Cameron Smith continued his strong start to the Memorial Tournament on Friday, sitting alone atop the leaderboard on eight under after being one of three players to shoot under 70 on back-to-back days.

The Australian was in a six-way tie for the lead after round one, and pushed on well his second time around, finishing with just one bogey – on the sixth hole – which was sandwiched by birdies on the fifth and seventh.

Smith then birdied the par-five 11th, and the par-three 12th, showing his impressive touch over long and short distances, but where he really made his money was around the greens.

According to Data Golf, Smith had negative strokes-gained off the tee and with his approach shots in round two, but was second overall in strokes-gained around the greens (plus 3.55), trailing only Beau Hossler (plus 4.25). They gapped the field, with nobody else gaining more than plus 2.83 in that shot category.

Sitting one stroke off the lead is American Denny McCarthy and South Korea's Lee Kyoung-hoon, while one stroke further back at six under are round one's joint-leaders Davis Riley, Cameron Young and Luke List, along with Jhonattan Vegas and Billy Horschel.

McCarthy and Vegas joined Smith as the only players to shoot sub-70 in the opening two rounds.

Rory McIlroy headlines the group at five under in a tie for ninth, along with Francesco Molinari, still well within striking distance heading into the weekend.

A strong international group is at four under, including Canada's Mackenzie Hughes, Chile's Joaquin Niemann and South Korea's Im Sung-jae, and they are one stroke ahead of Ireland's Shane Lowry, Mexico's Abraham Ancer and American Will Zalatoris.

Jon Rahm and Corey Conners will still feel like they have a chance at two under, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele finished well inside the cut-line at one under, and Jordan Spieth shot a disappointing 74 on Friday to take an even par score into the weekend.

England's Aaron Rai – who was number one in strokes-gained off the tee on Friday – along with Australian Adam Scott finished right on the cut-line, making it through at two over, but Matt Fitzpatrick (three over) and Collin Morikawa (four over) were not so lucky.

American Mina Harigae is the outright leader after the first round of the U.S. Women's Open with a seven-under 64, but she was arguably outshone by Swedish amateur Ingrid Lindblad.

Harigae had nine birdies with two bogeys – becoming the sixth player to shoot 64 in tournament history – but leads by just one stroke from Lindblad, who shot the best score by an amateur in U.S. Women's Open history with her 65.

Lindblad was spectacular, particularly on the front-nine, where she birdied the first three holes, as well as the eigthth and ninth, before finally registering her only bogey of the round on the 10th. She responded to that adversity in fine fashion, collecting birdies on 12 and 13.

The chasing pack sits two back from Lindblad, with Swedish compatriot Anna Nordqvist tied at four under with Australia's Minjee Lee and America's Ryann O'Toole.

Keeping with the Swedish theme, Lindblad was partnered with legendary three-time U.S. Women's Open champion Annika Sorenstam, who gave the 22-year-old some glowing praise after their round.

"She's authentic," she said. "She's got a special look, but she's a fearless player.

"She's confident in her own game. I know she doesn't shy away from the limelight that maybe I did as a young girl."

American duo Lexi Thompson and Ally Ewing are tied for sixth at three under, and there is an 11-woman logjam sitting inside the top-10, tied for eighth at two under.

World number three Cameron Smith headlines a six-way tie atop the Memorial Tournament leaderboard after Thursday's first round at Muirfield Village.

Smith is joined by American trio Luke List, Cameron Young and Davis Riley, as well as Canada's Mackenzie Hughes and South Korea's Lee Kyoung-hoon.

It is the largest leading group after the first round in tournament history, but they all got to their five-under 67 in different ways. 

Young finished the day second in average driving distance (316.8 yards), behind only Jon Rahm, while Lee, Hughes and Smith finished top-six in putts-per-green-in-regulation.

List was the only member of the leading group to finish with less than two bogeys, and Riley played an all-round game; top-15 in driving distance while being dialled in with his putter down the back-nine, going five-under from the 11th hole to the 17th.

US PGA Championship runner-up Will Zalatoris is part of the three-man group one stroke off the lead, while Max Homa and Canada's Corey Conners are in the logjam at three under.

