Scottie Scheffler reclaimed the world number one ranking after successfully defending his Waste Management Phoenix Open title with a two-stroke victory on Sunday.

Scheffler – after posting rounds of 68, 64 and 68 – closed in style with a six-under 65 to finish at 19-under overall.

He went bogey-free in his final round with four birdies and an eagle, showing his affinity for the TPC Scottsdale course after winning his first PGA Tour event at this tournament last season.

Scheffler's lead was down to only one stroke heading into the famous 16th hole, and while he could only muster a par, that proved to be enough as second-placed Nick Taylor made bogey, and Scheffler extended the lead to three strokes for a comfortable finish with a birdie on 17.

Speaking to CBS after stepping off the final green, Scheffler said he was proud of the way he battled through some average shots.

"I'm just proud of how I fought today," he said. "I didn't have my best stuff, so I grinded it out today. I wasn't hitting it good off the tee, my irons didn't feel sharp, but I played a great round of golf today."

Taylor birdied the 18th to finish alone in second at 17 under for his best result since winning the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The red-hot Jon Rahm ended up in sole possession of third at 14 under, fellow major champion Justin Thomas finished fourth at 13 under, and former world number one Jason Day continued his return to relevance with a fifth-place result at 12 under.

The highlight of the day came from Rickie Fowler, punctuating his T10 finish with an ace on the par-three seventh hole.

Jon Rahm and Adam Hadwin provided the highlight of the third round at the Phoenix Open, where Scottie Scheffler kept hold of the lead.

World number one Scheffler carded a 68 on Saturday to maintain the two-stroke lead he held after the opening two days.

A bogey on the 13th threatened to set Scheffler back, but he recovered with a birdie on the next hole and then another on the 17th.

Yet the highlight came from Rahm and Hadwin on the Stadium Course's famous 16th hole.

With the vociferous crowd having been deprived of much excitement up until then, Hadwin – who endured a frustrating round, dropping three bogeys – planting his tee shot close to the pin, setting up a simple putt for birdie.

If that shot had the spectators on their feet, then Rahm's exceptional putt had them positively in delirium soon after, as the world number three sunk an excellent effort to on his way to a three-under 68.

Rahm moved up to T2 alongside Nick Taylor, who found timely birdies on the last two holes to head back into the clubhouse on 11 under after three rounds.

Jordan Spieth, who went round in 63 on day two, carded 69 but dropped a place to T4 along with Hadwin, with Im Sung-jae, Tyrrell Hatton, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day moving up to joint-sixth. Xander Schauffele had a disappointing round, though, and dropped three places.

It was a similar story for world number one Rory McIlroy, who bogeyed on the fourth, seventh and 17th, as well as double-bogeying the 14th. His round of 70 leaves him on three under for the week, 10 behind Scheffler.

Sam Burns was the big mover of the day as he leapt up 28 places thanks to a stunning 64, matching Scheffler's effort from Friday.

Burns struck five birdies and eagled the 13th, and is part of a five-strong group tied for 11th at eight under.

Scottie Scheffler won his first PGA Tour title 12 months ago at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and he is looking to defend that crown as he heads into the weekend with a two stroke lead at 10 under.

A large chunk of the field still have between five and eight holes remaining before they complete their second round, with a delay on Thursday creating a backlog as players had to finish their first round early Friday morning.

Scheffler was part of the early group and followed his opening 68 with a seven-under 64, and he was the only player to shoot seven under on his second trip around TPC Scottsdale.

It is shaping up as a tantalising battle at the top of the leaderboard after Jon Rahm's 66 clawed his way into a tie for second at eight under, where he is joined by round-one leader Adam Hadwin, who still has eight holes to play.

Im Sung-jae will have his sights set on posting the best second-round score, with time being called while he was six under through 12 holes, and tied for fourth with Wyndham Clark at seven under overall.

The only other player with a second-round score of six under or better was Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas, rebounding strongly from an even-par opener, and he has four holes remaining to try and match Scheffler's heroics. 

