Jason Day will head into the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship as a strong favourite after extending his first-round lead to three strokes in Friday's action.

After posting a 63 in much friendlier Thursday conditions, Day was solid again, birdieing two of his first three holes, and was four under through 13. 

After a bogey on 14 and 17, he ended his day on the right foot with a birdie on 18 for a three-under 67, sitting at 10 under through two rounds.

Day, who has not won a PGA Tour event since 2018, told the media after stepping off the 18th green that he is excited to be back in this position after previously spending 51 weeks as the world number one before a number of injuries.

"I'm looking forward to it – it's nice to be back in the mix, nice to be leading," he said. "It's still two more days left, so I can't get too far ahead of myself.

"I mean, not many times you see this hair (after being forced to play without a hat due to the rain), but hopefully this weather can kind of go away and we can have hats on for the weekend.

"When you have conditions like this, it's really hard to commit to a shot because you're going in there and you're doing it kind of a lot quicker than your normal pre-shot routine.

"You have to force yourself to hit the shot and trust that."

Max Homa has a hold of outright second at seven under after posting a 66 – tied for the second-best round of the day. Also shooting 66 was Luke List, who drove the green on the par-four 14th hole to putt in for eagle, flying up the leaderboard into a tie for third at six under.

One shot further back at five under is a small group highlighted by Keegan Bradley, who had the round of the day with seven birdies and two bogeys for his 65.

A strong international contingent is in a tie for 10th at four under, with English duo Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick, as well as India's Anirban Lahiri and Slovakia's Rory Sabbatini.

Abraham Ancer is part of the group at three under, while some big names are a further shot back, including Tony Finau, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Camilo Villegas.

Rory McIlroy, Corey Conners and Matt Kuchar will live to see the weekend after finishing right on the cut line at even par, while Aaron Rai was not so lucky, going from a bogey-free 65 on Thursday to a birdie-free 76, missing the cut at one over.

Also missing the cut was Charl Schwartzel, Francesco Molinari, Marc Leishman and Webb Simpson.

Sergio Garcia appeared to suggest he is ready to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series – the Super Golf League – in a moment of frustration at the Wells Fargo Championship.

The former Masters champion was handed a penalty by a PGA Tour referee during Thursday's first round for taking too long looking for a lost ball at the 10th hole.

A statement later clarified the referee was not aware much of Garcia's time was spent trying to access the other side of a creek where he had been told the ball landed.

This "inadvertent error" meant the time clock was not paused as it should have been, although Garcia's score was not altered following the clarification.

The Spaniard was informed of this decision, but he had already made his anger clear.

Television coverage showed Garcia ranting: "I can't wait to leave this tour. I can't wait to get out of here.

"Just a couple more weeks and I don't have to deal with you any more."

Those comments seemingly confirmed Garcia's decision to head to LIV Golf, which begins its breakaway league in London next month.

Garcia reportedly refused to speak to reporters and clarify his comments following his three-under 67.

A chip-in on the 15th hole propelled Jason Day to the outright lead on his way to a seven-under 63 in the opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship.

After a solid front nine, where he birdied three of his first five holes, it was an action-packed second nine. He birdied 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16, with his sole bogey coming on the 13th.

Only posting three top-10 finishes from 22 events last season – with a best result of tied-seventh – Day is already in search of his third top-10 result this season in his 11th event, seemingly rediscovering some of the form that has seen him spend 51 weeks as the world number one.

Speaking to the media after stepping off the 18th green, Day was careful to not get ahead of himself, but emphasised his focus on creativity as opposed to just technique.

"I'm obviously, I think, a long way away from being that confident in myself in regards to my game," he said.

"But I feel like [with what I've worked on with my swing] I'm a little bit more creative on the golf course, because at some point you have to get out of the technical aspect and go more creative.

"I feel like things are progressing nicely, and I just have to keep my head down and keep going.

"It is actually very encouraging [to be healthy and confident in his body] because typically if I play well, then people ask me how my back is, and that's probably not something you want to always constantly want to be talking about.