A star-studded group finished with a two-under 70, including Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Im Sung-jae, while Chile's Joaquin Neimann is with Collin Morikawa and Jason Day at one under.

Patrick Cantlay and Rahm were even-par, Mito Pereira will need a solid second round to make the cut after a one-over finish, and Hideki Matsuyama was handed his first career disqualification for using a wood with paint on its face – deemed illegal. He was three over at the time of the incident.

Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified from the Memorial Tournament midway through his first round on Thursday after breaching PGA Tour equipment regulations – the first disqualification of his career.

The 2021 Masters champion had just finished the ninth hole of a thus-far disappointing outing in Ohio, and would have made the turn at three-over after making three early bogeys. 

But Matsuyama, who won his first PGA Tour title at the 2014 edition of the tournament, was informed on the 10th tee that markings on the face of his three-wood breached equipment regulations.

Images showed what appeared to be white paint on the club face, which he used throughout his short outing on the course, leading chief referee Steve Rintoul to describe the club as "non-conforming".

Rintoul grouped with other officials to deem the three-wood in breach of equipment rule 4.1a, which states "a substance or any treatment can't be applied to the face of a club which could influence the flight of the ball, the spin, the loft or anything on the ball, how the ball performs".

The 30-year-old, who had never previously been disqualified in his nine-year professional career, refused to comment after being barred from completing his round.

Matsuyama tied for 14th in his unsuccessful defence of hi Masters title, having recovered from a neck injury to feature in Augusta, and will look to bounce back at the Canadian Open, which starts next Tuesday.

English golfer Eddie Pepperell claims stars who sign up for the LIV Golf Invitational Series are making it obvious "what money means to you".

Former world top-50 star Pepperell says many players are taking "a big risk" by aligning themselves with the series that is being funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Former U.S. Open and Masters champion Dustin Johnson, 37, is among the 42 confirmed entrants for the first event, which will be held at Centurion Club near London from June 9-11.

Sergio Garcia, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Charl Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood are also set to feature in a tournament that will have 12 teams and 48 players.

There have been claims of the event being an attempt at sportswashing, and while Pepperell did not level that accusation, he suggested a lust for money had to be the prime motivation for players who have gone against the wishes of the PGA Tour and European Tour by agreeing to take part.

"From a ROI [return on investment] perspective, the field for the first LIV event is awful," Pepperell wrote on Twitter. "Obviously they're banking on that changing over time. You have to wonder how long they'll keep pouring that amount of money into this if that change doesn't come quickly.

"Plus, deteriorating financial conditions across the world may have an impact. Nobody will be impervious to what we're seeing and what we'll continue to see economically into the next 18 months.

"The players who have signed up should be upfront and honest about their reasons to do so. And it has to be the money. There's nothing wrong with chasing money or higher salaries, people do it across all industries.

"It's somewhat understandable from the older guys… But to those under 35/40 who have signed up, you have taken a big risk. And it shows to the rest of us (peers included) how little commitment you have to your respective Tours (who have done a lot for you), and ultimately what money means to you."

The inaugural tournament clashes with the Canadian Open on the PGA Tour, an event at which Johnson is a previous winner.

Rory McIlroy described the Canada event and this week's Memorial Tournament as "proper golf tournaments" on Wednesday, as he reflected on the LIV Series line-up.

"I certainly don't think the field is anything to jump up and down about," McIlroy said of the Centurion Club tournament.

Northern Irishman McIlroy has tempered his comments on the LIV Series in recent months, having previously been robust in his opposition.

He understands its appeal to some, but has been quite clear he will not be taking part.

"Some guys are in a position where they are not guaranteed a job next year. It's hard to stay in the top 125, especially when you're in your 40s and maybe don't hit the ball as far as you've used to. As we've seen, it's a young man's game nowadays," McIlroy said.

"So if another entity comes along and says, 'we'll guarantee you this amount for three years', plus you're playing for a ton more prize money, you're playing fewer events and you can spend more time with your family it's very appealing to some of those guys that are in that position."

