Justin Lower leads the Valero Texas Open through nine holes with play suspended due to darkness as Padraig Harrington and Matt Kuchar joined the group one stroke behind on Thursday.

The opening round was called off early in fading light, with play having been delayed numerous times in the morning due to fog in South Texas.

Lower, 33, got through the first half of his round, managing an eagle on the par-five 14th hole along with three birdies for a five under start.

Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, 51, wound back the clock in his 333rd start in his 28th season. The Irishman, playing in familiar conditions, carded a four-under 68 with six birdies.

Fellow veteran Matt Kuchar had a similar round with six birdies and two bogeys for a four-under 68 to be tied for second.

The 44-year-old American and Harrington are alongside South Africa's M.J. Daffue, Mexico's Roberto Diaz and USA's Patrick Rodgers.

Fresh from winning last week's Corales Puntacana Championship, Matt Wallace is in a group of eight players, including Canada's Corey Conners (through nine holes), one stroke behind at three under overall.

Pre-tournament favourite Tyrrell Hatton only got through 10 holes to be two under, while Rickie Fowler and defending champion J.J Spaun were both even after 11 holes.

Former Masters champions Bubba Watson and Patrick Reed do not expect any issues when LIV Golf International Series and PGA Tour players meet at the famous Augusta major.

Watson and Reed are among 17 LIV Golf stars set to feature at The Masters, with six of those rebel golfers automatically qualifying with a lifetime exemption after winning the tournament.

Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are also part of the breakaway league but able to play due to winning a major in the last five years.

Major competitions are the only place the two sets of golfers can feature after the PGA banned those who joined the Saudi-backed rebel series for record purses and 54-hole events.

But Reed, speaking ahead of the LIV Golf League event at Orlando that starts on Friday, does not foresee any animosity when the two groups tee off at the Augusta National Golf Course on April 6.

"It's one of those things, the media and the storylines are going to be obviously LIV versus PGA Tour and all that kind of stuff," 2018 Masters champion Reed said.

"But really the majors, that's all the guys that come in, top players in the world are going and playing against each other, no matter where they come from.

"It doesn't matter what tour they're on or anything; it's the top guys going and trying to play for one of the most coveted events in the world.

"For us, at least for myself, it's going to be business as usual going out and playing. Would I like to have LIV be up at the top? Of course.

"But really at the end of the day, it's all of us going in there and just trying to play the best golf we can and be ready for the four biggest weeks of the year."

Watson, a two-time Masters victor, echoed Reed's sentiment as the American reiterated the only issues between players are coming from media speculation.

"It's only awkward in the media," Watson said. "I've talked to people that are going to be there. I'm going to sign up with Jason Day and Cam Young in the par-three and some guys have already asked me to play some practice rounds.

"The media is the only one that is pushing it. I have nothing against anybody. If you change jobs, I'm not mad at you."

Koepka was another big-name superstar LIV managed to secure from the PGA and the four-time major winner says it would be a "big statement" for whoever wins in Georgia, regardless of allegiances.

"Anytime you win the Masters, it's going to be a big boost off the golf course for you," Koepka said. "I don't care who you are. Look at anybody that's won it, I guarantee they would say the same thing.

"I can't speak for what would happen because I don't know the future, but I'm assuming that would be a massive, massive boost for any team, player, individual, whatever, it doesn't matter what it is, it's going to be a big boost.

"Anytime you win The Masters or The Open, that's usually a pretty big statement."

Rory McIlroy is taking "tons of positives" from his performance at the WGC Match Play and feels his game is in good shape heading into next month's Masters.

The world number two finished third at Austin Country Club on Sunday after winning six out of his seven matches.

McIlroy suffered disappointment in his semi-final with Cameron Young, however, as he lost from two up with three to play as the contest went to a play-off.

Despite that collapse, and a chance to face eventual winner Sam Burns in the final, the Northern Irishman is pleased with his form heading into the opening major of the year.

"There are tons of positives to take away," he said. "If you had told me I would make it to the Sunday of the Match Play last week I would have taken that.

"I am maybe going to go up [to Augusta National] for a day and mess around. I went last week but don't think there is any harm in going up again and then it's about practice.

"I don't think there is tons to do. I think my game is in really good shape so just keep it ticking over, work on the shots I need for Augusta and away we go."

McIlroy, who defeated Scottie Scheffler to finish third, will now turn focus to landing victory at Augusta and becoming the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam.