"I've done a lot of work, and been very diligent and disciplined in my approach to staying healthy. I get hiccups every now and then, but for the most part – touch wood – I've been really good."

There was a spectacular start to the day for American Joel Dahmen, who was six under through eight holes, including four consecutive birdies starting on the fifth, before cooling off and finishing at six under for outright second.

One shot further back in the group tied for third were England's Aaron Rai and Callum Tarren, who had just one bogey between them.

Rickie Fowler highlighted the next group at four under after coming back from one over through eight holes, with four birdies, one eagle and one bogey in the last 10. 

Fowler sat one stroke ahead of a logjam at three under, which included defending champion Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Max Homa and Matt Kuchar, with England's Matt Fitzpatrick and India's Anirban Lahiri at two under.

Lee Westwood confirmed he has requested to be released by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in order to play in the inaugural event of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational series.

Speculation around a breakaway association in golf started gathering a head of steam in 2019 but did not attain mainstream attention until last year, with former world number one Greg Norman appointed the CEO of LIV Golf in October.

LIV Golf is financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and owns the Super Golf League (SGL) trademark.

While the idea of the SGL was referred to as "dead in the water" by Rory McIlroy in February after he, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and several other high-profile players committed themselves to the PGA Tour, preparations for LIV Golf's series continued to press ahead.

No longer considered a "league", the series will consist of seven regular-season events and then a season-ending championship. A maximum of 48 players will make up 12 teams of four, with drafts set to determine the make-up of those groupings.

Regular events will play without a cut and a $20million (£16m) purse, plus an additional $5m (£4m) split between the best three teams, while the finale tournament is set to have €30m (£24m) up for grabs, plus $50m (£40m) in team prizes.

Westwood revealed in February he signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding the competition and on Wednesday confirmed he has asked the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to allow him to compete – starting with next month's inaugural event at Centurion Club in London – despite previous threats to blacklist so-called rebels.

"I've asked for a release from the PGA Tour and European Tour for the Centurion like many others have," Westwood told reporters at The Belfry ahead of the British Masters.

"I've asked for releases for tournaments for as long as I've been on tour. It's not the first release I've asked for. I've asked for many. Not heard anything back yet. Ball is in the European Tour's court and the PGA Tour's court for that matter."

Quizzed on the controversy around the event, Westwood continued: "This is my job. I do this for money. It's not the only reason, but if anybody comes along and gives any of us a chance at a pay rise, then you have to seriously consider it.

"It's being portrayed as an 'us and them', whereas the people from LIV Golf, all the reports I've seen, have said that they want to stand side-by-side.

"They are not going up against any of the really massive tournaments. They want everybody to be able to play, have options. They are not forcing anybody's hand, so I believe."

One of the main criticisms of the LIV Golf series relates to its financial backing by the PIF of Saudi Arabia, a country routinely decried for its poor human rights record.

Saudi Arabia's increasing investment in major sporting events is, according to Amnesty International, an example of "sportswashing" – using sport to improve a tarnished reputation.

While other sports have also received significant flak for Saudi involvement, Westwood thinks golf is being unfairly targeted.

He told Sky Sports: "We've played European Tour in Saudi Arabia and I've had releases from the PGA Tour to say I can play in Saudi Arabia, so it has been no problem to them in previous years.

"Formula One raced there. Newcastle United are owned partly by people from Saudi Arabia. There has been boxing there and I think there has been snooker and darts there as well.

"Golf's not the first sport to have links with Saudi Arabia, but it seems to be coming under more scrutiny than anyone else. Whether you think that's right or not is the individual's opinion.

"I think Saudi Arabia obviously know they've got issues. I think lots of countries around the world have got issues and I think they're trying to improve. They're trying to do it through sport, which a lot of places, a lot of countries do.

"I think they're doing it a lot quicker than some countries have tried to do it and that maybe worries or scares people. People don't like change do they, they like continuity and things to stay the same."

