Tiger Woods is set for a return to the PGA Tour by playing in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

Woods underwent ankle surgery in April after withdrawing from The Masters, and has not played competitively since.

The 47-year-old is host of the invitational event at Albany, which begins on November 30.

The TGR Live X account confirmed that Woods will take the 20th and final playing place in the event, being joined by exemptions Justin Rose and Lucas Glover.

Other players set to take part include Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland.

James McAtee’s brace inspired dominant England Under-21s to a routine 3-0 win in Serbia.

The Manchester City midfielder, on loan at Sheffield United, scored his first goals for the Young Lions.

Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott added a third early in the second half as England saw out their Euro 2025 qualifier on Saturday with minimum fuss, shrugging off last month’s rare defeat to Ukraine.

Lee Carsley’s side remain second, three points behind leaders Ukraine in Group F after their 4-0 win over Luxembourg on Friday.

England thumped Serbia 9-1 at the City Ground last month and were dominant from the start in Backa Topola.

It took just five minutes for the Young Lions to open the scoring when McAtee collected the ball on the edge of the area and his strike deflected off Mihajlo Ilic to loop over Veljko Ilic in goal.

Four minutes later Liam Delap came close to doubling the lead when he glanced Noni Madueke’s cross just wide.

But it was 2-0 after 19 minutes when McAtee received Hayden Hackney’s pass 20 yards out and drilled in, although Ilic should have done better.

England dominated the rest of the half without adding to their advantage but took just nine minutes of the second half to make it 3-0.

Elliott scored twice in the rout in Nottingham and got in on the act when he drilled into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

Striker Jay Stansfield, making his debut after a late call this week, hit the woodwork after a neat turn and strike with 13 minutes left and also went close late on.

Stansfield, on loan at Birmingham from Fulham, was denied a debut goal with three minutes remaining when he latched onto Madueke’s pass but saw his shot blocked.

Manager Steve Evans wants Stevenage to continue gatecrashing the upper regions of League One after their 1-0 victory over Lincoln lifted them up to fourth in the table.

It is 12 years since the Boro reached the play-offs in what was their first season in the third tier and few would have had them down to threaten a repeat after winning promotion back in May.

They continue to defy expectations, however, as Jamie Reid’s 14th goal of the campaign earned a third league win in a row and handed Michael Skubala a losing start as Lincoln head coach.

Evans said: “We are that little bad apple in the barrel that no-one wants to be in that top group.

“There is only the town of Stevenage and everyone in it – myself, the board, the players, everyone that’s connected with the football club – that wants us in that top group because we’re fighting for something that people thought two years ago would be in the National League.

“We just have to keep working hard, keep principled, keep humble and then take it forward to a real tough game to face Lee Johnson at Fleetwood.

“This is a really good Lincoln side, I think everyone in football was surprised they decided to change manager, but Michael has come in and his team gave us a few problems in the first half.”

It was in the second half that Stevenage took control, with Lincoln goalkeeper Lukas Jensen saving bravely from Reid before Kane Hemmings struck the inside of the post.

The breakthrough came in the 68th minute when a scramble in the six-yard box following Jake Forster-Caskey’s corner led to Reid bundling in.

It could have been more comfortable for the hosts, with Forster-Caskey striking a free-kick just over and Jensen making a good save to deny Reid a second, but there was no doubt they were deserved winners.

Skubala admitted the Imps were ultimately outmuscled, saying: “We need to get stronger, there’s no doubt about that, and it takes time to get physically stronger.

“It’s not something where you can just flick a button, so we’ve got a lot of work to do with the lads off the pitch to get physical.

“They’re strong, it’s just sometimes where you’ve got to do the scrappy stuff away from home against Stevenage that we probably got outfought in those battles.

“I think you saw the work we’ve done [during the week] in the first half and I was quite pleased.

“We won a lot of second balls, which we knew we were going to have to do here, and we had a couple of moments where we probably should have done better in the final third.”

Tom Bellamy cut a delighted figure as he steered Broadway Boy to an emphatic success at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Second to Flooring Porter over course and distance last month, he was sent off the 9-4 joint favourite for the Listed From The Horse’s Mouth Podcast Novices’ Chase and was given a bold ride by his pilot, which paid dividend as he scorched 20 lengths clear of stablemate Weveallbeencaught climbing the hill.

The five-year-old was introduced into the Brown Advisory betting at 20-1 with Coral and trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies could now test the waters in Graded company, having thrilled connections with his brilliant display.

