Australia's Jason Day and Marc Leishman carded a 16-under 56 to take a one-shot lead after the opening round of the QBE Shootout.

The three-day event in Florida started with the scramble format on Friday, with players picking the team's best shot and continuing from there.

Day and Leishman finished with 12 birdies and two eagles in a blemish-free round to take a narrow lead into Saturday's greensomes.

Defending champions Harris English and Matt Kuchar, who are seeking to win the tournament for a fourth time, join Corey Conners and Graeme McDowell one stroke further back.

All 12 teams shot 62 or lower, with Bubba Watson and LPGA Tour player Lexi Thompson on 13 under in joint-fourth, alongside Kevin Na and Jason Kokrak.

Collin Morikawa is close to overtaking Jon Rahm as the world's top golfer after opening up a five-stroke lead ahead of the final round of the Hero World Challenge.

A victory for the two-time major winner in the Bahamas will see him follow Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth in becoming the fourth person to become world number one before turning 25.

Morikawa started Saturday's session at Albany Golf Club as one of three players a stroke behind leader Bryson DeChambeau after an unfortunate bogey on the final hole on day two.

DeChambeau's lead quickly evaporated with a bogey on the opening hole, however, and the American struggled with three more bogeys on the back nine to finish one-over-par for the day as he slipped down to ninth.

Open champion Morikawa took full advantage by firing an eight-under 64 in a round that included six birdies and an eagle chip-in on the par-five third.

Morikawa, who last month became the first American to win the Race to Dubai with a victory at the DP World Tour, is now 18-under after 54 holes on the 20-man field.

Fellow American Brooks Koepka shot 69, his only blemish a double-bogey on the par-three eighth, to move into second place behind Morikawa.

Daniel Berger dropped two shots on the final three holes and joins Patrick Reed, Viktor Hovland, Sam Burns and Tony Finau in a tie for third, six strokes behind Morikawa.

The performance of the day belonged to Harris English thanks to his 10 birdies, though it was not quite a blemish-free round as he dropped a shot on hole one.

The 12 singles pairings for the final round of the Ryder Cup have been announced, with the United States looking to dethrone Europe on Sunday.

Team USA hold a commanding 11-5 lead following Saturday's foursomes and four-ball at Whistling Straits, where the hosts boast the biggest two-day advantage since 1975.

Steve Stricker's USA require just 3.5 points to reclaim the cup from Europe, who will need to produce the biggest ever comeback if they are to claim the required nine points to defend their crown.

"That was an important one," Stricker said after USA split the four afternoon matches. "If they blank us, they're right back in the game. I think getting two points and splitting the session is a good outcome for us."

Xander Schauffele will lead the Americans out to start Sunday's play in Wisconsin, facing struggling European star Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy was dropped for Saturday's foursomes having struggled on Friday – the first time in the four-time major champion's Ryder Cup career that he has missed a session. He returned for the four-ball but fell to another defeat alongside Ian Poulter against Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa 4 and 3.

The second matchup pits USA's Patrick Cantlay against Shane Lowry, while Europe captain Padraig Harrington put world number one Jon Rahm down to face Scottie Scheffler.

Bryson DeChambeau and European star Sergio Garcia meet in match four, American Collin Morikawa tackles Viktor Hovland and unbeaten USA veteran Johnson plays Paul Casey.

Elsewhere, Brooks Koepka is set to tee off against Bernd Wiesberger, Poulter and Tony Finau go head-to-head, Justin Thomas will clash with Tyrrell Hatton, Lee Westwood goes up against Harris English, Jordan Spieth faces Tommy Fleetwood and the final matchup is a showdown between Daniel Berger and Matt Fitzpatrick.

United States captain Steve Stricker has selected Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele among his wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup, but there is no place for Patrick Reed on the 12-player roster.

Spieth will appear at the biennial competition for a fourth time in a row, while Schauffele is set to make his debut against Europe in next month's tournament at Whistling Straits after recently winning Olympic gold.

Schauffele was one of three rookies chosen by Stricker on Wednesday along with Daniel Berger, Harris English and Scottie Scheffler, with Tony Finau – part of the USA side that lost in Paris three years ago – completing the captain's picks.

Speaking at a news conference to announce his final selection, Stricker said: "All six of these guys have been playing some really good golf for a long period of time. 

"It's more about a body of work. They have all played great throughout this year and very well deserving of these picks."

The top-six qualifiers – Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay – had already locked in spots for the USA, who are seeking to regain the trophy after that 17.5-10.5 loss in 2018.