Phil Mickelson had long been linked with the LIV Series, but the 51-year-old has not played since apologising for comments made about the Saudi Arabia regime and has not been included on next week's start list. The American said in February he was taking a break from golf and did not defend his US PGA Championship last month.

Dustin Johnson is among the 42 confirmed entrants for the first event of the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series but Phil Mickelson's name was not among the participants for the Saudi-funded competition.

Two-time major winner Johnson is the highest-profile name in three-day event, which will be held at Centurion Club near London from June 9-11.

Sergio Garcia, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Charl Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood are also set to feature in a tournament that will have 12 teams and 48 players.

Johnson's name is perhaps the most surprising, with the former world number one having gone back-and-forth over his participation and issued a statement back in February pledging his future to the PGA Tour.

On Tuesday, his agent David Winkle released a statement quoted by ESPN that read: "Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years.

"Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family's best interest to pursue it. Dustin has never had an issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him, but in the end, felt this was too compelling to pass up."

Mickelson had long been linked with the event, but the 51-year-old has not played since apologising for comments made about the Saudi Arabia regime. The American said in February he was taking a break from golf and did not defend his US PGA Championship last month.

The series has courted plenty of controversy due to the fact it is being funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, leading to claims of sportswashing.

The inaugural tournament clashes with the Canadian Open on the PGA Tour, an event of which Johnson is a previous winner.

Sam Burns drained a putt from off the green to win the Charles Schwab Challenge in a playoff against world number one Scottie Scheffler.

Despite making no birdies on Sunday, Scheffler was in contention all day after entering the day in the outright lead, but had to battle with the difficult conditions later in the day to post a 72.

Burns was in much better touch, and had the benefit of getting his 18 holes out of the way earlier before the wind picked up, notching a 65 for the round of the day. 

He was one shot back from a four-way tie at 10 under when he finished his tournament at nine under, and he had to wait two hours to find out – first if the field would come back to him – and then if Scheffler could hold on for the playoff.

Scheffler needed to save a number of tough pars down the back nine, including out of the bunker on the 18th hole to force the playoff, which he did by sinking a clutch five-footer.

In the playoff, after a pair of solid drives, Scheffler found the green a long way from the hole, while Burns put his approach just off the back of the putting surface. Approaching three hours since his last putt, Burns drained an incredible tournament-winner, with Scheffler not able to match him from distance.

Speaking to the media after securing the win, Burns said it was a hard-fought result.

"I think, just with the conditions today, and how tough it was playing, I'm just so proud of the way we hung in there," he said.

"I just played such a good round of golf today, and [caddie] Travis [Perkins] did a good job of keeping us in it, especially after hitting a foul ball at 12 which killed our momentum. Hitting that putt – that's just icing on the cake."

It is 11 years since Burns attended Colonial Country Club in person to witness David Toms win the Crowne Plaza Invitational, and he said it is hard to believe he is a champion at the same course.

"I don't know if I would've believed you – I remember that week like it was yesterday," he said.

"To finish it off here, and have [Toms'] family here… to add my name on that list now is really cool."

Scheffler's playing partner Brendon Todd finished one stroke outside the playoff, alone in third at eight under, while American trio Tony Finau, Davis Riley and Scott Stallings collected top-five finishes, tied for fourth at seven under. Finau and Burns were the only two players to shoot 67 or better in the final two rounds as the conditions worsened throughout the weekend.

A strong group rounded out the top-10, with pre-tournament favourite Jordan Spieth and US PGA Championship main character Mito Pereira headlining the five-man bunching in a tie for seventh at five under,

Spieth, Riley and Im Sung-jae – who was part of the logjam at three under – were the only three players to shoot 70 or better in all four rounds.

Norway's Victor Hovland was one of two players to finish at two under, while New Zealand's Danny Lee tied Burns for the round of the day, with his Sunday 65 bringing him to one under for the tournament.

Harold Varner III was part of the four-way tie for the lead at 10 under through 11 holes, but went triple-bogey, double-bogey, triple-bogey over his next three holes to plunge down the leaderboard and finish at even par.

Talor Gooch and Webb Simpson joined him at even par, Tommy Fleetwood finished at one over, and Collin Morikawa never shot worse than 71, but never shot better than 70 to finish two over.

