Through 36 holes at the World Wide Technologies Championship at Mayakoba, Russell Henley has 16 birdies and zero bogeys to sit three strokes clear of the chasing field at 16 under.

Henley closed his opening round with six birdies on the back-nine to seal a 63, and his second time around El Camaleon Golf Club he evenly split his birdies with four on the front and four on the back.

The 33-year-old American has three PGA Tour victories to his name, but none since the 2017 Shell Houston Open. 

Tied for second at 13 under is American duo Sam Ryder and Will Gordon, while compatriot Patton Kizzire is the only player in fourth at 12 under.

Sweden's David Lingmerth is the top international talent, alone in fifth at 11 under, and one further back in a tie for sixth is Harry Higgs, who shot Friday's round-of-the-day with his 62 – including an eagle on the par-four third hole.

Matt Kuchar headlines the group tied for ninth at nine under, while some big names are at eight under, eight strokes off the lead.

Reigning back-to-back champion at this event Viktor Hovland is at that number, and he is joined by Collin Morikawa, Francesco Molinari, Davis Riley and Matthias Schwab.

Last week's winner at the Bermuda Championship, Seamus Power, is at seven under, while world number two Scottie Scheffler is with former Masters champion Danny Willett at six under, and former world number one Jason Day is one stroke inside the cut-line at five under.

The biggest name to miss the cut was world number 14 Tony Finau, who bogeyed the 18th hole to lose his right to play on the weekend.

Will Gordon shot four straight birdies on his way to holding a one-stroke lead from Russell Henley on the opening day at the PGA World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on Thursday.

Gordon, who lost his PGA Tour card in his rookie season two years ago, shot a nine-under-par 62 including an eagle on the par-five fifth hole at El Camaleon Golf Club in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Henley is eight under, having also peeled off four consecutive birdies from the 10th to the 13th holes, while he finished his round with two more birdies to edge into second behind Gordon.

Scott Piercy, Francesco Molinari, Harris English and Sam Ryder are all one further stroke behind at seven under.

Viktor Hovland, who is chasing a third straight Mayakoba crown, is six under alongside Scottie Scheffler, who is hoping to re-claim the world number one ranking from Rory McIlroy.

The two-time Mayakoba champion started with two bogeys in his first eight holes, but rallied with four birdies before an eagle firmly put him in contention. Scheffler had less drama in his bogey-free round, with five birdies.

Another former Mayakoba winner, Matt Kuchar, put together four straight birdies from the fourth to the seventh holes, but is five under with two bogeys stalling his progress.

One of the pre-tournament favourites, two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, struggled with four bogeys for an opening-day even-par 71 to be nine shots off the pace.

Tony Finau is three under, fighting back with four birdies on a bogey-free back nine after a triple bogey on the second hole.

Rory McIlroy could not have scripted a better start to his latest PGA Tour season.

The Northern Irishman, making his 2022-23 debut at the CJ Cup in South Carolina, carded four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine to claim his third win of the calendar year. The victory moved him back to number one in the world for the ninth time in his career, but the first time since July 2020.

"I've worked so hard over the last 12 months to get myself back to this place," he said afterward. "I feel like I'm enjoying the game as much as I ever have. I absolutely love the game of golf and I think that when I go out there and I play with that joy, it's definitely showed over these last 12 months. Yeah, it feels awesome."

The 33-year-old, who captured the Tour Championship in August, became the first FedExCup champion to open his season with a win since Tiger Woods did it at the 2007 Buick Invitational. He also became the fifth player since 1983 to successfully defend a title on a different course and joined Woods as the only player in Tour history to do it multiple times (McIlroy won the 2019 and 2022 RBC Canadian Opens at two different locations, while the CJ Cup moved this year to Congaree Golf Club from The Summit Club in Las Vegas).

As always, McIlroy used his prodigious skill set with the driver to power his way to victory. He averaged 323 yards off the tee at Congaree, marking the fourth-longest average by a winner in the ShotLink era. It was the 31st time of McIlroy's storied career where he has led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, the most of any player since 2020.

Tom Kim chugs along

Tom Kim shocked the golf world when he burst on the scene at the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship in August, when the youthful Korean came out of nowhere to shoot a final-round 61 and claim the regular-season finale.

The Korean would not be surprising anyone this year, though, especially after his breakout performance at the Presidents Cup. And yet there he was just a few weeks later, surprising everyone once again as he held up another trophy, this time at the Shriners Children's Open.