Reed is the most notable name overlooked by Stricker, the 31-year-old having featured in every American team since 2014. 

He made his return from a month-long absence at last week's Tour Championship after being hospitalised with pneumonia in both lungs.

Asked to explain his decision to overlook Reed, who top-scored for USA in their 2016 victory at Hazeltine, Stricker said: "That was a very, very difficult call. I lost sleep over that one. 

"He's a tremendous competitor, he brings a lot of match play golf and his record at the Ryder Cup is pretty darn good.

"I think it was the uncertainty of his health and the lack of play that led to our decision down the stretch."

Team Europe captain Padraig Harrington will announce his final three picks on Sunday.

FedEx Cup leader Patrick Cantlay ended the opening round of the Tour Championship two shots clear of world number one Jon Rahm in the season finale. 

Cantlay arrived at East Lake top of the FedEx Cup standings following his thrilling six-hole BMW Championship play-off victory against Bryson DeChambeau last week. 

Under the new FedEx Cup play-off format, Cantlay's third PGA Tour title of the season ensured he started the 30-man Tour Championship with a two-stroke advantage at 10 under, ahead of Tony Finau. 

Cantlay maintained that lead on Thursday thanks to a three-under-par 67 at the lucrative season-ending event in Atlanta, Georgia. 

The American golfer birdied the last to finish with four in total for the day, having dropped a shot at the fifth during his front nine. 

FedEx Cup hopeful Rahm matched the round of the day with his five-under-par 65 – the Spanish star recording birdies at his final two holes to earn outright second position, ahead of Harris English (66) and DeChambeau (69) at eight under. 

English had a day to remember after his hole-in-one at the par-three 15th hole, the American's second on the PGA Tour and first since 2018. 

With his ace-birdie-birdie run from the 15th to 17th, English – seventh in the rankings – became the first player to cover that stretch of three holes in four-under par in a round at East Lake during the Tour Championship. 

DeChambeau teed off in third position, three strokes adrift of Cantlay, and the 2020 U.S. Open champion slipped five shots back after mixing five birdies with four bogeys. 

Viktor Hovland (66), Cameron Smith (68) and 2017 FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas (67) are on seven under, and six strokes off the pace, a shot better off than Kevin Na (66) and Finau (72). 

Defending FedEx Cup and Tour Championship winner Dustin Johnson ended the first day at five under following his opening-round 68, alongside Brooks Koepka (67), 2015 FedEx Cup champion Jordan Spieth (69), Abraham Ancer (69), Louis Oosthuizen (68), Jason Kokrak (67) and Billy Horschel (65). 

Rory McIlroy – a two-time FedEx Cup and Tour championship winner – made a hot start but faded in a two-under-par-round of 68. 

McIlroy was flawless with three birdies on the front nine, however, three bogeys to go with two birdies after the turn left the former world number one nine strokes behind Cantlay. 

Abraham Ancer thought he had blown his shot at his first PGA Tour win the first time he played the 18th hole on Sunday. Turns out he just needed two more chances on the hole to make it happen. 

Ancer birdied the second playoff hole from six feet and watched as Sam Burns missed almost the same putt to give him the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational title as the third man in the playoff, Hideki Matsuyama, also made par. 

After finishing as runner-up four times in his previous 120 Tour starts, Ancer finally prevailed in Memphis to become the ninth first-time winner this season and the fourth player from Mexico to win on Tour. 

"This is surreal," he told CBS. "I thought I left so many shots out there on the back nine, but you never know. Golf is crazy.

"There's been some times that I felt like I made enough birdies to win and I didn't win. This is kind of how it goes and I'm happy that I got lucky."

A significant portion of that luck came on the first playoff hole, when Matsuyama had a chance to win it but saw his long putt for birdie on 18 lip out, sending the trio back to the 18th tee for another go.

The 2021 Masters champion turned in the round of the day just to make the playoff, firing a bogey-free seven-under 63 to fly up the leaderboard on the final day. 

Burns was close behind with a 64, a double bogey on 13 his only blemish. 

Harris English, who held a two-stroke lead after each of the first three rounds, watched those three fly by him as he slumped to a three-over 73 and finished fourth after opening the tournament with rounds of 62, 65 and 65. 

English bogeyed the opening hole before regaining his stride with three birdies, but he did not make another after the eighth hole, posting double bogeys at 11 and 14 and a bogey at the par-five 16th. 

The American said afterward that a warning for slow play on the front nine knocked him out of rhythm and he felt like he was rushing the rest of the day.