He has landed seven top-10 finishes, but last year's second place is the closest McIlroy has come to adding to his PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship titles.

"I'm excited about how things are now compared to this time a couple weeks ago," McIlroy added. "I drove the ball a lot better this week and I felt pretty good with the putter.

"For the first week out I thought both ends of the bag worked pretty well. I don't think anything is in bad shape. I'll keep it ticking over and work on the shots I need for Augusta."

Sam Burns wiped the floor with Cameron Young to win the WGC Match Play final 6-5 on Sunday for his fifth PGA Tour victory.

Burns, who has all five of his wins since May 2021, first had to navigate his semi-final match-up against world number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who was trying to become the first player to ever reach the final of this event in three straight seasons.

It looked like Burns' day from the jump as he flew out to a 3up lead through three holes, but Scheffler came roaring back by winning the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth and 10th to carry a 2up lead of his own into the back-nine.

The seesawing contest saw Burns take the 13th and 15th to tie it up, and he pulled ahead with a birdie on 17, before Scheffler responded with a birdie on 18 to take it to extra holes.

Both players birdied the first extra hole and both banked pars on the second, before Burns punched his ticket to the final with a birdie on the third sudden-death hole.

The bracket was set up for Scheffler and Rory McIlroy to meet, and they did, but only for the third-place play-off after McIlroy also fell in a sudden-death loss to Young.

Young needed to win the 18th hole to tie things up, and he did so with a birdie, which he followed with a birdie on the extra hole to advance.

Burns made sure the final was far less competitive, dropping eight birdies over the course of 10 holes to race away to a dominant victory.

In the third-place playoff, McIlroy took the lead on the first hole and maintained the advantage throughout, and when Scheffler birdied the 12th to try and tie things up, McIlroy responded with an eagle to instead go 2up and take the 2-1 win.

Matt Wallace finally made his PGA Tour breakthrough on Sunday after surging to the top of the leaderboard and securing the Corales Puntacana Championship.

Wallace had threatened to become a winner on the tour for years, with a T7 finish earlier this month at the Valspar Championship marking his fifth season in a row with at least one top 10.

He was one of the form players in the world back in 2018, winning four European Tour events over the course of 17 months, and he parlayed that form into a top-three finish at the PGA Championship and a top-12 result at the U.S. Open in his next start.

The Englishman had actually endured a rocky start to this season, making just two of his previous eight cuts heading into the event in the Dominican Republic, but he excelled at the picturesque Puntacana Resort's Corales Golf Course.

Wallace posted rounds of 67, 66 and 70 before closing with a six-under 66, rattling off four birdies in a row starting on the 13th hole to go from two behind to two ahead. In the process he tied for Sunday's round of the day, finishing with a winning score of 19 under.

Impressive 22-year-old Danish talent Nicolai Hojgaard finished alone in second place at 18 under, birdieing the 17th to pull to within one, before missing a birdie putt on the last hole that would have forced a playoff. American duo Sam Stevens and Tyler Duncan rounded out the top three, tied at 17 under.

The win means Wallace will leap up from 108th in the FedEx Cup standings into the top 50, while Wyndham Clark rose to 35th with his solo sixth finish, and Belgium's Thomas Detry's tie for eighth dropped him from 28th to 30th.

Nicolai Hojgaard and Sam Stevens are tied for the lead at 14 under after three rounds of the Corales Puntacana Championship, although it is wide open going into Sunday.

Only two players shot better than Hojgaard's six-under 66 on Saturday, and it came after a terrific 65 on Friday as the 22-year-old two-time European Tour winner looks to break through.

Stevens, 26, is also winless on the PGA Tour, and he blew an opportunity to head into the final round in the outright lead as he bogeyed the 18th.

There is a four-man chasing group on their tail at 13 under, with Americans Wyndham Clark and Tyler Duncan joined by Belgium's Thomas Detry and England's Matt Wallace.

Detry's seven-under 65 was tied for the round of the day with France's Martin Trainer, who used it to fly up into the top-10, now tied for seventh at 12 under.

The 2018 champion at this event Brice Garnett is alone in 10th at 10 under, and last year's runner-up Ben Martin is one further back at nine under.

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are one win away from meeting in the WGC Match Play final after both advancing into the last four on Saturday.

In the first of four elimination rounds among the 16 group winners, Scheffler was matched up with J.T. Poston, and after trailing throughout the back-nine he won both the 17th and 18th to sneak by with a 1up victory.

