Staffordshire's Richard Mansell one over at World Tour Championship

Fitzpatrick birdied the first five holes on his way to a front nine of 30 and a flawless opening 65, joining Hatton on seven under par after his Ryder Cup team-mate had dropped his only shot of the day on the 18th.

With leader Rory McIlroy and second-placed Ryan Fox shooting 71 and 73 respectively, Fitzpatrick is now projected to finish top of the DP World Tour rankings for the first time.

“I was laughing to be honest,” Fitzpatrick, who was suffering from a sore throat, said of his flying start.

“I literally said to Billy (Foster, his caddie) yesterday, when we won in 2020, didn’t we have four in a row?

“And then we did four in a row and laughed about that and I made a fifth.

“It was a nice start to the day.

Staffordshire’s Richard Mansell posted an opening round of 73 – one over par.

He had moved into an excellent position after birdies at the sixth and seventh holes, but immediately posted bogeys at the eighth and ninth.

The Burntwood ace birdied the 10th and 18th, but three more dropped shots were sandwiched between to leave him in a tie for 33rd.