Phil Mickelson's controversial comments that emerged in February led to a collection of leading PGA Tour stars pulling out of the Super Golf League – now officially called the LIV Golf Invitational Series – according to CEO Greg Norman.

Mickelson is the biggest name to have signed up to the Saudi Arabian-backed breakaway league, which begins in London next month.

But Mickelson "hurt" LIV Golf, Norman says, when he gave an interview in November that was reported earlier this year just as the series planned to launch.

Mickelson said Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights" but added he was willing to commit to the league as it was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates".

The new league had already been widely criticised by several of Mickelson's fellow stars, and further big names – including some reportedly targeted by LIV Golf – denounced it in the days that followed.

Although the league is now ready to start in June, LIV Golf chief Norman has revealed the damage done by Mickelson's comments.

"There's no question it hurt," Norman, a two-time winner of The Open, told ESPN. "It hurt a lot of aspects.

"It hurt the PGA Tour. It hurt us. It hurt the game of golf. It hurt Phil. So, yeah, across all fronts. It wasn't just specifically to us. But it definitely created negative momentum against us.

"Quite honestly, we were ready to launch on the Tuesday or Wednesday of Genesis. We had enough players in our strength of field, or minimal viable product, ready to come on board.

"And when all of that happened, everybody got the jitters, and the PGA Tour threatened people with lifetime bans and stuff like that."

Norman added some players "gave back their money and got out", but Mickelson has requested a release from the PGA Tour to play in London, having last appeared at the Saudi International on the Asian Tour prior to the publication of his interview.

"[Mickelson] is always going to have an open door," Norman added. "It's going to be his decision, his decision only.

"He's got a few things he has to work out himself, obviously, with the PGA Tour and where he wants to go with them and how he wants to go with them.

"I can't read Phil's mind because I haven't spoken with him.

"From our perspective, I'm always going to be consistent in that I respect Phil. I respect what he's done for the game of golf, and he's always going to have an open door to any golf tournament he wants to go play as far as I'm concerned."

Jon Rahm said his Sunday round with Tiger Woods at the Masters hammered home the lessons he needed to win the Mexico Open.

World number two Rahm shot all four rounds in the 60s, holding on down the stretch at 17 under to win by one stroke ahead of the fast-finishing duo of Tony Finau and Brandon Wu, who both shot 63 on Sunday.

The win was the Spaniard's first since the 2021 U.S. Open, with second place in January's Sentry Tournament of Champions and a tie for third in the Farmers Insurance Open his best results this season.

Speaking to the media after his triumph, Rahm highlighted lessons he took from playing his final round at Augusta National last month with Woods, who made a remarkable turn to elite-level golf at the major.

"I think that Sunday with Tiger at Augusta gave me quite a bit of confidence," Rahm told a news conference. "I was a little bit technical in my approach – a little too technical. 

"I'm a feel player, and that Sunday I told myself 'just go out there and hit the golf ball'. Make shots, make the swings you want to make, see the ball flight and execute. 

"I shot a three under, not having my best stuff, on a tough day, so I applied the same thing this week."

Rahm also touched on his desire to have a win at Vidanta, after a number of close calls at Chapultepec for the WGC-Mexico Championship, and how the game has grown in the country.

"I was close to winning at Chapultapec a couple times – I had a chance – but I didn't quite get it done," he said. "I knew I could get it done. I came this week wanting to [get a win in Mexico]. 

"I've spoken at length about the importance of Seve [Ballesteros] and his impact on the game of golf and how I play because of him. 

"Nowadays we have a much bigger reach, the PGA Tour has become a bigger tour, and with social media, we're worldwide stars, bigger than they were in the past. 

"I feel like I can make some impact in Mexico as well, and Mexico deserves a good event. You can even see golf growing in Mexico as well.  It's a true honour to be able to come here in this first edition of the event to be the champion."

World number two Jon Rahm scored a two-under 69 on Sunday to hold on for a one-shot victory at the Mexico Open.

Rahm's last win came at the US Open in 2021 at Torrey Pines, and it showed as the 27-year-old pumped his fist after holing his par putt on the 18th at the Vidanta course.