At 20 years, three months and 18 days old, Kim became the second-youngest player to win two PGA Tour events on the all-time list, behind only Ralph Guldahl, who won his second event in 1932 at 20 years, two months and 10 days.

Now trailing Kim on that list as a who's who of world-class players and Hall of Famers – Gene Sarazen, Horton Smith, Tom Creavy, John McDermott and some guy named Tiger Woods (he won his second event at 20 years, nine months and 20 days).

"Golf on the PGA Tour is really hard. It's really hard to win tournaments," said Kim, who also became the fastest Korean to multiple wins, taking just 18 starts. "You can't expect everything in life. I've just got to keep working hard on my game. I'm very fortunate to win twice on Tour and to be even out here. I think the mindset is for me I've just got to keep working hard and be grateful for what things come along."

Kim certainly makes the game look easy, despite what he may suggest. He became the first player since J.T. Poston in 2019 to go bogey-free in a tournament and win and was only the third to do it all-time (Lee Trevino first accomplished the feat in 1974). He hit 87.5 percent of his greens in regulation – the best mark by a Shriners winner since 2008 – and was a perfect 100 per cent in scrambling for the week.

Canadian Hughes nabs second win

But Kim was not the only player in October to card the second win of his PGA Tour career, as Canadian Mackenzie Hughes survived in the first play-off of the season to win the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The 31-year-old poured in an 8-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to outlast Sepp Straka, notching his first victory since winning the RSM Classic six years ago. As the sun set over Mississippi, Hughes had to convert six critical putts over his final seven holes – four of them for par – before ultimately outlasting Straka.

"I kept telling myself the whole week that I was going to do it. That was the only thing I saw in my mind," Hughes said. "Those par saves down the stretch, I was just trying to will the ball into the hole."

It seemed to work. Hughes finished with a 91.67 scrambling percentage, the highest mark of his career and best since winning the aforementioned RSM Classic, where he finished with an 85 scrambling percentage (that was good for second at that event). His +2.31 average in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green was also the second-best average of his career, behind last year's RSM Classic, where he finished second after carding a +3.14 average.

"The second [win] felt harder because I've had to wait a lot longer for it," he said. "The first one came in my fifth tournament as a PGA Tour member. I felt like, 'Oh, man, this is going to be easy, I'm going to be able to rack up a few of these,' and it's been six years since I did that.

"It's been unbelievable. I didn't need the validation, but it's nice to be a two-time winner instead of a one-time winner and help to add to that tally."

Dustin Johnson capped off a huge year by pipping Cameron Smith to clinch victory for the all-American 4 Aces GF at the LIV Golf Miami Team Championship on Sunday.

Johnson nailed a routine final putt of the season to cue the celebrations for his team, featuring Patrick Reed, Lalor Gooch and Pat Perez whom all had solid rounds in Sunday's Championship.

The Aces were crowned the inaugural LIV Golf team champions at Trump National Doral by one shot ahead of Cameron Smith's Punch GC, with Brooks Koepka's Smash GC and Louis Oosthuizen's Stinger GC well back.

The triumph capped a money-spinning season for two-time major winner Johnson, finishing with more than $35 million in earnings.

"It's been amazing," Johnson said. "This week's been incredible. This whole season has gotten better and better and obviously this finale has been unbelievable."

Among the four Aces players, they scored a combined seven-under 281 in the singles stroke-play on Sunday, with Johnson, Reed and Perez all finishing two-under-par, while Gooch was one under, having started the round with three birdies in his first for holes.

Johnson's team edged out Punch for whom Smith carded a round-best seven-under-par 65 with eight birdies. That was offset by Marc Leishman's 74, Wade Ormsby's 73 and Matt Jones' 70 as Punch combined for a six-under 282.

Smith, who won this year's Players' Championship before joining the LIV Tour, went head-to-head with Johnson.

Smash finished 11 strokes behind with a combined four-over 292, with Jason Kokrak their best with a four-under-par 68.

Stinger were a further six shots behind Smash with a combined 10-over 298, despite one-under rounds from Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, with Branden Grace shooting an 80.

Seamus Power had his worst round of the week on Sunday but he did enough to fend off the challengers and claim the Butterfield Bermuda Championship with a score of 19 under par.

It is the second PGA Tour title of Power's career after the 2021 Barbasol Championship, but it was anything but smooth sailing down the stretch.