He said: “I thought he was very impressive and he beat our other horse a long way – and he is pretty good, so happy days.

“Funnily enough, he didn’t school very well when he started but he soon warmed up to it.

“It was a good run (behind Flooring Porter) and he’s improved for it. I think we will stay over three at the minute, he seems to have plenty of speed but let’s see.

“There’s no point rushing into anything at the moment and we will see how he comes out of it, but there is always the three-mile race at Kempton (Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Boxing Day) and that is a possibility, we will see.”

Paul Gilligan could have a Stayers’ Hurdle candidate on his hands having watched his son Jack boot home Buddy One in the Paddy Power Games Handicap Hurdle.

Third to Iroko in the Martin Pipe at the Festival in March, the improving six-year-old thrived at Galway last month and obliged favourite backers on his first try at three miles.

“To watch your son come up the hill on a horse you train, it’s heaven,” said Gilligan.

“This is a special place, a field of dreams, it can be heaven or it can be hell. It can be anything and when you go home after horses run bad, it’s a nightmare, but the dream has come true there now.

“He was really unlucky in the Martin Pipe, but he was straight as a gun-barrel there when he jumped the last. This is magic and it’s just a pity my wife isn’t here today, she’s at home keeping the yard going but this is heaven.

“Today is just so special, my son riding him and another leading him up. There’s a lot of us here and there will be a lot of people happy in Galway today.”

Handicaps are now off the table for the 9-4 winner, who could take in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse next, but who ultimately will be back at Prestbury Park in March for a crack at the Festival’s day-three feature.

“I didn’t think he would be beaten today – his Galway run was really good and after winning this race off top-weight, he is out of handicaps now. Possibly, depending on how he comes out of the race, he could go to the Hatton’s Grace. We will have to meet Willie and Gordon there, but why not.

“I thought after Galway he might go to the Pertemps but there is no point going Pertemps. It’s quite possible he will come back here for the Stayers’ Hurdle.”

Another with Graded ambitions is Springwell Bay (85-40 favourite), who justified Jonjo O’Neill’s long-held belief he was a smart operator with a taking victory in the Paddy Power Intermediate Handicap Hurdle.

The six-year-old may now head to the Relkeel Hurdle back at Prestbury Park on New Year’s Day, with O’Neill dreaming he could replicate the exploits of owner Gay Smith’s Blackjack Ketchum at some stage in the future.

He said: “I hope he will be (a Pattern horse) and he needed to do that today to be that type of horse. You would have to be thinking of it (Relkeel Hurdle) and those are the races you have to be looking at.

“I liked what I saw, but I didn’t come here with lots of confidence. We’ve been very lucky (for the owner) and let’s hope he is another Blackjack Ketchum.

“If he’s as good as him, he’ll do. We’ll let the horse do the talking. We’re happy today, that was a nice starting point and we have a nice horse to go to war with.”

There was a win for Gavin Cromwell’s Hascoeur Clermont (12-1) in the Wienerberger Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase, while in the same race there was a 20-day ban handed out to Billy Coonan for his ride aboard Tony Martin’s Read To Return.

Although backed into favouritism, the young rider was adjudged to have failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to obtain the best possible placing, having been 15 lengths down at the last before staying on into fifth.

There was further joy for Ireland when Willie Mullins’ Baby Kate (7-2) took the concluding Karndean Designflooring Mares’ Open National Hunt Flat Race.

The four-year-old, who is a daughter of Augusta Kate, was bred by former footballer Kevin Doyle and with Listed honours secured, could go in search of further black type in the new year.

“We were lucky to lease her off Kevin Doyle and the lads (owners, Gorm Agus Ban Syndicate) are a group of local lads and they are living the dream,” said Patrick Mullins.

“She didn’t win impressively at Ballinrobe but I thought the penny only dropped late with her. We wanted black type and it was either come here or Navan and we thought the ground might be slightly nicer here.

“She’s one of the smallest horses in the yard, she’s tiny, but she’s strong and she has ability.

“For Kevin, who owns her and leased her to us, it’s fantastic to get black type for him with that pedigree and we’ll look at all the black type bumpers in the spring now. We’ll probably go to the Dublin Racing Festival first, then see where we go after that.”

What’s Up Darling edged out his Gordon Elliott-trained stablemate Dee Capo in a stirring finish to the Bar One Racing For Auction Novice Hurdle at Navan.

On another winner-laden day for the stable, it was the Sam Ewing-ridden six-year-old, who took a big step forward from his hurdling debut at Limerick, who came out on top.