There was a sense of relief for the Spaniard, with only one tournament win out of seven times on the PGA Tour where he came into the final day with at least a share of the lead.

With scores of 64, 66, 68 and 69 over the four days, Rahm kept it steady after setting the initial marker after 18 holes, but he still had to deliver when it counted.

After bogeying the par-four 10th for the third consecutive day, there was a four-way tie for the lead as Rahm came to the 14th hole.

He eventually birdied for the third consecutive day on the 14th, despite leaving himself with a tricky left-to-right putt for the up-and-down.

Not dropping a shot for the rest of round, Rahm finished a stroke clear on 17-under for the tournament, ahead of Kurt Kitayama, as well as the fast-finishing Tony Finau and Brandon Wu.

Finau and Wu both posted scores of 63 on the final day in Vidanta, both scoring eagles on respective par fives on the 14th and sixth holes.

Finau's last win came in a playoff against Cameron Smith at The Northern Trust in 2021, and after going five-under from the final six holes, it seemed like another playoff could be on the cards.

Rahm kept his nerve however, and held on for his seventh tournament win on the PGA Tour.

In doing so, he overtook Jose Maria Olazabal (six) for the third-most Tour wins by a Spaniard.

World number two Jon Rahm maintained his two-stroke lead at the Mexican Open coming into the final round, shooting a three-under 68 in Vallarta on Saturday.

After opening the back nine with a bogey on the par-four 10th hole for the second consecutive round, Rahm recovered with two birdies on the final two par fives, to finish on 15-under after 54 holes.

The 27-year-old has steadied after opening at the Vidanta course with a bogey-free round of seven-under, and has played some measured golf over the opening three rounds, despite not capitalising on opportunities.

He had two eagle chances on the par-five sixth and par-four seventh and settled for birdies and after driving into the water on the 10th, missed a short birdie chance on the par-five 12th.

A precise up-and-down on the 14th gave the Spaniard some momentum, before closing with another birdie on the 18th.

With his last win on the PGA Tour coming at the US Open at Torrey Pines in 2021, final rounds have provided some trouble for Rahm, converting only once out of the seven times he has at least held a share of the lead coming into the final day.

Kurt Kitayama will be hoping to take advantage after shooting a five-under 66 on Saturday, to put him two strokes back in second along with Cameron Champ.

Kitayama scorched the front nine with three birdies and an eagle on the seventh, but also bogeyed on the 10th hole after an errant tee shot.

He bounced right back with a birdie on the par-three 11th to eventually finish on 13-under after 54 holes.

There is a three-way tie for third a further stroke back, with Nate Lashley, Patrick Rodgers and Davis Riley locked on 12-under.

World number two Jon Rahm showed his class at the Mexico Open on Friday, claiming the outright lead after round two at 12 under.

Rahm was the joint-leader after a bogey-free first round, and kept that momentum going with another eight birdies the second time around, although they did come with three bogeys.

Two shots back at 10 under is Alex Smalley, who shot an incredible 30 on the front-nine thanks to birdies on two, six and seven, and an eagle on the par-four third hole. He finished with a second-round 66, one stroke off the round of the day.

A small group at nine under is in a tie for third, including Patrick Reed, Cameron Champ and Adam Long, who also all shot 66.

The next logjam at eight under includes Davis Riley, who was one of four players to shoot Friday's best score of 65 – along with Martin Trainer, Emiliano Grillo and Doug Ghim, with that trio all at five under after posting 72s in the opening round.

Also at eight under is Kurt Kitayama and Jonathan Byrd, who shared the first-round lead with Rahm, but could only manage 70s to now sit four strokes off the Spaniard.

A strong international contingent sits at six under in a tie for 18th, featuring England's Matt Wallace, India's Anirban Lahiri, Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Japan's Satoshi Kodaira.

Kevin Na is one shot further back at five under, along with the leader of the Mexican contingent, Alvaro Ortiz, who birdied five of the first seven holes, but a double bogey on eight and two more bogeys on 10 and 13 wiped out a lot of his good work.

