Title-holder Hatton goes three clear at 

Kingsbarns

Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton, pictured by courtesy of Getty Images (c), turned in 33 at Kingsbarns to get to 14 under and open up a three-shot lead on day three of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

After opening with a 68 at St Andrews, Hatton fired a fantastic 65 at the notoriously tough Carnoustie and showed no signs of letting up at Kingsbarns, the course that historically has produced the lowest scores at this event.

He shared the lead with Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex leader Tommy Fleetwood overnight and Fleetwood was level par for his first eight holes to sit alongside another Englishman in Matt Wallace and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts.

Hatton made his European Tour breakthrough at this event last year as part of a stunning run of form that catapulted him to 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

He then made just two cuts in nine events from the Masters Tournament to the US PGA Championship but has back-to-back top tens since and carried that recent form into his defence.

He made an excellent start with a birdie on the tenth and added further gains on the 12th and 14th.

Wallace was also playing at Kingsbarns and he birdied the second, third and seventh in his first nine holes while Fleetwood - who set the course record at Carnoustie on Friday with a 63 - birdied the 12th but dropped shots on the 13th and 15th before recovering on the next.

Colsaerts picked up a single shot on the 12th in his first four holes at Carnoustie.

Frenchman Grégory Bourdy was also playing Carnoustie and he birdied the tenth, 14th and 16th in his first seven holes to sit at ten under alongside Ireland's Paul Dunne who had a single gain in his first two at Kingsbarns.

Dutchman Joost Luiten and German Bernd Ritthammer were then at eight under.