Tommy Fleetwood encountered a new hazard on a golf course at the Nedbank Challenge as marauding mongooses stole the spotlight at Sun City.

The Englishman was approaching the end of his opening round when his second shot to the 17th, over water, was pounced upon by a gang of the curious small mammals.

They had been happily playing and munching the putting surface when Fleetwood's ball landed from a great height.

As it bounced on and settled around 25 feet from the hole, the mongooses' interest was piqued and a scurrying pair immediately pounced, nudging the ball along a few inches.

Anyone know the rule for a mongoose attack on your golf ball? Got to love Sun City! #NGC2019 pic.twitter.com/Jh1czA7uSl
— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) November 14, 2019

"They must think it's an egg," said a European Tour commentator.

Fleetwood laughed it off, with the 28-year-old writing on Twitter: "Anyone know the rule for a mongoose attack on your golf ball? Got to love Sun City."

Ryder Cup star Fleetwood was able to play on without further disruption, ending up with a par as he completed a three-under-par round of 69 to sit in a share of seventh place.

Local wildlife at the course in South Africa has grabbed the attention away from the golfers before.

Ian Poulter was pictured feeding monkeys before the 2017 Nedbank Challenge, and at the same year's event Scottish golfer-turned-commentator Andrew Coltart posted footage of a mongoose and snake in a dramatic face-off close to the course.

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It’s wild over here. Gr8 being an oncourser. Courtesy of @bennytails #nature #rawnature #watchyourstep #snake #mongoose #suncity #africa #europeantour

A post shared by Andrew Coltart (@andrewcoltart) on Nov 8, 2017 at 6:52am PST