new course record at St Andrews had spurred him on after successfully defending his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title.

Defending champion Hatton, who began the day with a five-shot lead, held on to win by three shots to become the first man to retain the crown, while Fisher set a new course record with a brilliant final-round 61 to finish second.

"I didn't see a leaderboard on the back nine until the 16th green, when I saw he (Fisher) was at 21 (under) and I was thinking how well he was going," said Hatton.

"So you know, fair play to Fish. It was an incredible round of golf, and he certainly did push me all the way."

Hatton, 25, opened up a seven-shot lead with four birdies on the front nine and gained a further shot on the 14th - he dropped only two shots during the tournament - to finish on 66, 24-under, for his second European Tour title.

"Obviously I'm very happy," added Hatton, who took a share of the previous course record of 62 when winning the tournament last year.

"This week was the first time I had ever defended a title or had the chance to try and do it.

"You know, it felt like it was a lot harder this year, well, winning this year, than it was last year. I'm so happy that I managed to get over the line."

Fisher, who played himself into contention by gaining six shots in his last seven holes on Saturday, maintained his sizzling form by threatening to close with a record-breaking 59.

He carded seven birdies on the front nine and hit four more successive birdies from the 12th to stand at 11 under, but fell short of the magical figure as he parred the final three holes.

Victor Dubuisson finished third, having also set himself up for a chance of a new course record with three holes to play after carding 10 birdies to stand 10 under after the 15th.

But the Frenchman three-putted the 16th to drop his first shot of the day and parred the last two holes for a nine-under 63.

Scotland's Marc Warren and England's Robert Rock both carded final-round 66s to tie for fourth place with Frenchman Gregory Bourdy, who shot a 71 after starting the day as Hatton's closest challenger.

Ross Fisher set a new course record of 61

Collated final scores

264 T Hatton (Eng) 68 65 65 66

267 R Fisher (Eng) 71 68 67 61

271 V Dubuisson (Fra) 74 66 68 63

274 M Warren (Sco) 70 71 67 66, G Bourdy (Fra) 70 67 66 71, R Rock (Eng) 71 68 69 66

275 L Donald (Eng) 70 70 66 69, P Dunne (Irl) 67 68 70 70, O Fisher (Eng) 68 71 71 65, E Pepperell (Eng) 72 69 69 65, A Levy (Fra) 70 69 68 68

276 S Gallacher (Sco) 72 67 70 67, B Evans (Eng) 69 68 72 67, J Lagergren (Swe) 69 67 71 69

277 M Siem (Ger) 69 66 74 68, G McDowell (Nir) 69 71 70 67, C Syme (Sco) 72 70 69 66, H Porteous (RSA) 74 71 65 67, N Bertasio (Ita) 70 69 71 67, B Stone (RSA) 71 67 71 68, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 70 66 71 70, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 73 68 68 68, R Wattel (Fra) 70 68 70 69, D Drysdale (Sco) 69 67 72 69

278 S Lowry (Irl) 68 75 66 69, J Morrison (Eng) 71 69 72 66, N Fasth (Swe) 73 65 71 69, N Colsaerts (Bel) 67 67 73 71, G Stal (Fra) 72 67 70 69, B Dredge (Wal) 70 70 69 69, B Ritthammer (Ger) 70 66 71 71, P Hanson (Swe) 71 72 68 67, R Gibson (Aus) 70 72 68 68, T Fleetwood (Eng) 70 63 76 69, A Rai (Eng) 70 70 71 67

279 D Horsey (Eng) 75 70 66 68, G Havret (Fra) 70 69 69 71, C Bezuidenhout (RSA) 73 70 69 67, L Canter (Eng) 72 69 71 67, D Frittelli (RSA) 70 71 70 68, M Kaymer (Ger) 71 71 67 70, R Gouveia (Por) 71 71 67 70, A Chesters (Eng) 71 69 70 69, J Wang (Kor) 69 71 72 67, G Storm (Eng) 75 69 67 68, J Luiten (Ned) 70 69 71 69

280 J Scrivener (Aus) 72 71 69 68, J Ahlers (RSA) 71 69 70 70, M Ilonen (Fin) 74 67 67 72, R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 69 70 70, G Moynihan (Irl) 70 70 72 68, R Bland (Eng) 73 65 73 69, G Coetzee (RSA) 69 73 69 69, L Johnston (Sco) 72 70 70 68, B Grace (RSA) 70 69 72 69

281 S Gregory (Eng) 71 71 70 69, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 74 67 70 70, J Quesne (Fra) 71 69 72 69

282 R Sterne (RSA) 72 75 65 70, U Van Den Berg (RSA) 73 68 71 70, M Wallace (Eng) 69 67 74 72, J Holmes (USA) 73 66 72 71

284 B Hebert (Fra) 69 72 71 72, L Jensen (Den) 71 69 72 72, R McIlroy (Nir) 73 71 68 72

285 M Giles (Aus) 73 67 70 75

286 D Fichardt (RSA) 74 68 69 75

287 A Michael (RSA) 73 65 74 75,

Round three report

Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton put himself on the brink of a dream victory at St Andrews as he opened up a five-shot lead heading into the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The Englishman equalled the course record at the home of golf last year on his way to a four-shot victory and a first European Tour title, and a bogey-free 65 put him in a commanding position to defend his crown.

After opening with a 68 on the Old Course on Thursday, he followed that with a 65 at Carnoustie and matching that mark at Kingsbarns moved him to 18 under, with Frenchman Gregory Bourdy his closest challenger.