Victor Perez secured his second DP World Tour title and first since 2019 after defeating Ryan Fox in a dramatic play-off at the Dutch Open.

Perez and Matt Wallace, searching for a first tour-level victory since 2018, sat one shot clear of a four-man chasing pack heading into the final day at Bernardus Golf.

Wallace subsequently fell away from the lead as he carded a level-par 72 to finish on 10-under, as Fox and Perez jostled for top spot.

Australian Fox, who started the day one off the lead, birdied four holes and eagled the par-five 12th but recorded a double-bogey on the 18th hole, opening the door for Perez to send the competition to a play-off.

Perez duly obliged by producing a wonderful long-range putt to birdie the par-three 17th, but was only able to par the final hole to conclude on 13-under, leaving a one-hole shoot-out to decide the winner.

The pair could not be separated on their first three returns to the 18th tee, the designated play-off hole, both producing birdies either side of a par before being sent to the 17th to settle the tie.

Perez then delivered another magnificent birdie putt and Fox could only make a three, leaving the Frenchman ecstatic after finally claiming victory.

"There was a fair amount of fortune, I've got to be honest with myself, holing out those long putts in the play-off," said Perez, who moved to 24th in the DP World Tour Rankings with the win.

"I just tried to focus on me all day, that's all I can do, is try to keep a champion mindset and hit good shot after good shot.

"The chips were going to fall where they were going to fall, it's almost impossible to predict what is going to happen in golf: guys come out of nowhere and win tournaments and guys take huge leads.

"You just have to focus on you and not look at the board and I was just fortunate to fall on the right side today."

Meanwhile, Poland's Adrian Meronk ended in third after managing 68 in the fourth round to finish 12-under, with Germany's Marchel Schneider one shot behind in fourth.

Sebastian Soderberg was part of the initial chasing pack but, on a low-scoring day, his one-under 71 only proved enough to share fifth place with Wallace.

Scottie Scheffler leads the Charles Schwab Challenge by two strokes coming into the final round, shooting a two-under 68 in Saturday's third round.

The world number one sits at 11-under coming into the final 18 holes at Colonial, after facing tricky conditions with intense heat and heavy wind gusts.

After posting bogey-free rounds on Thursday and Friday, Scheffler almost made it three rounds in a row but three-putted the par-four 17th for bogey.

He bounced right back with a long birdie putt on the 18th to close out the round on two-under, leading Brendon Todd and Scott Stallings on nine-under.

After missing the cut last weekend at the US PGA Championship, his first cut since his season start in October, the Masters champion could win his fifth PGA Tour title on Sunday.

Those five wins would come from a phenomenal 10 starts, after taking out the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in February, and would emulate Tom Watson's 1980 feat of five wins before the start of June.

Harold Varner III is in the running for his maiden PGA Tour victory, sitting a further stroke back from Todd and Stallings on eight-under after three rounds, also shooting a two-under 68 on Saturday.

John Huh, Cam Davis, Chris Kirk and Patrick Reed share a four-way tie for fourth on seven-under.

Also shooting a third-round score of 68 was Mito Pereira, finishing strong with three birdies over the closing five holes, including a long 15-metre putt to secure a birdie on the 18th.

Pereira is coming off his dramatic collapse on the final hole at the PGA Championship last weekend, missing the playoff between Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris.

Both Thomas and Zalatoris have gone on from that performance at Southern Hills to miss the cut this weekend in Fort Worth.

World number one Scottie Scheffler remained in a tie for the lead after his second consecutive bogey-free round at the Charles Schwab Challenge, going one stroke better than his Thursday 66 to sit at nine under.

Scheffler's 65 was one shot off the round of the day, and he did it with back-to-back birdies on holes one and two, before also making gains at 10, 12 and 17 down the back nine.

Fellow round one leader Beau Hossler matched Scheffler again – but after two eagles on par-fours in his first round, he did it in much more traditional fashion this time around, also going bogey-free with five birdies.

Joining that pair atop the leaderboard was Scott Stallings, one of two players to shoot Friday's best score of 64, along with New Zealand's Danny Lee, who improved to sit six off the lead after a 73 on Thursday.