Jack Kennedy was on the hat-trick-seeking Dee Capo, but went down by a neck having shown the odd wayward tendency.

Elliott said of the 15-8 winner: “He’s a quick horse. He probably got racing a bit early but he won, so it’s great.

“The other horse (Dee Capo) ran a serious race, Jack said he tried to hang off the track on the far side. He probably gave away a lot of lengths.

“Jack said he thought he was going to pull him up but when he straightened out, he sprinted again. I had the one-two, so I won’t complain.”

When asked if the winner could go for the Royal Bond, the trainer added: “To be honest, it might come a bit quick.”

Kennedy was on Elliott’s Stellar Story (4-7 favourite) in the Kilberry Pub & Kitchen Maiden Hurdle, who added to his two bumper wins.

“He’s a nice horse. Jack said he’d come on from it too, as he had a bit of a blow,” said Elliott.

“I was a bit worried in the back straight when the other horse was going with us but he said he’d come on plenty from it and we’re delighted.

“He was bought to be a big staying chaser.”

Fortunedefortunata (100-30 favourite) was another for Elliott and Kennedy in the Hotel Park St. Johann In Tirol Austria Handicap Hurdle.

“They (owners, Breakaway’s Syndicate) are all lads that I went to school with, so it’s great,” said Elliott.

“We didn’t give a fortune (£16,000) for him and today was the plan, thankfully it worked out for him.

“He loves really heavy ground. He probably wouldn’t take a lot of running quickly.”

Eddie and Patrick Harty’s Harvard Guy (7-1) won the Lisadell Equine Hospital Handicap Hurdle in the JP McManus colours.

“It was nice. I thought he might have a squeak based on his run at Fairyhouse,” said Eddie Harty.

“He was all out to do it and we’ll have to look for something similar. I’m delighted to be back on the scoresheet for JP.

“I think it’s Patrick’s first time on the board for JP since being on the licence, so it’s important for him as well.”

Elliott was narrowly denied a four-timer when My Trump Card got going too late in the concluding bumper and narrowly failed to reel in Gavin Cromwell’s Springt De La Mare (5-2), with Apple’s Of Bresil not far away in third.

The first three all look to have big futures.

Facile Vega made a winning debut over fences in what looked a red-hot Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Chase at Navan.

Willie Mullins’ six-year-old, the second foal of his great hurdler Quevega, is already a four-time Grade One winner due to his exploits in bumpers and over hurdles.

The champion trainer has been waxing lyrical about Facile Vega’s schooling at home and while he was ultimately sound over his fences, there was the odd novicey leap during his round, understandably for a first run over bigger obstacles.

One of the Gordon Elliott pair, Saint Felicien, not sighted since being sent off favourite for the Coral Cup in 2022, ensured there was a good gallop and Paul Townend was happy to take a lead.

Townend was tracked throughout by Rachael Blackmore on Henry de Bromhead’s Inthepocket, himself a Grade One winner over timber at Aintree in April.

Grade Two winner Dreal Deal and Spillane’s Tower, a useful hurdler himself, added further strength in depth but they were just out of contention running to the second last.

It was there 8-15 favourite Facile Vega took up the running from a tiring Saint Felicien and while Inthepocket attempted to close up, the market leader had plenty left as he cleared away from the last to win by three and three-quarter lengths.

Coral make the winner 3-1 second favourite for the Arkle behind Marine Nationale, who lowered his colours at Cheltenham in March.

“He galloped into the first, he just wasn’t really concentrating. It was a messy race to ride in, Jack’s (Kennedy, Saint Felicien) was going left. We would have liked to have a bit more company or to follow one,” said Townend.

“He popped away grand and when we started racing down the straight, I loved what he did at the second last, he stood off it and landed a big distance on the far side of it.

“He was clever at the last, the first day went well anyway. His class kicked in down the straight.

“All of ours are coming on for a run. To win, doing that, I thought was good. When I did ask him, he stood off for me and that’s what you’d be expecting him to do.

“Throughout the race, he was actually very well behaved for him. I’d say he’s maturing and growing up because he had every opportunity to start acting the fool a bit but he didn’t and was more professional. When I wanted him, he was there.

“He’s matured physically and mentally.”

Bob Olinger and Captain Guinness returned to winning ways to provide Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore with a Graded race double at Navan.

Lismullen Hurdle winner Bob Olinger was victorious for the first time since the Cheltenham Festival of March 2022, when the beneficiary of the late fall of Galopin Des Champs, and had struggled to hit the heights that once looked likely as a novice hurdler.

