Tommy Fleetwood held off the challenge of Ryder Cup team-mate Rory McIlroy with a big finish to claim a dramatic victory at the Dubai Invitational.

The Englishman entered the final round in the United Arab Emirates with a one-shot lead but found himself one behind McIlroy stood on the 18th tee before the Northern Irishman hooked his tee-shot into the water.

That left the door open for Fleetwood and he rolled in a 16-foot putt on the final green for a birdie-birdie finish and a one-shot victory as McIlroy made a bogey.

Dubai-resident Fleetwood’s closing 67 saw him finish at 19 under, one ahead of McIlroy – who signed for the same score – and South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence.

“I’m very happy,” said Fleetwood. “It was amazing winning. Like almost everybody else in the world of golf, I don’t win anywhere near as much as I would like to but just that winning feeling is great.

“This is obviously where I live and have a lot of support. It’s great to kick off the year with a great result and push on from here.

“I was very happy with the way I played today for the large majority of the round, felt like I didn’t hole some of the putts that I wanted to. I just stayed patient and kept playing. I knew I was playing very, very well, and even the last two holes, played 17 and 18 great.”

McIlroy and Fleetwood’s “Fleetwood Mac” partnership claimed two points from two in the foursomes in Rome last year as Europe beat the United States 16.5-11.5 but no quarter was given on a dramatic final day in Dubai.

Fleetwood found himself three shots clear of McIlroy as he picked up shots on the third, fifth and tenth, with the four-time major champion following gains on the third and fifth with a bogey on the sixth after finding the water.

A hat-trick of McIlroy birdies from the 11th had him in a share of top spot and while he inexplicably three-putted the 14th from two feet, he hit straight back with a 20-footer on the next.

Fleetwood dropped his only shot of the day on the 16th but responded from 30 feet on the 17th, as McIlroy birdied the same hole to set up the late drama.

“I’m really happy for Tommy,” said McIlroy. “He’s played some incredible golf over the last year without actually getting a win. So for him to get the win here, it’s great for him and it will do his confidence a world of good and hopefully he kicks on from it.

“I think first week back out, I think you’re going to expect some of those sloppy mistakes and unfortunately for me those mistakes came at the wrong time today. But I’ll reflect on it and learn from today and there’s still a lot of good stuff in there. But just need to tidy up some of the edges and if I do that, I feel good going into next week.”

Lawrence finished with a 64, while England’s Jordan Smith was at 16 under, one shot clear of former Open champion Francesco Molinari.

Connections are confident a patient approach will see Energumene return at his best next season.

Willie Mullins’ dual Champion Chase hero was imperious when defending his two-mile crown at the Cheltenham Festival last March, but has been denied the opportunity to bid for a hat-trick having suffered an injury which has ruled him out of the current campaign.

Owned by Brighton & Hove Albion chief Tony Bloom, Energumene is unlikely to be seen on track again until the 2024-25 season, as the Closutton team seek to give their high-class operator as much time as possible to recover from his setback, something seen as key to Energumene returning in the form of old.

“He’s recovering well,” said Bloom’s racing manager, Sean Graham.

“It was an injury that needed a little bit of time and he’s doing well and is recovering. The signs are good, but you never can tell so we will have to wait and see. The vets are very happy with him so fingers crossed.

“It was a case of if we can’t go to Cheltenham then we give him the whole of the season off and give him plenty of time to recover for next year.

“The way we are talking at the minute we will be giving him as plenty of time to recover as we possibly can. It’s not a career-threatening injury and it is just a case of us being patient. Tony is very patient and he will give him as much time as the horse needs.”

Meanwhile, the exciting Bunting will attempt to hit the bullseye at the Dublin Racing Festival next month where he could secure his ticket to the Cheltenham Festival.

An impressive winner when trained in France, he doubled up when making a blistering start to life in the care of Mullins at Limerick, producing a taking display to score by an ever-widening eight lengths.