Power owned a share of the lead heading into the final round after a trio of 65s, and he was bogey-free with three birdies through 12 holes on Sunday before the nerves began to show.

He posted bogeys on 13, 15 and 16, but a birdie on 17 gave him a two-stroke lead on the final hole, and he needed that buffer as he also bogeyed the last to close with a 70.

Speaking to NBC after stepping off the 18th green, Power called the course "a tale of two sides", and reflected on how different it feels to get his second win.

"I knew it was going to be really hard coming in, and it was," he said. "I made hard work of it in the end, but delighted to get it done.

"It's a completely different feeling [from my first win], but just as special. It's just so hard, I've played a lot of tournaments and it's only my second win from – I don't even know how many events.

"It's amazing, it's special, it's going to take a while to sink in, but absolutely over the moon."

Alone in second place at 18 under was Belgium's Thomas Detry, while the joint-leader heading into Sunday, Ben Griffin, shot a one-over 72 to finish tied for third at 17 under.

Joining Griffin was Taiwan's Kevin Yu and America's Patrick Rodgers, with the latter's 65 tying for Sunday's second-best score.

Two Australians worked their way into the top-10 as Aaron Baddeley finished tied with Denny McCarthy for sixth place at 16 under, while Harrison Endycott was two strokes further back alone in 10th.

Louis Oosthuizen beat Bryson DeChambeau 1up in 23 holes to secure a spot for Stinger GC in the LIV Golf Championship in Miami on Sunday after a 2-1 team semi-finals win on Saturday.

Saturday's semi-finals were match play, with Sunday's Championship to be stroke play, but Oosthuizen and DeChambeau offered plenty of drama in their singles match at Trump National Doral.

With Stinger and the Crushers tied at 1-1, the pair could not be split until the fifth extra hole, with Oosthuizen having a long-range putt for victory fall short on the 18th hole.

But the South African swooped when DeChambeau's tee shot on the fifth extra hole found the water, with Oosthuizen finishing the job.

"At the end I think the adrenaline took over in the last few holes," the South African said. "It was a great match.

"I don’t know how many birdies we made, but very relieved now. I thought the boys had it covered so when I saw Branden [Grace] lost and I'm like 'oh boy I've got to do something here', so very chuffed."

Grace was beaten by Paul Casey in their singles match, but Charl Schwartzel and Hennie du Plessis had won 2up in the alternate shot against Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri.

Dustin Johnson and his 4Aces GC also advanced to Sunday's decider with a 2-1 win over Cleeks GC.

Pat Perez and Talor Gooch held off Graeme McDowell and Richard Bland in extra holes to clinch the winning point.

Cameron Smith's Punch GC knocked off Sergio Garcia's Firebirds GC 2-1, while Brooks Koepka's Smash GC were too good for Majesticks GC 3-0.

Irishman Seamus Power produced the best round of the third day to move into a share of the lead with Ben Griffin at 18-under overall at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Saturday.

The co-leaders' three rounds of 195 is a new tournament record and came in difficult conditions with strong winds at Port Royal Golf Course impacting play.

Power carded a third straight six-under 65, bouncing back from a double bogey on the par-three 13th hole with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to grab the lead at a windy Port Royal Golf Course.

The 35-year-old Irishman had managed four consecutive birdies from the second to fifth holes, before he sunk a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-three 16th and brilliantly escaped an awkward lie on a slope on the par-five 17th.

Griffin, who walked away from golf nearly two years ago before returning last season, carded a five-under-round of 66 on Saturday, also coming unstuck on the 13th with a bogey before returning into the joint lead with a closing birdie after an exquisite approach.

Kevin Yu and Aaron Baddeley are next best, tied two shots behind at 16-under overall, with Brian Gay carding his third successive round of 66 to be alone at 15-under overall.

Greyson Sigg and Thomas Detry are a stroke back at 14 under, while Brent Grant shot into the lead early after six straight birdies early but three bogeys and a double bogey on his back nine saw him card a two-under 69 and be 11-under overall.

Halfway leader Ben Crane shot a two-over 73 to slip six shots off the pace and down the leaderboard at 12-under overall. Crane bogeyed four of five holes from the 13th to the 17th to slide out of contention.

Ben Crane shot Friday's round of the day at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, with his nine-under 62 propelling him to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend at 14 under.

In his second trip around Bermuda's Port Royal Golf Course, Crane collected nine birdies and one eagle with his two bogeys to sit alone atop the leaderboard as the 46-year-old seeks his first PGA Tour win since the 2014 FedEx St Jude Classic.