Having travelled supremely well for Blackmore when still hard on the bridle on the run to the last between Home By The Lee and Zanahiyr, it briefly looked like he would flatter to deceive once again.

When Blackmore initially asked him to quicken, the response was not immediate and Zanahiyr went on, but eventually Bob Olinger (15-8) did begin to find for pressure and ultimately was a good winner.

He went on to win by a length from the 5-4 favourite, with Home By The Lee, giving 9lb to all, a creditable third in trying to replicate last year’s win.

“I’m delighted. You know where we hold him, he’s one of the best horses I’ve ever trained,” said De Bromhead.

“Last year was tough but it’s lovely to see him back. He was brilliant and Rachael was super on him, she gave him a brilliant ride.

“There are a lot of people to thank but I have to mention Robert Power and Brian (Acheson).

“We stopped with him last January and Robbie has done a lot of work with him during the summer and into this season.

“He came down to us looking amazing. There are a lot of people to thank, the team at home, but Robbie stands out for all the work he’s done with him.

“We better ask him what he was doing and start doing it with all of them!

“He stayed at it really well. The way he burst through and then I thought ‘oh no, it’s the same as last year’ when Zanahiyr came back at him.

“I thought we were in trouble there, obviously Zanahiyr picked up and we were a bit slow at the last.

“It was lovely to see, he’s a real good horse and it’s nice to see him hopefully starting to come back.

“It was a tough race, his first run since January.”

When asked about plans, he added: “I don’t know, we’ll enjoy today. We’ve no plans and I wouldn’t like to say anything yet. Today was the day, we needed to see him back first.

“If you saw him at home, I don’t think any trip is a problem when he’s right, he has so much pace. At least we can think about the next step now.

“Nothing is set in stone (regarding hurdling or chasing). I don’t really want to say anything until we’ve all debriefed. A lot of work went into today and it’s just lovely to see him back.”

Captain Guinness repeated his victory in the Bar One Fortria Chase, again beating last year’s runner-up Riviere D’etel, this time by seven lengths.

Dysart Dynamo was the 4-5 favourite but he found disappointingly little for Paul Townend in the straight and Blackmore always looked to have him covered.

Betfair cut the winner to 6-1 from 8s for the Tingle Creek next month.

“I’m delighted with that, he jumped brilliant,” said de Bromhead.

“Rachael was brilliant on him again. I thought that was one of his best performances that I’ve seen for a while. I loved the way he picked up to the line, he was brilliant.

“At every fence, he went in four behind and landed two behind, he was so good. There was one halfway down the back that he winged and I don’t think that Rachael even expected it.

“I entered him in the Tingle Creek and I’ll speak to Declan (Landy, owner) and see. It’s three weeks so potentially he could go there. We’ll definitely consider it or otherwise it’s Leopardstown at Christmas.

“I always thought he was better on better ground but he loved that there. In the Champion Chase, I said to Declan that we’d run him but he probably wouldn’t like the ground, but he loved it.”

Liam Broady has been called up to replace an injured Andy Murray in the Great Britain team for next week’s Davis Cup finals in Malaga.

Former Wimbledon and US Open champion Murray is sidelined due to a minor shoulder injury, the Lawn Tennis Association announced.

And Broady now takes his place ahead of the quarter-final clash against Serbia on November 23.

“I’ve picked up a minor shoulder injury which means I won’t be able to take part in the Davis Cup,” Murray said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I’m gutted not to be part of the squad, but my focus is now on rehab and getting ready for the new season.”

Murray’s absence is a second setback for the British team after Dan Evans withdrew earlier this month because of a calf muscle injury.

Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith called up Joe Salisbury in place of Evans, with Broady now now teaming up alongside Salisbury, Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper and Neal Skupski.

Britain’s appointment with Serbia is the last of the quarter-finals. In the other ties, Canada face Finland, the Czech Republic meet Australia and Italy take on the Netherlands.

Steve Clarke insists he is giving no consideration to which pot Scotland end up in at Euro 2024 as he focuses on trying to end their successful qualification campaign on a high against Norway at Hampden on Sunday.

The Scots sealed their spot in Germany last month, with two games to spare, and will learn who they will face in the group stage when the draw is made in Hamburg on Saturday, December 2.

A victory by two goals or more against Norway this weekend would likely lift the Scots into pot two, while any other result is set to place them in pot three.

Given the way things are shaping up – with the likes of Albania, Hungary and Turkey among the teams on course to be in pot two – there is a school of thought among Scotland supporters that they may have a chance of an easier draw by remaining in pot three.