The higher-ranked players in the field, such as Cameron Tringale (four under), Tony Finau (three under) and Abraham Ancer (two under) will live to see the weekend as the cut-line landed on two under.

Camillo Villegas, Adam Schenk and Scott Gutschewski were disappointing, missing the cut after solid first rounds in the 60s, with all three of them posting second rounds of at least two over.

Tournament favourite Jon Rahm is joint-leader of the Mexico Open, posting a seven-under 64 in Thursday's first round.

Rahm, ranked number two in the world, went bogey-free in his round, with six birdies and an eagle on the par-four seventh hole.

He is in a five-way tie atop the leaderboard with Americans Jonathan Byrd, Trey Mullinax, Bryson Nimmer and Brendon Todd.

Speaking with the media after stepping off the 18th green, Rahm highlighted his success with the driver, finding the fairway with 12 of his 13 long-balls.

"When I feel at my best, I’m pretty much comfortable hitting driver anywhere," he said

"It was one of those rounds where it felt like everything clicked together. Short game was good, had a chip-in, putting was good and tee to green was fantastic… probably as solid a round as I played all year."

While he enjoyed his round, Rahm spoke about how the conditions changed towards the end of his day, and how it could play far tougher the rest of the weekend.

"Although I went into a little dry spell, I didn’t care about it so much because it is not the easiest golf course," he said.

"The one thing to keep in mind for people watching the scores – there’s a big difference between morning and afternoon (conditions). We had no wind for 13, 14 holes – it’s very, very scoreable. 

"Once the wind starts going 20, 30 miles an hour, this golf course starts showing some teeth."

England's Aaron Rai is one shot further back, along with Sahith Theegala, Aaron Wise and Scott Brown, trailed by a large group at five under, highlighted by Colombia's Sebastian Munoz.

Cameron Champ and Patrick Reed are one more shot back at four under, while Alvaro Ortiz is the highest placed of the Mexican contingent at three under, ahead of Armando Favela and Carlos Ortiz, who both shot 70.

In-form Davis Riley finished at two under, while Tony Finau and Cameron Tringale had disappointing days at even par, with the latter bogeying both the 17th and 18th to finish his round.

The field for the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club has been released, and it features both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

The full field will be set on May 9 and includes the top 70 players who have earned the most PGA Championship points through the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship (May 4-8) and the top-20 finishers from the 2022 PGA Professional Championship.

After Woods' successful return to professional golf at The Masters, where he made the cut, discussion has been rife about when he would next tee up in a tour event.

He will be competing against all of the biggest names in golf, including potentially the reigning PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson after he registered for the event, as well as the U.S. Open.

Mickelson recently missed his first Masters since 1994 after taking a break from golf due to controversy surrounding his links to the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf competition, a breakaway from the PGA Tour.

In the 2021 PGA Championship, Mickelson won with a score of six under.

Phil Mickelson has requested a release from the PGA Tour in order to feature in the inaugural LIV Golf opener.

The Saudi Arabia-backed golf league will hold its first event in London between June 9 and 11.

According to Sports Illustrated, 15 of the world's current top 100 players are planning to feature in the event.

Mickelson is taking a break from golf after causing controversy with comments surrounding the breakaway competition when he suggested that although Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights", the threat of the potential new tournaments could be used to "reshape how the PGA Tour operates". 

On Monday, Mickelson registered himself for two upcoming majors – the PGA Championship, which he won last year, and the U.S. Open, which takes place in June.

However, the 51-year-old has also asked to be released from the PGA Tour at the time of the LVI Golf Invitational, with Monday having been the deadline for those requests.

Mickelson's agent, Steve Loy, released a widely reported statement that read: "Our client Phil Mickelson is officially registered to play in the PGA Championship as well as the U.S. Open.

"We have also filed a request on his behalf for a release to play in the first LIV Golf Invitational in London, June 9-11. This request complies with the deadline of April 25 set forth by the PGA Tour to compete in a conflicting tour event."

However, Loy added that Mickelson is unsure as to whether he will definitely play in any of the events he has registered for.