His playing partner Bryson DeChambeau had an even more difficult time after working himself into contention with a 63 on Saturday. 

DeChambeau carded a triple-bogey six on the 11th and also did not manage a birdie on the back nine on the way to a 74 that left him tied for eighth at 12 under for the tournament. 

Rough as that triple was for DeChambeau, honours for worst hole of the day went to Kim Si-woo.

The South Korean hit five successive shots in the water at the 11th on the way to a 13 – the worst score on a par-three hole on the PGA Tour since 1983, not including majors.

Among other notables, Dustin Johnson (70) tied for 10th at 11 under, one stroke better than Rory McIlroy (66) and Jordan Spieth (67).

Phil Mickelson (68) finished at seven under along with Louis Oosthuizen, who floundered to a 74 in the final round. 

Sergio Garcia (72), Collin Morikawa (69) and defending champion Justin Thomas (72) were at five under, with Patrick Reed (70) and Lee Westwood (71) one back of them. 

Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (68) was at even par and Brooks Koepka (76) at two over. 

Harris English maintained his two-shot cushion at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational leaderboard as Bryson DeChambeau climbed up the leaderboard.

Aided by three birdies during his final six holes, English carded a second successive score of 65 at TPC Southwind to sit at 18 under par.

The four-time winner on the PGA Tour endured a bogey-free round on Saturday, pulling clear in the closing stages having at one stage seen both Abraham Ancer and DeChambeau join him in top spot.

After a four at the par-five 16th, English produced an outstanding approach into the green at the next hole before rolling in a birdie putt, boosting his hopes of a wire-to-wire triumph in the tournament.

However, he is well aware that there is still plenty of work to do yet.

"There's a lot of good players behind me and my goal is just stick to my strategy and execute and whatever happens, happens," English said.

DeChambeau is not too far behind after a stunning 63 that saw him come home in just 30 shots. His seven-under score leaves him tied for second with Australian Cameron Smith, who signed for a 65.

"It was awesome being able to strike it that close to the hole all day," DeChambeau, who missed out on playing at the Tokyo Olympics due to contracting coronavirus, said.

"I didn't feel as comfortable as I would have liked with the swing, but the results were there so I was very pleased with the results. And honestly, if I can do that again tomorrow, I give myself a great chance to win."

Ancer is a further two strokes back following a three-under 67, the same score Scottie Scheffler and Ian Poulter both managed to sit just behind the Mexican on 13 under.

Dustin Johnson may still hold out hope of triumphing, with a round of 65 enough to be one of four players on 11 under par.  He is joined by Paul Casey, Will Zalatoris and Louis Oosthuizen.

Defending champion Justin Thomas already faced a battle to retain his crown, and the American was only able to shoot 69 on day three.

At seven under for the event, a repeat of his 2020 triumph appears almost impossible, considering he is so far back and the number of players ahead of him.

Harris English heads into the weekend at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational with a two-stroke lead after maintaining his spot atop the leaderboard Friday.

The American followed Thursday's 62 with a five-under-par 65 at TPC Southwind, where he won his first PGA Tour title eight years ago. 

Australia's Cameron Smith and Abraham Ancer of Mexico surged into a tie for second place after carding 62s of their own in Memphis to sit at 11 under for the tournament.

Ian Poulter (66), Scottie Scheffler (65) and Sam Burns (64) are three back of the lead at 10 under, while Louis Oosthuizen (64) and Bryson DeChambeau (66) are well within striking distance at nine under. 

English started on the back nine and made three birdies going out before carding his first and only bogey of the day at the par-four second hole. But he managed to follow that disappointment with an eagle on the third before adding one more birdie later in his round.

Smith also eagled the third on the way to tying a PGA Tour record, as he needed just 18 putts to complete his bogey-free round. 

That included a two-put at the last, not long after Smith figured out he was on the verge of history. 

"I was walking down 17 and was counting my putts up and I thought, 'No, that can't be right,'" Smith said. 

Further down the leaderboard, defending champion Justin Thomas (67) is seven strokes back of the lead at six under along with two-time major winner Dustin Johnson (65).

Phil Mickelson (66) is at five under, whie Hideki Matsuyama (69) and Patrick Reed (69) are well back at three under. 

Rory McIlroy (66), Sergio Garcia (68), and Collin Morikawa (71) are at two under, one stroke better than Brooks Koepka (69). 

Jordan Spieth (69) enters the weekend at even par and Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (73) is at two over. 

Harris English won his first PGA Tour title at TPC Southwind eight years ago, and he has another triumph in his sights after opening with a 62 at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. 