Ireland's Paul Dunne was then at 11 under with former world number one Luke Donald and fellow Englishman Ross Fisher a further shot back but all eyes will be on Hatton when he tees off on Sunday.

The 25-year-old got up to 14th in the world rankings in March before enduring a frustrating summer but that will all be forgotten should he become the first man to successfully defend this title.

"Last year this event was a fantastic moment for me," Hatton told the European Tour's official website. "It's great to be back and I'm enjoying my first defence.

"Last year was a new experience for me going out leading a tournament and I managed to do a really good job. Made myself very difficult to catch, hopefully I can do that again tomorrow.

"I'll certainly try my best to do that. That's all anyone can ever do is try their best and I'll certainly do that.

"To win at the home of golf once is incredible but to do it again and defend would be a dream come true."

Starting on the back nine, he birdied the 10th, 12th and 14th, hit a brilliant approach to the first and then did well to get up and down from a bunker on the third. Another birdie on the fourth handed him a six-shot lead and while Bourdy closed the gap, a closing gain put Hatton in further control.

Bourdy made four birdies in a row from the third in a 66 at Carnoustie, while Dunne - who claimed a first professional win at last week's British Masters - had three birdies and a bogey in a 70 at Kingsbarns.

Fisher birdied six of his last seven holes at Kingsbarns for a 67 while Donald also produced a big finish with four gains in seven holes.

Round two report

Tommy Fleetwood is 5/2 favourite with Sky Bet to win Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after shooting a Carnoustie course-record 63 to claim a share of the halfway lead with defending champion Tyrell Hatton.

Fleetwood, leader in the Race to Dubai standings, shot a blemish-free nine-under-par round at the venue for next year's Open to join Hatton on 11 under.

Hatton, who was also playing his second round in the three-course event at Carnoustie, did not drop a shot either in a seven-under-par 65.

This is how to break a course record at Carnoustie ⛳️👌

pic.twitter.com/Mv1TZSV8Fu
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) October 6, 2017

The pair led by one shot from Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts, who shot 67 at St Andrews after recovering from a double bogey on his first hole.

First-round co-leader Paul Dunne was in a tie for fourth at nine under with Germany's Marcel Siem after carding 68 at Carnoustie.

World number six Rory McIlroy, hoping to end a frustrating year with a win, was overshadowed by Fleetwood, who was one of his playing partners.

McIlroy ended the day 11 shots off the lead on level par after a 71 which included a double bogey seven on the sixth hole. With the cut coming after 54 holes, the Northern Irishman is not yet out of the tournament but he must make up a lot of ground as he plays Kingsbarns on Saturday.

Fleetwood's impressive round included a run of five successive birdies on the back nine. He almost extended that sequence to six when a birdie putt from off the green on the 16th narrowly missed the hole. He might even have had an eagle on 15th too when his second shot at the par four bounced onto the green and hit the flag.

He finished his round in style by picking up his ninth birdie at the 18th.

Fleetwood, who became a father for the first time last week, was asked after his round how it felt to break the course record.

The 26-year-old told Sky Sports: "It sounds good doesn't it? You don't really think too much about it when you are playing but then I holed that one on the last and they said it was a course record. So, all in all, it was a good day's work!"

Dunne slipped back after a bogey on his second hole but responded with six birdies before dropping another shot at the 17th.

Round one report

Paul Dunne maintained his impressive recent form by making a strong start at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

The Irishman, winner of last week's British Masters, opened with a five-under-par 67 at St Andrews to end the opening day of the three-course event in a share of lead with Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts.

Dunne is now Sky Bet's 15/2 favourite to win the tournament, with Colsaerts 20/1. Tyrell Hatton is one shot off the lead and is 8/1 second favourite, while Shane Lowry - also four under - is 9/1.

Colsearts' 67, which represented a strong recovery after a triple-bogey seven at the third, came at Kingsbarns.

Five players were in a tie for third at four under, including defending champion Hatton, his fellow Englishman Oliver Fisher (80/1) and Ireland's Lowry. They also began their tournament at St Andrews.

Ten players were on three under, including England's Ben Evans (80/1) and Scot David Drysdale (80/1), who recorded the best scores at the third course being used, Carnoustie, along with Joakim Lagergren (28/1).

World number six Rory McIlroy – who was playing alongside his father Gerry in the concurrent pro-am competition – ended the day one over after shooting 73 at St Andrews and is 14/1 for the tournament.

McIlroy was three over at one point but finished with birdies at the 14th and 18th. It might have been better had eagle putts at the ninth and 18th rolled in.

Dunne maintained the momentum that saw him beat McIlroy to his maiden European Tour title last week.

PRICE BOOST: McIlroy or Lowry to win the tournament is now 6/1 from 5/1 with Sky Bet!

Returning to the Old Course, the scene of his impressive showing as an amateur in the 2015 Open, Dunne birdied the third and sixth and then holed from 22 feet for eagle at the ninth.

Further birdies followed at the 11th and 14th and although there was a slip at the 17th – the notoriously difficult Road Hole – and a missed opportunity at the last, his round was still an accomplished one.

Dunne told Sky Sports: "My game still feels good. I stood up on the first and I was still confident in my swing. It takes that bit of pressure off when you've done it once.

"It was a disappointing finish, but, in general, all things feel good and life is pretty good at the minute."

At Kingsbarns, Colsaerts recovered from his poor third hole by claiming birdies at four of the next five holes. Three more birdies on the back nine, including the 17th and 18th, made for a strong finish.