"Phil currently has no concrete plans on when and where he will play. Any actions taken are in no way a reflection of a final decision made, but rather to keep all options open."

Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a tournament-record score of 29 under.

It was an incredible week for the duo, setting the course-record 59 in Thursday's four-ball format, and nearly matching it on Saturday with a 60, while also performing strongly in the alternate shot style in rounds two and four.

They also became the first team to win the tournament in wire-to-wire fashion, leading after all four rounds, and setting the record for best score at each interval.

Sunday was the toughest of the four days for the winners, after back-to-back bogeys on nine and 10 cancelled out their eagle on seven, with a birdie on 11 and a bogey on 18 capping off an even-par finish.

Speaking to the media after stepping off the 18th green, Schauffele expressed his excitement at winning alongside such a close friend.

"It's awesome – I said it earlier this week, if there's any success that I could share with someone, it would be Pat, so I'm happy we could get it done," he said.

"I'm not sure [how we broke all the records], we just plodded along. Today was the worst of our four quarters, but Pat was very calm, which helped me stay calm. 

"It's been a while since I've been in some sort of contention here, so I think it was just overall calmness and patience."

Cantlay added: "We had a lot of fun both on and off the golf course, and we're really happy to get it done. We definitely bring out the best in each other, and we really enjoy being out here together."

Sam Burns and Billy Horschel finished outright second, two strokes behind the leaders, but three strokes clear of third place with a score of 27 under that equalled the previous tournament record.

The pairing of Doc Redman and Sam Ryder finished outright third at 24 under, and with a 67 on Sunday, they were one of two teams – along with Burns and Horschel – to shoot four rounds in the 60s.

Davis Riley and Will Zalatoris posted the round of the day with a bogey-free 66, finishing with birdies on 17 and 18 to jump up into a tie for fourth at 23 under.

Joining Riley and Zalatoris at 23 under were the groups of Keegan Bradley with Brendan Steele, Harold Varner III with Bubba Watson, Taylor Moore with Matthew NeSmith, Garrick Higgo with Brandan Grace, and Aaron Rai with David Lipsky.

Reigning Masters champion and the season's points leader Scottie Scheffler finished at 18 under with partner Ryan Palmer, while The Players champion Cameron Smith was 17 under with compatriot Marc Leishman.

Father-son pairing Jay Haas and Bill Haas shot an even-par 72 to finish even or better in all four rounds as Jay became the oldest player to ever make a PGA Tour cut at 68 years old.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are on track to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, closing the third round of play with a five-stroke lead.

After a record opening-round score of 59 in the first day of four-ball play on Thursday, the Presidents and Ryder Cup teammates scorched the back nine at TPC Louisiana with eight birdies to finish with a 12-under 60 for the day.

The two lead the field at an extraordinary 29-under after three rounds, with the South African duo of Garrick Higgo and Branden Grace five strokes back in second, improving on a solid second day to put themselves in the frame from Presidents Cup selection this year.

The pair will be seeking to go one better than their countrymen Louis Ooosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who finished second at TPC Louisiana last year to Australian pair Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman.

Another Australian pair looking to work their way into calculations for Quail Hollow in September are Jason Day and Jason Scrivener, who improved on scores of 65 over the opening two rounds with a nine-under 63 on Saturday, birdieing the final four holes to sit on 23-under.

They're joined by the team of Aaron Rai and David Lipsky, along with Sam Burns and Billy Horschel, who bounced back from a bogey on the par-three ninth to close the back nine with five birdies.

Cantlay and Schauffele have been the stars of the weekend, however.

After blitzing the 54-hole record, only a catastrophic final round of alternate play would deny the reigning FedEx Cup and Olympic champions from smashing Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown's 72-hole record of 27-under.

Closing out on Sunday would make for maiden PGA Tour win this season for both Schaffele and Cantlay, with the latter coming into this weekend off a playoff loss to Jordan Spieth at the RBC Heritage.

Though Schauffele claimed the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year, his last tour win came in 2019.