He would meet the in-form Jason Day for a spot in the semi-finals after Day took a 1up win over Matt Kuchar, and after Day went 3up on the front-nine, Scheffler won five of the next eight holes to secure a 2 and 1 win.

Meanwhile, McIlroy started his day with a 2up triumph over Lucas Herbert, leading all the way, and he followed it with a hard-fought 1up win against Xander Schauffele, where he did not take his first lead until the final hole.

Scheffler will meet Sam Burns in the final four after Burns upset Patrick Cantlay 2 and 1, and then proved too good for Mackenzie Hughes in a 3 and 2 result.

McIlroy will have to navigate the challenge of Cameron Young to reach the final after his dominant 5 and 4 win over 2021 champion Billy Horschel, following it up with a 1up result against recent Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Kurt Kitayama.

With one more win Scheffler can become the first player in the history of the event – dating back to 1999 – to reach the final in three consecutive seasons, after winning in 2022 and finishing runner-up in 2021.

Jon Rahm was the major casualty from the WGC Match Play on Friday as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay all advanced with perfect records.

The Spanish second seed was dumped out after losing 5 and 4 to 2021 WGC Match Play winner Billy Horschel in their final Group 2 match at the Austin Country Club in Texas.

Horschel went 1-up with a par on the second hole and never relinquished the lead, with Rahm failing to register a birdie throughout the day's play.

The 36-year-old American pulled away with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes followed by a 21-foot birdie putt on the 14th to clinch a spot in the round of 16 against Cameron Young.

Horschel progressed in a tight group with a 2-0-1 record ahead of Rickie Fowler (2-1-0), Rahm (1-2-0) and Keith Mitchell (0-2-1).

Top seed and reigning champion Scheffler advanced after beating Tom Kim 3 and 2 to round out a 3-0-0 group stage record.

Kim came out strong with birdies on the first two holes to go 2-up, but Scheffler rallied back immediately winning three of the next four holes.

Third seed McIlroy topped Group 3 unblemished after beating Keegan Bradley 3 and 2, while fourth seed Cantlay beat Brian Harman 2 and 1 to top Group 4 with a 3-0-0 record.

Kurt Kitayama won a three-way sudden death playoff over Tony Finau and Adrian Meronk to progress atop Group 10.

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes produced an upset to advance via Group 12 from Taylor Montgomery who he beat 6 and 4. Jordan Spieth, who beat Hughes on Thursday, missed out after losing to Shane Lowry 2 and 1.

J.J. Spaun also pulled off a surprise by topping Group 11 with a 3-0-0 record, downing Min Woo Lee 2 and 1 to seal his progress.

Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, Andrew Putnam, Matt Kuchar, Sam Burns, Lucas Herbert, J.T. Poston, Jason Day and Young also all progressed into Saturday's last 16 knockout stage.

Englishman Matt Wallace leads the Corales Puntacana Championship by one stroke at the halfway point ahead of American pair Sam Stevens and Wyndham Clark.

Wallace, who was third after the first day, carded a second-round six-under-par 66 on Friday to be 11-under overall at the picturesque Puntacana Resort's Corales Golf Course in the Dominican Republic.

The 32-year-old Englishman has never won a PGA Tour event but has a golden opportunity with most of the world's top-ranked players competing at the WGC Match Play.

Wallace's second round was bogey free, carding birdies in four of his final six holes to claim the lead, with early leaders Brice Garnett and Ben Martin scoring 70 and 72 to slip down the leaderboard.

Stevens and Clark are 10-under overall, with the former managing eight birdies with one bogey in his seven-under round.

Clark also carded a seven-under 65, including an eagle on the par-five fourth hole to help launch his surge up the leaderboard.

Tyler Duncan, Akshay Bhatia, Nicolaj Hojgaard and Garnett, who won the event in 2018, are all tied for fourth at eight-under overall. Bhatia carded the best round of the day, with a nine-under 63.

With most of the world's top-ranked players at the WGC Match Play, Brice Garnett and Ben Martin lead the way after Thursday's opening round of the Corales Puntacana Championship.

Played in the Dominican Republic at the picturesque Puntacana Resort's Corales Golf Course, Martin and Garnett both shot bogey-free 66s to sit atop the leaderboard at six under.