The American has a two-stroke lead over four pursuers, as Ian Poulter, Carlos Ortiz, Jim Herman and Matthew Wolff carded six-under-par 64s Thursday in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler and Marc Leishman were three shots back after shooting 65, with DeChambeau making his first start since missing the Tokyo Olympics following a positive COVID-19 test. 

Among the group two shots behind them at five under were defending champion Justin Thomas, Open Championship winner Collin Morikawa and the red-hot Louis Oosthuizen, who has top-three finishes in four of his last five starts.

Among other notables, Patrick Reed and Hideki Matsuyama are at two under, with Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Olympic champion Xander Schauffele at one under, and Brooks Kopeka and Sergio Garcia at even par.

Jordan Spieth is at one over and Rory McIlroy at two over, leaving him 62nd in the 66-player field. 

But they will all start Friday chasing English. The 32-year-old carded seven birdies on a blistering front nine, then faltered a bit with bogeys at 10 and 12 before closing his round with birdies at three of the last four holes. 

"It was one of those rounds where I was hitting it really good off the tee and making a lot of good putts," English told reporters. 

English won at Memphis in its previous incarnation as the Tour's St. Jude Classic in June 2013, then added another title that fall. 

That was his last PGA Tour win before this year, which has seen him take the Tournament of Champions in Maui in January and the Travelers Championship in June. 

Harris English outlasted Kramer Hickok in a marathon play-off to claim the Travelers Championship on Sunday.

English birdied the eighth play-off hole in a marathon battle against fellow American Kramer at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.

The eight-hole play-off is tied for second longest in PGA Tour history (2012 Mayakoba Golf Classic, 1983 Phoenix Open, 1981 Quad Cities Open, 1978 Greater Milwaukee Open and 1965 Azalea Open Invitational) – only three holes shy of the record – 11 at 1949 Motor City Open.

English's birdie putt at the eighth extra hole delivered a fourth career Tour title and second of the season after he claimed the Tournament of Champions via sudden death.

A play-off was needed at the Travelers Championship after English and Hickok finished 13 under through 72 regulation holes.

English catapulted himself to the top of the leaderboard with a five-under-par 65 as Hickok's final-round 67 saw him settled for a share of the lead.

March Leishman – the 2012 champion – used a bogey-free six-under-par 64 to earn outright third position, a shot behind English and Hickok, having initially been tied for first in the fourth round.

A stroke further back was Abraham Ancer (65) as four-time major winner Brooks Koepka (65) headlined a group of five players tied for fifth at 10 under.

Former world number one Jason Day was unable to maintain his title charge – an even-par 70 seeing the Australian star fall into a share of 10th spot at nine under.

Bryson DeChambeau also lost ground on the final day following a 70, which left the former U.S. Open champion seven under at the end of the tournament, alongside overnight leader Bubba Watson (73).

Defending champion Dustin Johnson's (71) bid for back-to-back trophies finished in a tie for 25th at six under and he was joined by Patrick Reed (69).

Garrick Higgo overturned a huge deficit to break through for his first PGA Tour title courtesy of a one-shot victory at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree.

Higgo entered the final round trailing by six strokes but the unheralded South African produced a three-under-par 68 to claim his maiden trophy in his second career start on Sunday.

The 22-year-old, who holed an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys, registered the largest comeback on Tour since Bubba Watson in 2018 as he upstaged world number one Dustin Johnson and the chasing pack.

Higgo became the first player to win in one of his first two career PGA Tour starts since Jim Benepe won the 1988 BMW Championship on debut, while he is the youngest winner on Tour this season – aged 22 years, one month and one day.

"It's amazing," Higgo said after finishing 11 under through 72 holes. "I just stayed patient all week. I'm just happy I didn't have to play in a playoff."

Hudson Swafford (66), Doc Redman (67), Jhonattan Vegas (67), Tyrrell Hatton (68), Bo Van Pelt (68) and overnight leader Chesson Hadley (75) ended the inaugural tournament tied for second position.

Ryan Armour (64) and David Lipsky (67) were a stroke further back, while American star Johnson had to settle for a share of 10th place at eight under following his final-round 70 in Gillisonville, South Carolina.

South Carolina native Johnson – who got within one stroke of the lead on the back nine – shot a seven at the par-four 16th hole for his first triple-bogey or worse on the PGA Tour since the 2020 WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational and the 50th of his career.

Chesson Hadley bolstered his lead at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree with a run of back-nine birdies before inclement weather kept him from completing his third round.