“Honestly, zero, I haven’t looked at it,” said Clarke when asked if he had given much consideration to the permutations. “It doesn’t concern me.

“The main objective was to be there. Pot two, pot three… it’s all speculation because you don’t know how the other games are going to pan out so we’ll go out and do our best to win the game and then we’ll decide after that whether we want to be in pot two or pot three.”

Asked how significant it would be to go to the tournament as a pot two team, Clarke said: “Not significant at all in my mind. I don’t think too much about it.

“I just want to win game to game and make sure we’re always competitive whoever we play. We were seeded in pot two in the draw for this campaign and we want to be a pot two team going into the World Cup campaign.

“If we can get to pot one, it would be great but that’s a long way away at the moment.”

Clarke’s main objective at present to is to stop a four-game run without a victory and ensure Scotland end a memorable campaign on a high at a sold-out Hampden.

“It’s always important to win,” he said. “We haven’t won for a while. We want to finish the campaign well in front of our own supporters at Hampden, so hopefully we can do that.”

That task will be made slightly easier – in theory – by the fact Norway and Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland misses the match due to an ankle injury sustained in Thursday’s friendly against Faroe Islands.

“It’s probably a little bit of mixed feelings,” Clarke said when asked about the striker’s absence. “I think for the crowd it would have been great to see a player of Erling Haaland’s standard at Hampden.

“It would have been good for the defenders to test themselves against a top striker but unfortunately he’s not fit.

“If you asked me that question me before a game that really meant something I’d probably be sitting here saying ‘yes, I’m delighted he’s not playing’ but for the game tomorrow, I think it would have been better if he played.”

Haaland gave Norway the lead with a penalty in the last meeting between the teams in Oslo in June before Scotland roared back with two goals in the closing minutes to claim arguably the most pivotal result in their qualifying campaign.

“It was a pretty dull game on a very hot, sunny afternoon,” recalled Clarke. “For us, it was about staying in the game as long as possible. Towards the end of the game I took a central defender off, went to a back four and stuck another attacking player on and thankfully it worked for us.

“We got the equaliser at a good time and almost immediately before Norway had a chance to realise what had happened we were 2-1 in front and for the section, for the qualification of Scotland, it was obviously a big moment in the tournament.”

Second-placed Scotland go into their final qualifier six points clear of third-placed Norway, who remain without a major tournament appearance since Euro 2000.

Clarke believes the fact his team were able to win their first five games, while Norway failed to win any of their first three was the main difference between the sides.

“The way the fixtures fell for us was good,” said the Scots boss. “We had three home fixtures to start and we managed to get maximum points from those fixtures.

“Going to Norway when we did and getting the 2-1 win put the qualification into our hands and fortunately we didn’t let it slip. Group football is a sprint, it’s only eight matches.

“You can’t really drop points early in the group because you put yourself under pressure later in the group. It’s normally Scotland that does that, to be fair!”

India captain Rohit Sharma has urged his team-mates to contain their emotions as they prepare for a home World Cup final that represents “the biggest moment” of their sporting lives.

Twelve years since their last triumph on the global stage, cricket’s superpower nation is one game away from glory as the duo battle with Australia in Ahmedabad.

Expectations in the country are sky high after a flawless 10-match winning streak, which started with a group stage win over the Australians on October 8, and victory in front of more than 100,000 home fans would surely be the crowning achievement for a generation of Indian players.

Sharma is the man who stands at the centre of the storm and, while he makes no attempt to shy away from the magnitude of the situation, he feels it is crucial that his side do not get side-tracked or blown off course by it.

“Emotionally it’s a big thing, a big occasion. Whatever hard work and dreams you have, you have for this. That day is in front of us,” he said.

“But the biggest challenge for professional athletes is how they can put all this aside and focus on their work. So along with me, all the other 10 players who will play tomorrow, their focus will be more on their work for the team, rather than thinking, ‘this is the biggest moment of my life’.

“Of course it is, there is no doubt. In the back of the mind it is there, you can’t hide from that. But it’s really important to remain calm in such situations because if you are calm and composed, then you can play your role and you can make good decisions in the pressure situation.

“The occasion is very big. You don’t get such occasions every time. You don’t get a chance to play in the finals every time. Since childhood, I’ve grown up watching the 50-over World Cup so, for me, this is the biggest moment. But I know that I have to focus on what my team needs me to do. And I want to put aside everything else for a while.