He is one stroke clear of a five-man group at 13 under, including joint first-round leader Austin Smotherman, as well as rising talent Robby Shelton and Australia's Aaron Baddeley.

A strong international contingent is tied for seventh at 12 under, headlined by Ireland's Seamus Power, and he is joined by Taiwan's Kevin Yu, China's Zecheng Dou and Colombia's Nico Echavarria.

Belgium's Thomas Detry and Argentina's Fabian Gomez are at 11 under, while Harrison Endycott – who was tied with Smotherman for the first-round lead – followed his opening 62 with a disappointing 70 to enter the weekend four strokes off the pace.

Caleb Surratt is the top amateur in the field at seven under after enjoying a strong seven-under 64 in his second round, shaking off the nerves following his 71 on Thursday to sit well inside the projected cut-line.

In the headline matchup from the first day of the LIV Golf Team Championship, Cameron Smith finished 1up against Phil Mickelson to help Punch GC advance past Hy Flyers GC in Friday's quarter-finals.

The format for the Team Championship has the top-four teams automatically advancing to Saturday's semi-finals, while teams five-through-12 battled it out on the opening day.

With teams of four, it meant there would be two one-on-one match play rounds, as well as a two-on-two foursomes played with alternate shot rules, with the team who wins two-out-of-three getting to advance.

For Punch GC, Smith was matched up with Mickelson, and they went onto the 18th hole tied, before Mickelson left the door open with a bogey to finish his round, allowing Smith to secure one win for his team with a par.

Smith's Australian teammate Marc Leishman enjoyed a much more dominant victory, working his way to a 4up lead through seven holes on his way to a 4 and 2 win against J.J. Wolf. Hy Flyers did salvage one point despite getting eliminated, with the duo of Bernd Wiesberger and Cameron Tringale beating Wade Ormsby and Matt Jones 3 and 2.

It was a three-to-zero clean sweep for Majesticks GC, with Ian Poulter beating Kevin Na 4 and 2, Lee Westwood defeating Sihwan Kim 4 and 3, and the team of Sam Horsfield with Henrik Stenson collecting a 4 and 2 victory over Sadom Kaewkanjana and Phachara Khongwatmai.

For Smash GC it was Chase pulling through for the Koepka clan as Brooks Koepka fell convincingly in a 4 and 3 loss to Niblicks GC's Harold Varner III.

But Smash GC will move on to the semi-finals after Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak beat Turk Petit and Hudson Swafford 2 and 1, while Peter Uihlein hammered James Piot 5 and 3.

In the last quarter-final, Cleeks GC booked their semi-final matchup against Dustin Johnson and the top-seeded 4 Aces GC after winning two-out-of-three against Torque GC.

Joaquinn Niemann did all he could for Torque GC, cruising past Shergo Al Kurdi 5 and 3 after Al Kurdi stepped in for Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer, who was a late withdrawal.

But Laurie Canter kept his team in it with a narrow 1up win over Jediah Morgan, before Graeme McDowell and Richard Bland put Torque GC through to the next round with a 2up victory against Scott Vincent and Adrian Otaegui.

The eight remaining teams will compete in the same format in the semi-finals, with Cameron Smith against Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia shaping up as the main event.

About 100 golfers are expected to compete for US$100,000 in prize money when the Jamaica Golf Association’s (JGA) 55th Jamaica Open Golf Championship tees off at Tryall Golf Club from Saturday, November 12-Tuesday, November 15.

This year, the tournament will honour the late Seymour Rose who won the Open in 1977, 1982 and 1987.

“Seymour is really one of the icons of Jamaica’s golf and we don't want to forget him,” said JGA member Gordon Hutchinson at the launch on Wednesday.

“We want to remember him. We want him to be associated with Jamaica Open for a long time.  His name will always be there on the records as a past winner.  Seymour was outstanding because he was such a gentleman, in addition to being a golfer.  He did a lot for young golfers coming up.  He was a very humble person and you can approach him anytime and he would assist you irrespective of who you are.”

Meanwhile, Vice-President of the JGA Dr. Mark Newnham, said the association managed to overcome the challenges associated with the pandemic to make this year’s tournament possible.

"We are just so proud, so excited to host this championship,” he said.

“We struggled a little bit with staging this during Covid.  Our protocols are going to be a little bit more relaxed this time and we couldn't be happier to stage this our 55th event.  The Jamaica Open is our premier event."

