TY TWO GOOD

Hatton goes five clear to home in on historic double

THREE of the biggest names in the recent history of European golf figure on the Alfred Dunhill Links honours board at St Andrews.

But today at the Home of Golf, Colin Montgomerie, Padraig Harrington and Lee Westwood could find their glory downgraded.

Although Harrington has won the Links twice, none of that trio of Ryder Cup stars ever managed to return to the Fife coast the following year and defend the title.

But that glory lies within the reach of Tyrrell Hatton as he goes into the final round of the $5million event with a five-shot lead.

The man from Hugh Wycombe, 25, shot a bogey-free seven under 65 at Kingsbarns yesterday as his fellow overnight leader Tommy Fleetwood (right) carded six bogeys in a 76.

And even though his 2016 win remains his only European

Tour title, Hatton is confident that he can bank the $800,000 winner’s cheque.

He said: “I have managed to do a really good job.

“I have made myself very difficult to catch.

“And to win would be amazing. To win at the

Home of Golf once is incredible but to do it again and defend would be a dream come true.

“I have had some luck and holed a couple of really good putts from 10 feet to save par but they kept my momentum going.”

And while the pro-am format does not suit all the professionals, he hopes that being reunited with his high-profile partner from last year will help his cause.

He will be playing again with Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan and said: “The format helps me a lot. It keeps me quite relaxed at times.

“But it’s been good fun playing with Jamie again and we are having really good fun again this year.”

Starting in second place will be Gregory Bourdy with Ireland’s Paul Dunne’s two shots further back after he shot 70 at Kingsbarns, weakening his chance of back-to-back wins after his triumph in the British Masters. Last night’s pro-am leaderboard made interesting reading for the followers of Sir Ian Botham.

After his Aussie pro partner Marcus Fraser was disqualified for signing for an incorrect score on Friday, only Botham’s scores counted for their team.

And at 12 under they finished 110th among the 168 teams and missed the cut.

But there will be two names linked with the legendary cricketer going back to St Andrews for the final round.

His son Liam and Thai pro Phachara Khongwatmai moved up to share of 13th place – five shots off the lead.

And the man they call ‘Beefy’ must have noticed that the top five include former Springbok Rugby Union lock Shalk Burger.