Speaking to Golf Channel after stepping off the 18th green, Scheffler said improvements he has made this season are paying off after traditionally struggling at Colonial Country Club.

"I've worked really hard, just creating a lot of different shots for myself," he said.

"This golf course is a lot about the approach play, and at first it didn't suit my eye, but I've really changed and improved my iron play and created a lot of different shots for myself, and it looks like the hard work is paying off here.

"I think I like it when the conditions are really hard, I'd rather it be very difficult than very easy.

"I feel like it's one of those things where if you're playing really good golf you can kind of extend yourself, so I'm excited for the challenges this weekend."

Patrick Reed sat one stroke back from the lead, alone at eight under after his second 66 of the week, with fellow Americans Pat Perez and Chris Kirk rounding out the top five at seven under.

Next came a five-man group at six under consisting of Americans Max McGreevy, Harold Varner III and Davis Riley, with Australian Cam Davis and Norway's Viktor Hovland.

Pre-tournament favourite Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson and John Huh stood at five under, while Mito Pereira headlined the logjam at four under, still in the mix after his capitulation at the US PGA Championship last weekend.

Max Homa finished three strokes inside the cut line at two under, while Tony Finau and Rickie Fowler were at one under, and Im Sung-jae was one inside the line at even par.

Collin Morikawa and Talor Gooch made the weekend on the number, finishing at one over, while the US PGA Championship playoff pairing of Will Zalatoris and Justin Thomas were both at three over, out of the hunt this time.

World number one Scottie Scheffler was part of an eight-man group atop the leaderboard after the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, played at Colonial Country Club in Texas.

Scheffler, who shot a bogey-free 66 despite only hitting 50 per cent of the fairways in regulation, was joined by fellow Americans Harold Varner III, Chris Kirk, Beau Hossler, Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson, as well as Canadian Nick Taylor and Australian Cam Davis.

Hossler produced the most notable round, with two eagles – both coming on par-fours – in his last four holes to fly up the leaderboard.

One shot off the lead were a group including Davis Riley and Kevin Na, while pre-tournament favourite Jordan Spieth was back at one under, tied with Victor Hovland and Max Homa.

Spieth, who is from Texas, has an impeccable record at Colonial, with seven top-10 finishes – including three runners-up and a win – from nine starts on the PGA Tour.

Speaking to the media after finishing his round, Spieth said he is battling his putter at the moment but that he is confident things will turn in his favour.

"I think I'm typically more comfortable with reads here, although today here was totally different, I misread a number of putts today," he said.

"But I stroked it beautifully, I just felt great about the way I putted, I just didn't get much to go.

"Those are the kind of rounds where you can either look at it negatively, or you can say at it like 'hey, that lid is going to come off one of these times, and all of a sudden they're all going to pour in'.

"It's done that for me [previously] at Colonial, so I think that's the attitude I'm going to take."

At even par were a strong international group including Chile's US PGA Championship main character Mito Pereira, Colombia's Sebastian Munoz, England's Ian Poulter, American Collin Morikawa and the South Korean duo of Lee Kyoung-hoon and Im Sung-jae.

PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas was at one over, while his playoff opponent last week Will Zalatoris was a shot further back at two over.

Michelle Wie West, the teenage prodigy who went on to win the U.S. Women's Open, has announced she intends to step away from the LPGA Tour.

The Hawaii-born player, who burst onto the scene as a 10-year-old when she qualified for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, will play just two more competitive events.

Wie West, who gave birth to her first child in 2020, is now 32 and has only played once on the LPGA Tour this year, at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January.

She will play the U.S. Women's Open next week and also next year, but that may be it for her as a professional golfer.

"Excited to announce the next phase of my career as I'll be stepping back from playing on the @lpga_tour full time," Wie said on Instagram on Thursday. "I'm so grateful for the past 14 years I spent on tour, travelling the world and competing against the best in the game.

"Excited to spend more time now on projects that I always wanted to do but never had time for and to continually work to help golf become a more diverse and inclusive space."

She will work with Nike on golf projects and could yet one day make a playing return, but for now Wie West is done with the grind of the tour.