With the start less than a month away, Chairman of the organizing committee Peter Chin said everything is going according to plan and they are expecting up to 100 golfers to compete at the tournament.

"We are very happy with where we are now, all the plans are in place, so far so good.  We have sponsorship in place. We have the golf course in place.  We have players who are registering and paid their entry fees,” he said.

“So far we have 65 players and we are hoping to reach to 100 by tournament day.  We are happy that a number of the past winners are coming back; Michael Maguire, who won last year, and Patrick Cover who won the year before.  Both players have graduated to the Korn Ferry tour but they seem to have a liking to the Jamaica Open so they are coming back to play."

The tournament is being sponsored by Aqua Bay, Tourism Enhancement Fund, SDF, Tryall Golf Course, JTL Jamaica Tours Limited, Digicel Business, Jamaica Producers, Rain Forest, Wisynco, Barita and First Rock.

Former United States president Donald Trump was full of praise for LIV Golf after his pro-am round, as he plays host for the controversial tour's end-of-season Team Championship this weekend at Trump National Doral Golf Club.

Trump played with Brooks Koepka and Sergio Garcia on Thursday in yet another appearance on behalf of the Saudi-funded golf venture, having also previously hosted the tour's third-ever event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in July.

He has long had issues with the PGA Tour after a number of events were moved away from Trump-owned golf courses, and he touched on that fact again during his media appearance following his round.

Doral itself used to host a PGA Tour event from 1962 until 2016. Trump purchased the venue in 2012, and after gaining the presidency in 2016, the PGA Tour opted to instead move the event to Mexico.

"[The players] never wanted to go to Mexico, I’ll tell you that," Trump said. "They went and that didn’t work out too well."

He went on to give LIV Golf his stamp of approval, calling the organisers and leadership "really good people", while highlighting their ability for bottomless spending.

"It’s big time, and it’s big-time money – it’s unlimited money," he said. "They love golf, and the Saudis have done a fantastic job. It’s different, the enthusiasm."

Trump predicted more big names would decide to make the jump next season, and blamed the PGA Tour for not working out a compromise.

"Ultimately, I think, maybe, something gets worked out [between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf]," he said.

"Something could have been worked out so easily, but the [PGA] Tour decided to, as Richard Nixon said, stonewall it.

"A lot of other people are coming over. Big names, they’re coming over. The star system is very important in sports. If you don’t have the star system, you’re not going to be successful."

Austin Smotherman and Harrison Endycott shot nine-under 62s in the opening round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Thursday to claim a share of the lead.

America's Smotherman, 28, started like a house on fire, following his opening par with six birdies from his next eight holes. He then finished in similar fashion, with three birdies from his final four holes while going bogey-free.

Australia's Endycott, 26, took a different route to his 62, collecting eagles on the par-five seventh and 17th holes. After starting his back-nine with back-to-back bogeys, he steadied the ship with four consecutive birdies in an action-packed round.

That pairing is one stroke clear of the chasing pack, with India's Arjun Atwal joining Americans Adam Schenk, Scott Brown, Denny McCarthy and Robby Shelton at eight under.

Justin Lower started on the back-nine and had five birdies from his first eight holes on his way to a bogey-free 64 and a tie for eighth, where he is joined by Belgium's Thomas Detry. One further back, Ireland's Seamus Power headlines the group at six under with Australia's Aaron Baddeley, South Africa's M.J. Daffue and China's Zecheng Dou.

Scotland's Russell Knox, Austria's Matthias Schwab and France's Martin Trainer are part of a 25-player group four strokes off the lead at five under.

Kim Seong-hyeon, who entered the tournament as the highest ranked member of the field in the early-season FedEx Cup standings (18th) is well in the mix at four under, and fan-favourite John Daly shot an even-par 71.

Henrik Stenson has emphatically denied suggestions he accepted the Ryder Cup captaincy to gain negotiating power for a more lucrative offer with the LIV Golf International Series.

The 46-year-old was stripped of Team Europe captaincy duties for next September's Ryder Cup after joining the Saudi-backed breakaway league in July.

Stenson won his first LIV Golf event in Bedminster at the start of August, aiming a dig at his dismissal as he stated "I guess we can agree I played like a captain".

As the Swede prepares for the last LIV Golf event of the season in Miami, Stenson refuted reports he had used his Ryder Cup offer to leverage a more financially rewarding offer with his new employers.