“I know the importance of tomorrow. So, I just want to keep it nice and relaxed and calm and not get too emotional thinking about what happened in 2011 or what can happen tomorrow.”

India are keeping open the option of drafting Ravichandran Ashwin into their XI as a third spin option, even though he has played just once in the tournament to date.

They will look long and hard at the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium, a  surface last used for their win over Pakistan 37 days ago, and could be tempted if it looks likely to take lots of turn.

One player who will not be making way is Mohammed Shami, who started the World Cup running drinks and has gone on to make himself undroppable. Despite making just six appearances he is the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 23. Seven of those came during a career-best haul in the semi-final against New Zealand and he looks primed for another starring role.

Paying tribute to the experienced seamer, Sharma said: “It was tough for him to not play the initial part of the World Cup but he was there for the team.

“He was there to help Mohammed Siraj, he was there to help Jasprit Bumrah in whatever ways he could. And that shows the quality of him being the team man that he is.

“We had a chat with him about why he missed out and obviously, on the sidelines, he was working on his bowling. The results are there for everyone to see how he has come back from that. Once the opportunity opened up for him, he was right there.”

England’s Matt Wallace birdied every hole on the back nine as a career-best round of 60 handed him a one-shot lead heading into the final day of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

The 32-year-old started the day seven shots off the pace but made 12 birdies including nine in row from the 10th to catapult himself to 16 under.

That handed him a one-shot advantage over countryman Tommy Fleetwood and another member of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team in Viktor Hovland, with the playing partners both firing rounds of 66.

Wallace’s nine-hole score of 27, 12 birdies in his round and run of nine consecutive gains all match the best all-time records on the DP World Tour but after heavy rain overnight on Friday meant players could clean and place their ball on the fairways, his round will not officially enter the record books.

He was still delighted with his efforts, however, as he looks for a fifth DP World Tour win to go with the PGA Tour title he won in the Dominican Republic in March.

“What a day, an amazing day,” he told Sky Sports Golf. “I just tried my hardest to get myself back into the tournament. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to do that. Played great.

“At the end, I didn’t even think there was a 59. Honestly I think it helped me a little bit. I just played nicely coming down the stretch, just keep getting one more if I could and I managed to do that.”

After birdies on the second, sixth and eighth, Wallace set off on his remarkable run from the 10th, making eight birdies in a row and knowing that an eagle on the last would see him card just the second 59 in DP World Tour history.

He found sand with his second on the 18th but almost holed out, leaving himself two feet to complete the birdie set on the way home.

“Kind of gutted now actually a little bit,” he added. “Great opportunity to do it. I’ve done it at Moorpark on the West Course which is only a par 68, but to do it out there would have been really special today.

“Ball in hand helps. I had a couple of good lies for up-and-down, but it was fantastic and a good effort for 59.”

A 58-foot putt for eagle on the 14th was the highlight of Fleetwood’s round which also contained six birdies and two bogeys, while Hovland was blemish-free.

“I’m very happy with the fact that you get to the final day of the year and I’m still playing well, still feel fresh and I’m still motivated and in contention,” said Fleetwood.

“I take a lot of pleasure out of that. I think it’s easy to shut off when you get so far down the season but I kind of pride myself on going all the way.

“We’ll see tomorrow. It was great today. Out there playing with one of the best golfers in the world and trying to go toe-to-toe with Viktor. Just look forward to more of it tomorrow. It’s been great so far.”

Dane Jeff Winther was two shots off the lead, one clear of Scot Ewen Ferguson – who carded a 64 – and another Dane in Ryder Cup star Nicolai Hojgaard.

Defending champion Jon Rahm was at 11 under, three shots clear of world number two Rory McIlroy.

Stage Star survived a bad mistake at the final fence and still won the Paddy Power Gold Cup handsomely.

Sent off the 4-1 favourite, the Paul Nicholls-trained and Harry Cobden-ridden seven-year-old confirmed his Turners Novices’ Chase form with Notlongtillmay in the process.

The pair were first and second at the Festival in March and it was Laura Morgan’s charge who once again was chasing in vain.

Stage Star made just about all the running and while top weight The Real Whacker gave him company for the first two miles, he dropped away coming down the hill.

Cobden was then content to sit for a few strides as the challengers mounted up behind him, with Notlongtillmay, Fugitif, Unexpected Party and Il Ridoto still with chances.

Stage Star quickened clear, though, and had the race in safe keeping until he made a horlicks of the last.

It was to his great credit that within a matter of strides he was back in top gear and went clear to win by four lengths to give Nicholls a third win in the race.