That saw the Bloom-owned juvenile handed quotes as short as 7-1 for the Triumph Hurdle in March, but with both victories coming in testing conditions, connections are keen to see if he can repeat his exploits so far on a sounder surface.

“He won his first ever race in France and we bought him after that, so his run at Limerick was only his second ever time on the track and he’s open to loads of improvement,” said Graham.

“He handles soft ground very well because it was very soft when he won in France and very soft when he won his maiden hurdle at Limerick, so we just wonder how effective he will be if the ground gets a lot quicker.

“We don’t know and we’re just hoping he turns out he is as good as you hope he is going to be.”

Bunting will now head to Leopardstown’s Grade One McCann FitzGerald Spring Juvenile Hurdle on February 3 and a contest his handler has won the past two years with high-class pair Gala Marceau and Vauban.

That will be the perfect opportunity for connections to check out Bunting’s Triumph Hurdle credentials and a contest where he could meet well-regarded stablemates Storm Heart and Salvator Mundi as well as ante-post Triumph favourite Burdett Road, who could be sent on an enterprising raiding mission to the Irish capital by handler James Owen.

Graham added: “The Dublin Racing Festival is his next target, he’s entered in the juvenile hurdle on the 3rd and we wait and see. That will tell us whether we should be going to the Triumph Hurdle or not.

“He’s a horse for the future and he’s only had two races. Expecting him to go and win a Grade One on his third-ever race on the track is a big expectation, but we will see what happens.”

Panda Boy could bid to give trainer Martin Brassil a second Randox Grand National victory in the spring following a fine run in defeat at Leopardstown last month.

Having finished a close-up third in the lucrative Paddy Power Chase last season, the eight-year-old picked up the silver medal this time around behind the Willie Mullins-trained Meetingofthewaters, who is himself in National contention.

Panda Boy was not beaten far when fifth in the Irish Grand National last year and Brassil, who won the 2006 Grand National with Numbersixvalverde, is this year eyeing a trip to Merseyside.

He said: “I’m going to enter him for Aintree anyway and he might have a run in the three-mile handicap hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.”

Brassil enjoyed two winners over the festive period, with Goldinthemountains landing a Leopardstown bumper and Built By Ballymore opening his account over hurdles with a dominant display at Limerick.

The trainer views Goldinthemountains as an exciting prospect for the future, but the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival is not on his agenda.

“He’s a nice horse, a lovely horse for the future. We’ll keep in bumpers for this season and he can go hurdling next season,” the trainer added.

“He wouldn’t be going to Cheltenham anyway. The Dublin Racing Festival might be a possibility, but I haven’t spoken to the owners about it yet. Punchestown in the spring would be a likely target.”

Of Built By Ballymore, he said: “He won well and he’d be more of a staying type for the future. He’s a nice horse to have.”

No horse had a better record in the Clarence House Chase than Un De Sceaux, with Willie Mullins’ warrior winning the Ascot Grade One three times.

Known as a tearaway in his early days, he was eventually tamed by Ruby Walsh and, upon his retirement, then ridden just as masterfully by Paul Townend.

He arrived from France having won two AQPS bumpers in 2012 by an aggregate of 27 lengths and quickly became a fan favourite due to his front-running exploits.

By the time he retired due to injury in 2020, he had won 23 of his 34 races under rules, 10 at Grade One level – and he is now happily living his best life back in France, with plenty of zest still on display.

He was owned by the late Edward O’Connell, whose son Colm said: “We’re in contact quite a bit with the family who have him.

“He’s put on a lot of weight, like everyone who retires! But he’s in great condition – he’s got some constitution, there’s never anything wrong with him, he’s never sick and he’s a zero-maintenance type of a horse, he’s incredible.

“The last I heard, they had a filly that was in the field with him and she was quite headstrong as well. I think Un De Sceaux was trying to teach her his ways, as they were literally bolting around the field together, so when people ask has he calmed down, the answer is no!