"I can give you a 100 per cent honest answer that it was never the case," he told Sportsmail. "I would be willing to take a lie-detector test on that."

Numerous former Ryder Cup captains, including Padraig Harrington and Mark James, concluded Stenson could have no complaints over his captaincy removal, though he insists he does not regret his decision.

"I am happy. I thought that through in more than one afternoon. I am happy with where I am at," he added. "I managed to get a win straight out of the box and I am looking forward to next year.

"I am enjoying being with the guys on this tour. We are playing together, travelling together and it has a different vibe to regular life on tour that I did for many years. That was great. But I am enjoying this.

"I haven't played anything but LIV events since the summer, so I mean going forward I am getting the off-season I have wanted for 16 or 17 years.

"I am looking forward to that – getting strong and healthy in the gym and getting ready for the new season in February. I am happy."

Stenson will play in his final event of the season at Trump National Doral, starting on Friday.

Ian Poutler has refuted Rory McIlroy's claim that players joining the LIV Golf Invitational Series engaged in a "betrayal" of their former Ryder Cup team-mates.

Five players who featured in Europe's comprehensive defeat at last year's Ryder Cup have since joined the controversial breakaway circuit, including Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.

Meanwhile, Henrik Stenson was stripped of Team Europe's captaincy for next year's competition – set to take place at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome – following his own decision to join LIV Golf.

It remains uncertain whether players from the LIV circuit will be able to feature at the 2023 Ryder Cup, and McIlroy has repeatedly insisted they should not. 

Speaking to the Guardian on Tuesday, McIlroy went a step further, saying: "I think it is the first time in my life that I have felt betrayal, in a way. It's an unfamiliar feeling to me. You build bonds with these people through Ryder Cups and other things."

Poulter responded to that statement at a press conference ahead of LIV's next event in Miami, saying: "A betrayal? I mean, we can still qualify for the team, as far as I'm aware, unless we've been told we can't qualify.

"I'm still ready to play as much as I possibly can and try and make that team.

"My commitment to the Ryder Cup, I think goes before me. I don't think that should ever come into question. 

"I've always wanted to play Ryder Cups and play with as much passion as anyone else that I've ever seen play a Ryder Cup, I don't know where those comments really come from, to be honest."

Phil Mickelson – one of the first household names to join LIV Golf – spoke alongside Poulter on Wednesday but refused to engage with McIlroy's claim the circuit's feud with the PGA Tour was "out of control". 

"I think a lot of Rory, I really have the utmost respect for him, [for] what he's done in the game and how he's played this year," Mickelson said. 

"I have a tonne of respect for him. As players, we have three months off after this event to talk about things like that and so forth."

Rory McIlroy reclaimed the world number one ranking after his first win of the new season and the 23rd of his PGA Tour career, securing the CJ Cup with a score of 17 under par.

McIlroy took the outright lead on the 14th hole with his fifth birdie of the day and built a tournament-winning lead with two more birdies on the next two holes on his way to a Sunday 67. 

Those extra insurance birdies ended up coming in handy after the Northern Irishman bogeyed the final two holes, but Kurt Kitayama could not birdie the last to force a playoff.

He entered the final round leading by one stroke, and by finishing the same way, he leapfrogged Scottie Scheffler to the top of the world rankings as the American finished tied for 45th at one under.

Speaking to NBC after stepping off the final green, McIlroy spoke about his love for the game and his journey back to the top.

"It feels great," he said. "It feels great to go out there with the lead, shoot a great score, play really well and get the win. 

"It's an awesome way to start the season, I guess, and a continuation of how I feel I've been playing the past few months.

"[Becoming world number one] means a lot. I've worked so hard over the last 12 months to get myself back to this place. I feel like I'm enjoying the game as much as I ever have, I absolutely love the game of golf.

"When I go out there and play with that joy – it's definitely shown over the past few months. It feels awesome, I'm looking forward to celebrating with my team."

Kitayama finished alone in second at 16 under, with Lee Kyoung-hoon the only player in third at 15 under.

Tommy Fleetwood shot Sunday's equal second-best score with a 65 to jump up into a tie for fourth at 14 under with Jon Rahm.

Aaron Wise finished alone in sixth at 12 under and an all-American group headlined by Sam Burns rounded out the top-10, tied for seventh at 11 under.

The best fourth-round score came from Taylor Montgomery, who was three strokes better than the field on the last trip around Congaree Golf Cup with his nine-under 62 – finishing his tournament at nine under after entering the round at even par.