"I don't have any regrets because I feel like I've always learned from every mistake that I've made," Wie West told Golfweek.

"I feel like even if it was a huge major fail, at least it makes for a good story now. I think if I hadn't won the U.S. Open, I'd still be out there competing week to week trying to get that U.S. Open win."

She said she felt "very happy in my decision".

Tipped to be the Tiger Woods of the LPGA Tour as a teenager, Wie West was a record breaker during school, setting a series of impressive benchmarks and raising the profile of the women's game.

At 14, she carded the lowest score ever by a woman competing on the PGA Tour with a 68 at the Sony Open, and turned professional just before her 16th birthday.

Injuries hampered her progress despite a slew of major sponsorships, but she fought back in 2014 to claim her only major, in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst.

Wie West won four other LPGA events during her career, most recently the HSBC Women's World Championship in 2018.

Despite stepping away from the tour, she has refused to call it a retirement, adding: "I'm definitely not ruling anything out."

Rory McIlroy reflected on the US PGA Championship as "one that got away" after he failed to capitalise on a great start at Southern Hills.

McIlroy led the second major of the year after carding a five-under 65 in his first round last Thursday.

That proved to be a false dawn, as the Northern Irishman followed that up with a 71 in his second round and went in the wrong direction on moving day when he shot a 74.

McIlroy finished with a 68 to take eighth place in Tulsa, where Justin Thomas beat Will Zalatoris in a play-off to take the title.

It is eight years since McIlroy won the last of his four majors and he knows he missed a golden opportunity in Oklahoma.

"Regrets? Yeah I regret I didn't take advantage of the benign conditions on Friday afternoon," McIlroy said in a conference call to promote the new GolfNow Compete App.

"I regret the big numbers I made on the par threes on Saturday. The fact that I just needed to play the last 13 holes in one-under par to make a play-off on Sunday, and I didn't.

"So, yeah, I definitely feel like it was one that got away. But, again, I have to take the positives – and the fact that eighth place in a major is absolutely the worst I feel I could’ve finished last week."

The world number eight, runner-up in The Masters last month, is pleased with the progress he has made over the last year.

"The first two majors of last year, I missed the cut at Augusta and I finished like 50th at the PGA," he said.

"I just have to stay as patient as possible. I know that if I keep playing the golf that I'm playing the chances are going to present themselves and I'm going to give myself a few more chances this year, not just to win majors but to win golf tournaments in general."

McIlroy has not spoken to Dr Bob Rotella about his performance at the US PGA, but says his mental coach has been in touch.

"He sent me a nice text on Sunday night," he said.

"There's a lot to be positive about where my golf game is now compared to where it was last year, it's miles ahead of that. I feel like the consistency is back in my golf game that really hasn't been there.

"I feel like this year is very similar to 2019, when I had one of my best years ever and won four times, and I was PGA Tour Player of the Year."

McIlroy will play in the Memorial, the RBC Canadian Open, the Travelers and the U.S. Open. He will then miss the Irish Open and play in the JP McManus Pro-Am prior to The Open at St Andrews, which starts on July 10.

Bryson DeChambeau has withdrawn from this week's Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas with a lingering wrist injury.

The 28-year-old has slipped down to number 22 in the world rankings after an injury-plagued first half to the year.

He has not played since missing the cut at the Masters in mid-April and undergoing surgery on his wrist a few days later.

A return to action at last week's US PGA Championship looked likely, only for him to pull out of the second major of 2022 after taking part in a practice round on the eve of the tournament.

DeChambeau's comeback has now been delayed further as he still does not feel ready to compete to the best of his abilities.

"I'm definitely close but don't have the endurance for four full days yet. Getting there. Taking a bit of time to make sure it's fully healed," he wrote in a text to Golfweek.

DeChambeau previously missed around two months earlier in the season through hip and wrist injuries and has missed the cut in three of his past four starts this year.

Oshae Haye and Jodi Munn-Barrow headed into Monday’s final day the leaders of the three-day Jamaica Golf Association's National Amateur Golf Championship being played at the Sandals Golf & Country Club in St. Ann.