“I said to myself ‘if he’s teaching her how to race, she could be very interesting in a couple of years’. He has his own routine and no matter who goes and sees him, he’s still wild.

“It’s a good retirement for him. Racing needs stories like his, there’s enough bad news in racing but for 99.9 per cent of the time, this is what happens when racing is over, and rightly so.

“For him to go back to where he was born and grew up, it’s a fairytale. My family have been over to see him and they absolutely love him over in France, I think they like the fact that they’ve got him back.”

While the growing trend these days seems to be for the biggest names in National Hunt racing to have as easy a time as possible before the spring festivals, that could never be levelled at Un De Sceaux.

So much so that O’Connell believes he could have added to his two Cheltenham wins in the Arkle and Ryanair had he not regularly taken in the Clarence House en route – but he would not have had it any other way.

“We loved our visits to Ascot – and to Sandown and Cheltenham as well, but especially Ascot, because it just seemed to suit him there,” said O’Connell.

“Ironically, though, his win in the Clarence House that impressed me most was 2017, when it was run at Cheltenham because of frost.

“That was because he travelled over to Ascot on the Thursday from Willie’s, he left Saturday night, arrived back Sunday morning and left for Cheltenham the following Wednesday; he ran, won, and then came home. If you’d done that yourself, you’d think it was a pain.

“I went to Cheltenham that day but I thought it would be very hard to win, given all his travelling, but it didn’t knock him a bit and he beat Alan King’s horse Uxizandre by five lengths.

“What I thought though, the two years he won the Clarence House at Ascot (20016 and 2018), he then got beaten at Cheltenham and I think that was because he gave absolutely everything at Ascot.

“The first time, Sprinter Sacre beat him on good ground, no disgrace in that, and then Balko Des Flos beat him the other year.

“He won three Clarence Houses and was second in another, his final ever race when Defi Du Seuil beat him, who was five years younger than him. He’d also beaten us in the Tingle Creek.

“I would have loved to have won four because I don’t think any horse will ever win four. No one might win three again, it takes an awful lot of work. I certainly don’t think another horse trained in Ireland will ever win three Clarence Houses again.

“Maybe Ascot will name a race after him, who knows. It would be fitting.”

As well as three Clarence Houses and his Cheltenham wins, he won Punchestown’s Champion Chase twice, a Tingle Creek and the Prix La Barka at Auteuil – and had the misfortune of straddling the eras of Sprinter Sacre and Altior.

“He was such a warrior, and when you think of the horses he came up against, it was a golden era. He raced against Sprinter Sacre, Altior, Sire De Grugy, Douvan, Min. Some very good two-milers,” said O’Connell.

“When Sprinter Sacre beat us in the Queen Mother (2016), we put it down to tactics – and going to Sandown afterwards, we thought we’d change it up a bit and were quietly confident, but we got it handed to us that day. He was a phenomenal horse, Sprinter Sacre.

“I remember in one of his Clarence House wins, he ran against Speredek, who must have been 20 lengths clear at one stage, but Paul Townend just sat and sat and gradually reeled him in. It was bad ground and he seemed to effortlessly plough through it.

“He went to Cheltenham after that and just wasn’t quite at his best, I think that Ascot race left a mark, but at that time of year, he was unbeatable.

“The Clarence House is such a great race. It takes some going to get up that hill from Swinley Bottom, and Ascot is such a great place. You have the Ascot factor.”

All eyes will again be on the Ascot race this weekend, and O’Connell will be a keen onlooker.

“This year’s race looks a cracker,” he said.

“We all know what Jonbon is, we just don’t know what El Fabiolo is. We’re still rating him on what he could be. I’d say it’s a genuine 50-50 call because Jonbon has come out and won an open Grade One already. I think I’d back whichever was the bigger price!”