While neither player has won a PGA Tour event since at least 2018, they both have a strong history at this event. Garnett's sole win on the tour came here in 2018, while Martin – whose only win came in 2014 – finished runner-up in Punta Cana last season.

Alone in third place is England's Matt Wallace at five under, and he is the only non-American in the top nine as Max McGreevy and Dylan Wu highlight the logjam at four under.

France's Martin Trainer and South Africa's Erik van Rooyen are part of the group tied for 10th at three under, with Belgium's Thomas Detry one further back at two under.

South American talents Emiliano Grillo of Argentina and Colombia's Camillo Villegas are at one under, while the Dominican Republic's own Juan Jose Guerra has a chance to make his first cut on the PGA Tour, sitting tied for 58th at one over.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler got off to a great start at the WGC Match Play, remaining perfect through his first two round-robin matchups after defeating Alex Noren on Thursday.

Scheffler, the world number one, has shown a great affinity for the match play format, finishing runner-up to Billy Horschel in 2021 before knocking off Kevin Kisner in last season's final.

After sneaking past Davis Riley to open his week, Scheffler put his foot down against Noren, draining six birdies over the course of eight holes to run away with it.

Scheffler will advance as the winner of Group 1 with a win or tie against Tom Kim on Friday, while Rory McIlroy also has one foot in the knockout stage after his win against Denny McCarthy, with only Keegan Bradley standing in the way of the Northern Irishman completing a perfect Group 3 sweep.

Max Homa is sitting pretty as the only 2-0-0 competitor in Group 5 after getting the better of three-time finalist Kevin Kisner, meaning he will face Hideki Matsuyama for a chance to seal his path into the last-16.

Tony Finau moved to 2-0-0 in Group 2 with a convincing triumph over Adrian Meronk, while Jason Day beat Victor Perez to take a 2-0-0 record into his tantalising Group 9 clash against the 1-0-1 Collin Morikawa. The loser will be heading home.

Group 2 is up for grabs as Jon Rahm (1-1-0) needs to defeat Horschel (1-0-1) to give himself and Rickie Fowler (1-1-0) a chance to advance, while Jordan Spieth blew a late lead to hand control over Group 12 to Taylor Montgomery.

Xander Schauffele, J.T Poston, Kim Si-woo, Sam Burns, Cameron Young, Andrew Putnam, J.J. Spaun and Lucas Herbert are all unbeaten heading into Friday's final round of group play.

Rory McIlroy supports the controversial proposals that would see new golf balls introduced to tackle ever-increasing driving distances.

The R&A and United States Golf Association (USGA) last week proposed a "Model Local Rule" that would allow organisers and tournaments the option to use a modified ball that reduces hitting distance by approximately 15 yards.

The move was first mooted in 2020 as a way of decreasing the distance modern tour professionals hit the ball amid fears golf courses will soon not be long enough to provide a suitable test in elite competitions. 

The proposals have been met with widespread criticism from manufacturers and players alike, with Justin Thomas last week describing the move as "so bad for the game of golf."

However, four-time major champion McIlroy, who is currently playing at the World Golf Championships Match Play in Texas, is not so angry. 

Speaking to No Laying Up, he said: "For elite-level play, I really like it. I really do.

"I know that's a really unpopular opinion amongst my peers, but I think it's going to help identify who the best players are a bit easier. Especially in this era of parity that we've been living in these past couple of decades.

"Selfishly, I think it helps me. I think this is only going to help the better player. It might help the longer player too, in some ways but I think it's going to help the overall professional game. 

"I think making guys hit some long irons again, and some mid irons, and being able to hit every club in your bag in a round of golf.… I can't remember the last time when I've had to do that. 

"I don't know if this change in the ball will make us do that, but it certainly is a step closer to that."

Martin Slumbers and Mike Whan, the heads of the respective organisations, confirmed the rule would not be implemented until 2026 but would then be introduced for their elite events – the Open Championship and the U.S. Open.

There is no obligation for the PGA Tour to adopt the rules, but McIlroy suggested he might still consider using a rolled-back ball in regular-season events to better prepare for the majors. 

"Honestly, for me, the major championships are the biggest deal, so if the PGA Tour doesn't implement it, I might still play the Model Local Rule ball, because I know that'll give me the best chance and the best preparation leading into the major championships," he added. 

"And again, this is personal preference and personal opinion at this stage of my career. I know that I'm going to be defined by the amount of major championships that I hopefully will win from now until the end of my career. And that's the most important thing for me.