Hadley (through 17 holes) was one of four players still on the course when play was suspended on Saturday, along with world number one Dustin Johnson (through 17), Harris English (through 17) and Tain Lee (through 17(. 

The quartet will return to finish the penultimate round at 0730 local time on Sunday, with the final round set to begin at 0805 local time.

Searching for his second PGA Tour win and first in more than seven years, Hadley will hope to maintain the momentum he had before Saturday's stoppage. 

The 33-year-old opened his third round with a bogey before making par on each of the next 10 holes, then ran away from his pursuers with four birdies across the next five holes to put him at 14-under-par for the tournament. 

Hadley had missed the cut in nine of his previous 11 tournaments before this week. 

Johnson began the day two shots back of Hadley but had an uneven round in Gillisonville, South Carolina, with three birdies and four bogeys through 17 leaving him six strokes off the lead along with South Africa's Garrick Higgo (68). 

English took advantage of Johnson's struggles, carding five birdies to move four strokes back of Hadley at 10 under with his final hole still to complete. 

Further down the leaderboard, Luke Donald (67) is at six under and first-round leader Wes Roach (67) at five under after a bounce-back round, with Ian Poulter (69) at four under. 

Harris English secured his first win since 2013 with a play-off victory at the Tournament of Champions on Sunday.

The American carded a four-under 69 in the final round to finish alongside Joaquin Niemann (64) at the end of regulation in Kapalua, Hawaii.

English stepped up to birdie the par-five 18th hole in the play-off, overcoming Niemann for his first win since 2013.

"It's incredible," he told the Golf Channel after his third PGA Tour success.

"A lot of hard work over the years, you never think you're going to get here again, winning twice back in 2013 and it's just hard to win out here.

"I had a really good chance this week and felt good about my game and you've just got to get it done."

Niemann produced a stunning nine-under 64 in the final round to finish at 25 under.

But English birdied his final hole to force a play-off and he delivered to secure the title.

Two-time champion Justin Thomas (66) finished at 24 under, a shot ahead of Ryan Palmer (71).

Im Sung-jae (69) and Xander Schauffele (66) ended up tied for fifth at 21 under.

World number two Jon Rahm got going with a six-under 67, but it was only enough to finish tied for seventh alongside Bryson DeChambeau (66) and Collin Morikawa (73).

Dustin Johnson, meanwhile, carded a second straight 69 to finish tied for 11th.

Harris English pulled two strokes clear at the halfway mark of the Tournament of Champions as Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm made their moves.

English, who shared the overnight lead with Justin Thomas, carded a six-under 67 in the second round in Kapalua, Hawaii on Friday.

The American produced a bogey-free round that featured six birdies to move into 14 under at the first PGA Tour event of 2021.

English is two shots ahead of Thomas (69), Daniel Berger (65), Collin Morikawa (65) and Ryan Palmer (67).

Thomas, a two-time champion of the tournament, made four birdies on his front nine but a bogey at 13 slowed his momentum before picking up another shot at the last.

The world's two top-ranked players, Johnson and Rahm, charged into contention.

Johnson, who opened with a 71, made eight birdies in a second-round eight-under 65 to get to 10 under – enough for a tie for 10th.

Rahm is alongside him after the Spaniard produced a fast finish, birdieing five of his final seven holes.

Xander Schauffele (66), Brendon Todd (67), Im Sung-jae (68) and Patrick Reed (68) are tied for sixth at 11 under.

Joining Johnson and Rahm at 10 under are Scottie Scheffler (66), Bryson DeChambeau (67), Joaquin Niemann (67), Carlos Ortiz (67) and Patrick Cantlay (68).

Justin Thomas carded an eight-under 65 to share the lead after the opening round of the Tournament of Champions on Thursday.

Two-time champion Thomas produced a bogey-free first round that included eight birdies in Kapalua, Hawaii.

The world number three, winner of the event in 2017 and 2020, made five birdies on the front nine and three on his final five holes.

Thomas shares a two-stroke lead with Harris English in the first PGA Tour event of the year.

The highlight of English's round was an eagle at the ninth hole, where he chipped in from just off the green.

On what is a congested leaderboard, six players are tied for third at six under.

Sergio Garcia, Robert Streb, Nick Taylor, Ryan Palmer, Im Sung-jae and Patrick Reed all opened with 67s.

Garcia won the tournament in 2002, while Reed was victorious in 2015 and has two runner-up finishes since – including last year.

Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay and Brendon Todd carded five-under 68s.

World number one Dustin Johnson is back in a tie for 30th after opening with a 71, while Jon Rahm carded a 70.