Monday’s meeting at Hereford and Tuesday’s fixture at Plumpton are both subject to morning inspections as racecourses across Britain brace themselves for freezing temperatures this week.

While racing over the weekend was unaffected, a forecast for snow and ice in the coming days looks set to have a significant impact on the National Hunt programme.

An 8am precautionary inspection has been called ahead of Hereford’s Monday jumps card, but clerk of the course John Holliday is “optimistic” racing will go ahead.

He said: “We’re due to get down to minus 2C tonight, so it’s not going to be too drastic I don’t think, so I’m pretty optimistic.

“We’ve called the precautionary inspection to be on the safe side. Our biggest problem is it’s not going to get very warm – it’s only due to get up to 3C at about 1pm on Monday and then it starts getting cold again.

“If it’s frozen in the morning I should think we’re in trouble, but I’m fairly confident. We haven’t had a frost yet, so it’s not like we’ve had two or three on the bounce, which is always worse.

“We’ve covered vulnerable areas and most of the hurdles track as well.”

Tuesday’s meeting at Plumpton is subject to an 8.30am inspection on raceday morning.

The course has been frost free since Friday, but the mercury is forecast to dip below freezing on Monday morning and temperatures could get as low as minus 3C on Monday night.

Jodie Burrage was left frustrated by a lengthy toilet break taken by opponent Tamara Korpatsch and her own inability to prevent a collapse on her Australian Open debut.

The British number two admitted it was “panic stations” as the first-round match slipped away from her at Melbourne Park.

Burrage dominated the first set against her German opponent but Korpatsch, who was beaten by Emma Raducanu in the first round here 12 months ago, turned things around after heading to the bathroom and eventually ran away with a 2-6 6-3 6-0 defeat.

The tactical use of toilet breaks has been a hot topic in recent seasons, and players now only have three minutes, but that does not count the time walking to and from the court.

“I’m not sure why it was so long,” said Burrage. “I did ask (the umpire), and he said, ‘Yes, she’s used her three minutes, she’s just on her way back’. But then that took another few minutes. I get that it’s a big park, though, so maybe it just took a long time for her to get there.

“You’ve just got to keep playing matches and get used to how you want to deal with when your opponent is changing up the rhythm of it and trying to disrupt your rhythm, which is what she did in the second and third (sets) because it seemed like every change it was something different, whether it was her shoe or her rackets or towel.”

Burrage earned her spot in the main draw here for the first time after breaking into the top 100 last season and she played with confidence and purpose to take the opening set as the year’s first grand slam made its maiden Sunday start.

But, as Korpatsch steadied and the wind picked up, Burrage’s unforced error count began to rise.

She had her chances in the second set but could not take them and the third quickly ran away from her in a slew of mistakes.

Burrage was left with plenty to mull over, principally how to feel like she belongs at the top level and how to make her game more robust.

“I found it tough to serve in that wind and just my game in general,” said the 24-year-old, who lost twice to Korpatsch last season.

“I tried to adjust as much as possible but, when you hit a bigger ball I guess and don’t grind it out, when it gets windy, it’s not as easy to play, but that’s just what I need to learn to do. I need to learn to have a bit of a plan B because there was no plan B there today.

“When someone just stops missing and puts balls in court, it’s not easy to have the confidence to hit through them. I need to learn how to back myself on the court because at the moment I don’t in those situations.

“You could see it today. It was just absolutely panic stations at some point. So that’s what all of these experiences and being at this level and hitting with these types of players, you just get more experiences like that.

“I can play at a high level. It’s just getting it for two hours instead of 45 minutes.”

Matteo Berrettini pulled out of the Australian Open without playing a match as his injury woes continued.

The former Wimbledon finalist had been due to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round on Rod Laver Arena on Monday in one of the plum ties of the first round.

But on Sunday afternoon the tournament announced he had withdrawn with a right foot injury, making it the fourth time in the last eight grand slam tournaments where he has not been able to play a match.