Also in a tie for sixth with Vegas are former world number one Jason Day and current world number six Xander Schauffele, while the dangerous duo of Tom Kim and Jordan Spieth are one further back at five under.

Major champions Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy are still in the hunt at three under, Viktor Hovland is at two under, and Hideki Matsuyama is at one under with five holes to play.

Tiger Woods is set to make his return to competitive golf at next week's Genesis Invitational, in what will represent his first non-major outing on the PGA Tour for over two years.

Woods has not played competitively since missing the cut at The Open at St Andrews last July, having struggled since he suffered serious leg injuries in a car crash in early 2021.

The 15-time major winner partnered Rory McIlroy in The Match in December, but he was unwilling to commit to playing regularly this year ahead of an outing alongside son Charlie at the PNC Championship that same month.

However, Woods announced on Friday that he had committed to the Genesis Invitational, the event run by his foundation at the Riviera Country Club in California.

"I'm ready to play an ACTUAL PGA Tour event next week @thegenesisinv," Woods tweeted.

The PGA Tour's communications account followed that message by saying: "Eighty-two-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods is committed to next week's Genesis Invitational.

"Thursday's first round will be Woods' first round in a non-major on the PGA Tour since the final round of the 2020 ZOZO Championship on October 25, 2020 (844 days ago)."

Woods has repeatedly said he will attempt to play a limited schedule including the major championships, with the injuries he suffered in 2021 requiring multiple surgeries and continuing to hamper his ability to walk.

Half the field still need to complete their opening round, but Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin raced around with the early group to take a share of the lead into Friday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Taylor had a rollercoaster of a round, posting a one-over front-nine after an eagle, a double-bogey and a bogey, before flying home with six birdies on the back-nine to finish at five under.

He is joined by Canadian compatriot Hadwin as the only players to finish rounds of 66, but there is a strong chasing pack who were unable to finish that will look to snatch the round-one lead on Friday morning.

World number six Xander Schauffele is one stroke off the lead at four under, although he has finished his round, while joining him in a tie for third are former world number one Jason Day (through 10) and American Jim Herman (through 13).

The red-hot Jon Rahm will have his sights on the top, sitting at three under with five holes to play, as will both Max Homa and Keegan Bradley who are also at three under with six holes to play.

Major champion Matt Fitzpatrick is joined by Tony Finau, Sam Burns and Im Sung-jae in the group who completed one-under rounds, while Jordan Spieth posted an even-par 71.

Justin Thomas (one over through 12) will have a chance to still finish his first round under par, while Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young will all be trying to fight their way back into contention after finishing two over.

Justin Rose was relieved to secure his place at The Masters after victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am helped him end a four-year wait for a trophy.

The Englishman carded a final round of 66 to secure an 18-under triumph by three strokes, earning his 11th overall victory on the PGA Tour.

Having last won a prize at the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2019, his success in California helped both end a drought and secure a spot at Augusta.

Ensuring his card to The Masters and May's PGA Championship had been imperative in Rose's mind, but he acknowledged it was sweeter to earn it with silverware.

"Augusta has definitely been a big part of being on my mind," he said. "I thought the simple way to approach it was [to] try to play my way into the top 50 in the world.

"My intention was to come out and play solid and earn some points and claw my way up the World Rankings and make it that way.

"This is a better way to make it, by winning a tournament. It's funny how you, by winning, earn the points and everything takes care of itself.

"[It is] a big relief from that point of view to be able to plan a little bit more of the run into Augusta now. To have the luxury now is unbelievable."

Rose is also in contention to return to the Ryder Cup fold, having missed the cut for selection in 2021, though he stresses he is not even entertaining thoughts of it yet.

"The way where I've been with my game, I've had to be quite selfish and just focus on me and focus on my improvement and what I need to do to start playing better golf," he added.

"I haven't even entertained what the Ryder Cup looks like for me, other than I want to be there. Obviously I would love to play my way onto the team."

Justin Rose ended a four-year PGA Tour title drought with a three-shot victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday.

Rose led by two strokes when play was suspended due to darkness at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Sunday.