"If that gives me the best chance to succeed at the major championships and feel as prepared as I possibly can be, then that's what I would do."

Taylor Moore is now a winner on the PGA Tour after shooting a terrific four-under 67 on Sunday to finish atop the Valspar Championship leaderboard.

Moore, 29, is in his second full season on the tour. After four top-10s last time around, and three consecutive top-15 finishes at the recent Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Phoenix Open, he now has his first victory.

However, he needed some help from the final pairing, as co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Adam Schenk both failed to hold on down the stretch.

Moore's 67 was tied for the second-best score of the day, carding birdies on the 12th, 15th and 16th to pull into a tie for the lead on 10 under when he finished his round.

As he stayed warm on the practice range, Spieth found the water and bogeyed the 16th to fall one behind, but he gave himself a birdie putt on the last hole to potentially force a playoff. 

Meanwhile, Schenk was tied for the lead on 18, but a poor drive landed right at the base of a tree, meaning the righty had to scramble it back into the fairway left-handed.

Spieth had the first putt to try and join Moore at 10 under but raced it past, subsequently missing the comebacker to drop down to a tie for third.

Schenk went up next for par to earn a spot in a two-man playoff, but his putt cannoned into the lip of the hole and stayed out.

England's Tommy Fleetwood finished tied with Spieth in third at eight under, and there was a two-stroke gap back to Wyndham Clark alone in fifth at six under.

Adam Schenk remains atop the standings at the Valspar Championships after three rounds but Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood are both within striking distance one stroke behind.

The 31-year-old American, who has never won on the PGA Tour, was joint-leader after the first round and outright leader at the halfway mark, maintaining that through the third day in windy conditions on Saturday at the Copperhead Course in Florida.

Schenk carded a third-round one-under 70 that included two bogeys and three birdies. The American birdied the par-five 18th after hitting his approach within five feet to re-claim his lead, sitting eight under after three rounds.

Spieth had an eventful round that started with an eagle on the par-five first hole, but finished with a bogey on the 18th.

The 29-year-old American missed a five-foot par putt on the seventh, along with a seven-foot par putt on the 10th, while he managed birdie on the 11th after a bunker shot and had a three-putt bogey on the 13th.

The three-time major winner's two-under 69 round included an eagle, five birdies and five bogeys, having led by two strokes at one stage.

Former US Open and Open Championship runner-up Fleetwood also carded a two-under 69 to be seven-under overall. The Englishman's round was more routine compared to Spieth, with 16 pars and two birdies.

Webb Simpson, Taylor Moore and Cody Gribble are all tied at six-under overall, while Patton Kizzire made the major move up the leaderboard with a four-under 67 to be five-under overall.

Kizzire moved up 19 places overall for the round, enjoying a bogey-free round with four birdies. Justin Thomas dropped down the leaderboard after a one-over 72 to be two-under overall.

Adam Schenk stood alone atop the leaderboard at seven under through two rounds at the Valspar Championship, with major champions Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas both in the hunt.

Schenk, a 31-year-old American who has never won on the PGA Tour, was tied for the first-round lead after starting his week with a five-under 66. He followed it up with a 69 on Friday, collecting four birdies to go with two bogeys to earn the outright lead heading into the weekend.

Kramer Hickok was the only player one back at six under, shooting a pair of 68s, while some big names were breathing down his neck at the Innisbrook resort in Florida.

Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth (70) sat tied for third at five under, joined by fellow top-30 ranked talent Tommy Fleetwood (69), as well as Cody Gribble (65) and Davis Riley (68).

Spieth spoke positively of his round but found the windy conditions challenging.

He said: "I drove the ball maybe the best of the year today. Gave myself a lot of chances with some wedges. There's a lot of back pins and I just got a little tentative for a few holes.

"Then I decided to attack one on 10 and flew the green. I couldn't quite get my distance control down on some scoring clubs. But when the wind here is gusty like that and the green depths are so small, it gets really, really tricky and doesn't take much. Keep driving the ball like that, I feel like I can fine-tune some of the scoring clubs and maybe get a few more looks."

England's Matt Wallace (67) and Germany's Stephan Jaeger (72) featured in the five-man group rounding out the top 10 at four under, while two-time major champion Justin Thomas headlined the logjam at three under, still well in the mix after a 70.

After a horror quintuple-bogey nine during his first round, reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick was unable to recover and make the cut, missing out by two strokes at three over after a level-par 71.