The popular Italian, a semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2022, has been off the tour since suffering an ankle injury during his second-round match against Arthur Rinderknech at the US Open.

He had previously missed the French Open because of an abdominal injury, while in 2022 he also sat out Roland Garros following hand surgery and then tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of Wimbledon.

Once ranked as high as world number six, the 27-year-old, beaten by Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in 2021, is now down at 125.

He has been replaced in the draw by Belgian lucky loser Zizou Bergs, who will take on Tsitsipas on Monday.

Fourth seed Jannik Sinner, one of the favourites for the title following his stellar end to 2023, began his campaign with a straight-sets win over Botic Van De Zandschulp.

Sinner, who beat Djokovic twice in a matter of days at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup in November, was a 6-4 7-5 6-3 winner on Rod Laver Arena.

The Italian did not play a warm-up tournament after his late finish to last season, and he said: “I feel like I started off actually really well for the first match.

“Then after, I had some moments where I made a couple of wrong choices, but this can happen. Even if you made maybe some matches, this can happen. Maybe you are a little bit tired sometimes.

“It was important today for me because I was looking forward to stepping on the court.”

Former finalist Marin Cilic played his first grand slam match since the US Open in 2022 following knee surgery but was beaten in four sets by Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.

Former Olympic road race champion Nicole Cooke retired from cycling with immediate effect on this day in 2013.

Cooke was a trailblazer for cycling in Britain and in 2008 became the first rider, male or female, to win Olympic and world road race gold in the same year.

Announcing the decision to call time on her 13-year career, the 10-time British champion said: “My time in the sport is finished. I am very happy with my career.

“I have many, many happy memories over what has been my life’s work since I was 12. I have won every race and more that I dreamed I could win.”

Her speech did not shy away from the dark side of cycling, however, addressing at length the doping scandals prevalent in the sport as well as the barriers to female riders.

Cooke, who retired at the age of 29, was a four-time world junior champion.

After turning professional, she won gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, before becoming the youngest rider to win the Giro d’Italia – aged 21 – in 2004 following on from triumph at the 2003 World Cup.

Cooke won Britain’s maiden gold of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in heavy rain by the Great Wall of China – the first claimed by a Welsh athlete since 1972 – and backed that up with World Championship gold later that year in Italy.

Four years on, she was part of the team as Lizzie Armitstead won road race silver for Britain’s first medal of London 2012.

Cooke had thought she could put an indifferent four years behind her and mount a defence of her title, but finished only 31st.

Following her retirement, British Cycling president Brian Cookson said: “There is no doubt that Nicole has been a pioneering force in women’s cycling.”

Jayson Tatum had 27 points and eight rebounds before he was ejected and the Boston Celtics remained unbeaten at home with a 145-113 victory over former coach Ime Udoka and the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and Payton Pritchard added 19 to help the Celtics improve to 19-0 at home this season with their 26th straight regular-season home win.

Cam Whitmore scored 22 points and Alperen Sengun had 19 with 10 rebounds for Houston, which dropped to .500 with their third loss in four games.

Udoka was coaching in Boston for the first time since he was suspended, and then fired, on the eve of the 2022-23 season for inappropriate workplace behaviour.

Surging Jazz defeat Lakers

Lauri Markkanen tallied 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists to help the Utah Jazz stay hot with a 132-123 win over the slumping Los Angeles Lakers.

Collin Sexton scored 27 points and Jordan Clarkson added 21 as the Jazz won their fifth straight overall and eighth in a row art home.

With LeBron James out with a left ankle injury, D’Angelo Russell picked up the slack with a season-high 39 points and eight assists. Anthony Davis had a triple-double with 15 points, 15 boards and 10 assists but shot 5 of 21 from the field as the Lakers dropped their sixth in eight games.

Win gives Thunder share of West lead

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 37 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed Orlando Magic, 112-100 for tie for the Western Conference lead.