The Englishman returned to end a run of 67 PGA Tour events without being crowned champion, carding a six-under 66 to finish on 18 under.

Rose resumed at the 10th hole, securing a par before picking up three birdies through the next four holes to keep his rival at bay.

The 2013 U.S. Open champion added another three pars to finish his round and finally get that winning feeling on the PGA Tour once again.

His previous PGA Tour triumph came at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2019.

Brendon Todd and Brandon Wu shared second place on 15 under after signing for final rounds of 65 and 66 respectively. 

Denny McCarthy and Keith Mitchell were a further shot back on a memorable Monday for Rose.

Justin Rose will resume play on Monday with a two-stroke lead after the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was halted due to darkness.

It was anticipated that players would not be able to finish their rounds on Sunday after Saturday's play was also called off early, as wind at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club course would not allow balls to sit still on the green.

Players came out early to finish their third round, before teeing off for their final 18 holes around noon.

Rose's third round was his best of the week, taking advantage of the easier Monterey Peninsula course to post a six-under 65 to begin his last round at 12 under.

He kept his momentum going at Pebble Beach Golf Links – the six-time U.S. Open venue which also hosts the final round – as he followed an eagle on the sixth with a birdie on the seventh, reaching the end of his front nine three under, and 15 under overall.

That is when he had to pack up for the day, leading by two strokes over Denny McCarthy (through 15 holes), Brendon Todd (through 12) and Peter Malnati (through nine).

One further back – and three off the lead – are the American trio of Beau Hossler (through 12), Keith Mitchell (through 10) and Brandon Wu (through 10), as well as Canada's Taylor Pendrith, who was one of the early starters and finished with an eight-under 64 for the day's best round.

Aaron Rodgers was jubilant after claiming victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, as speculation over the quarterback's Green Bay Packers future heats up.

The 39-year-old, alongside partner Ben Silverman, clung on for a one-shot victory in the pro-am portion of the PGA Tour event on Sunday, finishing 26-under for the weekend.

After a difficult season that saw the Packers miss the playoffs for just the fourth time during his tenure as their starter, Rodgers was happy to have his name on the Wall of Champions.

"It's really significant," Rodgers said of his victory in California. "It's always been on my bucket list."

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen came in four-under par behind Rodgers, and joked inclement weather had helped his rival to victory amid a truncated tournament.

However, Rodgers laughed off such suggestions, adding: "Josh Allen was telling me there's going to be an asterisk by this win because there were only three rounds.

"But I think our names are going to be up there for a long time."

Rodgers' victory comes amid turmoil over his future, with the 18-season veteran seemingly poised to bring his Packers career to a close.

With the recent retirement of Tom Brady, talk continues to swirl over a potential trade for the quarterback, with multiple teams likely to be interested in a move.

Rodgers sought to shut down speculation last month, suggesting all talk over any exit was merely conjecture.

The Packers came third in the NFC North division this season, with an 8-9 losing record.

Play at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am was suspended shortly after midday Pacific time (PT) on Saturday after strong winds, but not before Peter Malnati had taken a two-shot lead.

The decision was taken to suspend play at all three courses in the interest of fairness, with the winds so strong that balls on the ninth green at Monterey Peninsula Country Club would not stay still.

It had been hoped the third round could resume at 2pm PT, but it was soon confirmed that play had been suspended for the day, with the third round to resume at 8am PT on Sunday.

Malnati was playing his third round at Pebble Beach Golf Links, and carded six birdies and six pars from his 12 holes before play was suspended, taking him to the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday on 12 under par overall.

Joseph Bramlett (after 13 holes) and Keith Mitchell (after 10 holes) sit tied for second on 10 under, with the former struggling after a good start.

Bramlett – also playing at Pebble Beach on Saturday along with former footballer Gareth Bale as his amateur – was three under for the round from his first eight holes, before bogeying three of the next five, albeit with birdies on the other two.