Jalen Williams scored 16 points and Chet Holmgren had 15 to help the Thunder win their fourth straight and match Minnesota with a 27-11 record.

Paolo Banchero had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but the Magic dropped their third in a row. They played without Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris and Joe Ingles.

The Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the Miami Dolphins in freezing conditions to take a step towards a fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years.

With the temperature at a near-NFL-record low of minus 20C, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was instrumental in leading his side to a dominant 26-7 victory.

Mahomes threw for 262 yards and a touchdown without turning the ball over on a night where rushing was the focal point of Kansas City’s offence.

The strategy paid off as the Chiefs opened the scoring in the first few minutes and stayed in front from there.

An injury-depleted Miami was far from their high-scoring best, finishing with just 264 total yards as the Dolphins remain without a play off victory since 2000.

The cold weather wreaked havoc across the first day of the super wild card round, with the matchup between the Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in Buffalo being rescheduled to Monday due to a potentially dangerous snowstorm.

Elsewhere, CJ Stroud threw for three touchdowns as the Houston Texans demolished the Cleveland Browns 45-14.

Stroud racked up 274 yards in the air without a turnover, while Browns quarterback Joe Flacco was picked off twice in the heavy loss.

Evan Bouchard scored on a power play 2:01 into overtime to lift the Edmonton Oilers to their franchise-record 10th straight victory, 2-1 over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Leon Draisaitl had the other goal and Stuart Skinner stopped 23 shots as the Oilers improved to 18-3-0 in their last 21 games.

Connor McDavid assisted on the winning goal, giving him a 10-game point streak with five goals and 11 assists.

Draisaitl has seven goals and four assists during the win streak and Skinner has won seven straight starts with a .951 save percentage.

Cole Caufield scored and Sam Montembault made 39 saves for the Canadiens, who lost for the seventh time in nine games.

Kraken rally for 9th straight victory

Jared McCann scored two goals and set up another and the Seattle Kraken rallied for a 7-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, their ninth in a row.

Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists and Brian Dumoulin added a goal and an assist for the Kraken, who have the longest win streak in the franchise’s three-year history. Seattle is 11-0-2 in its past 13 games, a stretch that directly followed an eight-game losing streak.

Joey Daccord made 30 saves to win his eighth consecutive start, posting a 1.49 goals-against average in that span.

Devils snap Panthers’ 9-game winning streak

Nico Daws turned aside 35 shots and Alexander Holtz and Jesper Bratt scored first-period goals as the New Jersey Devils stopped the Florida Panthers’ 9-game winning streak, 4-1.

Erik Haula and John Marino had the other goals for the Devils, who improved to 6-2-1 in their last nine games.

Sam Reinhart tallied his 31st goal as Florida tasted defeat for the first time since Dec. 21. He has 13 goals in his last 10 games and has scored in each of the last six.

Matthew Tkachuk assisted on the goal to extend his point streak to eight games (seven goals, 10 assists).

Jodie Burrage was unable to build on a good start as her Australian Open debut ended with a first-round loss to German Tamara Korpatsch.

Burrage earned her spot in the main draw for the first time with a strong year in 2023 and she played with confidence and purpose to take the opening set as the year’s first grand slam made its maiden Sunday start.

But, as Korpatsch steadied, Burrage’s unforced error count began to rise and it was the German who came through 2-6 6-3 6-0.

The pair had met twice in the closing months of last season, with Korpatsch winning both, but Burrage knew she had the power advantage and she used it well in the first set.

The 24-year-old served strongly and seized on her opponent’s weaker delivery to break twice.

She was in the ascendancy again to start the second set but Korpatsch hung on and the momentum began to swing as the German, who had looked uncomfortable and unsettled, asked Burrage more questions.

The British number two had chances to get back on serve at the end of the second but could not take them and the decider quickly ran away from her in a slew of errors.