The leaders from the first two rounds, Hank Lebioda and Kurt Kitayama, are tied fourth on nine under, with Leboda one under for the round after 11 holes at Spyglass Hill Golf Course, while Kitayama is even par after nine holes on the same course.

Winds reportedly reached 40mph on Saturday, and the suspension means play is likely to go into Monday.

Mitchell had words of praise for his amateur team-mate, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, saying: "The guy was out practicing in the rain and the wind this afternoon when everybody was inside. I can’t imagine him not showing up [tomorrow]. The weather's better tomorrow morning than in Buffalo right now, I can promise you that."

Another NFL star, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, heads the amateur leaderboard on 25 under par, which is made all the more impressive considering his pro, Ben Silverman, is two over. The duo lead Malnati and FedEx president Don Colleran by three shots.

Former Tottenham and Wales legend Gareth Bale produced one of the top highlights from the amateur ranks while playing at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Bale, 33, retired from professional football in January after spending six months with MLS club LAFC.

Playing in his first PGA Tour event, Bale was partnered with Korn Ferry Tour Championship winner Joseph Bramlett, who he said he met around a year ago and has kept in contact with since.

"We met about a year ago and we have just been speaking over the year," he said. "I said to him last week 'let's prepare for this week' – he had a great week last week, and what a player.

"He is a world-class player. Just watching these players play, you can learn things and how they go about their business and how they do their process.

"It is just nice to watch and pick up things, their demeanour, their focus. It is different from what we were used to, but it is similar to my profession. We have similar traits, so fantastic playing with him today."

Bramlett is enjoying a terrific start to the tournament, tied for second at eight under through two rounds as he seeks his first PGA Tour victory, but he gave Thursday's shot of the day to Bale for his miraculous up-and-down off the cart path.

"I am more worried about how I found myself [on the path] in the first place, but I guess a lot of amateurs find themselves in that position," Bale said.

"It was a great shot and I just tried to play into the bank and hope for the best like most amateurs do.

"It was nice to see it roll up nice and close, and he was pretty much in for par so I was like 'I will pick it up' and [Bramlett] made me putt it because he was like 'this is going to be the greatest up-and-down'."

Kurt Kitayama sits alone atop the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am leaderboard after Friday's second round with a score of nine under.

Kitayama enjoyed a strong seven-under 64 on his opening round at Monterey Peninsula Country Club – the easiest of the three courses being used – and backed it up with a two-under 70 at the flagship Pebble Beach Golf Links.

He shot three birdies and one bogey on the championship course, which has hosted six U.S. Open tournaments, and will also be the site of Sunday's final round this weekend.

Kitayama will look to remain in pole position after playing the Spyglass Hill course in his third round, with the cut to take place after all players have played all three courses.

First-round leader Hank Lebioda found the Pebble Beach track far more difficult than Monterey Peninsula, opening the week with an eight-under 63 before following it with an even par 72 to remain at eight under, tied for second.

He is joined by fellow Americans Brandon Wu, Keith Mitchell and Joseph Bramlett – who all played at Monterey Peninsula on Friday. Of the five players to shoot rounds of five under or better, all took place at Monterey Peninsula.

Ireland's Seamus Power is one further back at seven under, and he is joined in a five-man group that includes Japan's Satoshi Kodaira and the USA's Scott Stallings, who both sit in a strong position.

Both Kodaira and Stallings have already got the two difficult courses out of the way, and will have a chance to slingshot to the top when they tee up at Monterey Peninsula on Saturday.

Of the big names, world number 11 Viktor Hovland pulled to within three strokes of the lead at six under, while three-time major champion Jordan Spieth is two further back at four under.

After failing to make the cut in each of his first five events this PGA Tour season, Hank Lebioda is alone atop the leaderboard after Thursday's opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Lebioda, 29, has never won on the PGA Tour before, but he looked right at home on the Monterey Peninsula Country Club course, collecting nine birdies and one bogey for an eight-under 63.

He shot to the top of the leaderboard after a blistering stretch to open his back-nine, with five birdies and two pars from seven holes.

Unfortunately for Lebioda, that will be the only time he plays at Monterey Peninsula as the tournament is spread across three courses. Every player will also get a round at Spyglass Hill and the Pebble Beach Golf Links, with the latter hosting the final round after a cut at the end of Saturday's action.

Of the seven players to shoot six under or better, six of them played at Monterey Peninsula, which makes Chad Ramey's seven-under 64 at Pebble Beach stand out.

Ramey is joined in a tie for second with fellow American Kurt Kitayama and England's Harry Hall, while France's Martin Trainer and Australia's Aaron Baddeley are joined by the USA's Eric Cole one further stroke back at six under.

The big names were quiet on the opening day, with world number 11 Viktor Hovland the best performer of the rankings' top-40 at two under.

Jordan Spieth is joined by fellow major champions Danny Willett and Matt Fitzpatrick at one under, while Kevin Kisner shot himself out of contention at four over.

Open champion Cameron Smith claims golf's world rankings are becoming "obsolete" due to there being no points awarded for LIV Golf tournaments.

The Australian spoke out ahead of this week's Saudi International, an Asian Tour event that was getting under way on Thursday, saying it hurt him that his prospects of getting to number one had been dealt a blow.

Smith is among a host of major winners and star names who have defected from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to the controversial LIV Golf tour, a lucrative Saudi-backed series that critics claim was launched in an effort to 'sportswash' the Middle East country's reputation.

For 29-year-old Smith, who won the Chicago leg of the LIV series last September, the limitations of where he can collect ranking points is a setback. He has been as high as number two but is now fourth on the rankings list, which is led by Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy has been as vociferous an opponent of LIV Golf as any player and is not playing this week in Saudi Arabia, where a host of top names, many of them from LIV Golf, are in the field and ranking points are available.

Smith said of the rankings situation: "I've tried to take it not that badly. When you rock up to a tournament, you know who you have to beat, whether there's a world ranking or not. There's generally seven or eight guys that are in that field that you know are going to put up a pretty good fight.

"For sure it hurts. I feel as though I was really close to getting to number one, and that was definitely something I wanted to tick off, but the longer that this stuff goes on, I think the more obsolete those rankings become.

"That's just the long and short of it, I think. Do we need them? It would be nice, but like I said, you know who you've got to beat when you get on the golf course."

LIV Golf is hoping it will be able to award ranking points in future.

Smith said he had enjoyed parading the Open Championship's Claret Jug while at home during the off-season.

"I took it back down to Australia, took it to my home club," he said. "They actually had a trophy night, kind of the day that I got back down there, so I took it to the trophy night.

"It was a little bit hectic. It's a pretty cool trophy. I'd describe it as like seeing a ghost, I think, for the most part, the look that it brings to their face and the feeling that it gives them is pretty special.

"I've taken it everywhere with me. Just about had every liquid you can put in there I've tried to put in it. But it's been awesome. It's been fun over Christmas; the family drinking out of it was something I'll never forget."

Max Homa produced his best round of the week to erase a five-stroke deficit and win the Farmers Insurance Open with a score of 13 under.

Low scores were hard to come by on the difficult Torrey Pines South Course, with only three players posting final scores of 10 under or better, while Homa's 13 under was the worst winning score of the season so far.

Coming into Saturday's final round at seven under, Homa posted seven birdies and one bogey to shoot 66, tying the round of the day and finishing with a birdie on the last to win by two strokes.

It is the sixth PGA Tour win of Homa's career, and he now has back-to-back multi-win seasons after also collecting the opening event of the campaign at September's Fortinet Championship.

The only other player to shoot a six-under 66 in the final round was Keegan Bradley, flying up the leaderboard into outright second place at 11 under, while world number eight Collin Morikawa finished alone in third at 10 under. 

Sam Ryder was the outright leader after the second and third rounds, but he ended up in a tie for fourth at nine under due to a 75 in his final trip around the course that twice hosted the U.S. Open.

Coming into the event with four wins from his previous six starts, and starting Saturday at 10 under, Jon Rahm had to settle for seventh after a two-over 74, tying with former world number one Jason Day.