Jon Rahm was the star of the show on Friday at the CJ Cup, shooting a nine-under 62 to jump all the way up into a share for first place at 11 under with Kurt Kitayama.

Rahm's 62 came after an opening 69, raising his birdie count from six to 10, while cutting his bogeys from four to one as he figured out the Congaree Golf Club course.

Kitayama has been a much steadier presence this week, posting rounds of 66 and 65, with his second round highlighted by an impressive eagle on the par-five 12th hole.

Those two players lead the pack by one stroke, with Australia's Cam Davis and America's Aaron Wise tied for third at 10 under with back-to-back 66s.

Rory McIlroy is alone in fifth at nine under after following a front-nine score of 37 with an impressive 30 on the back-nine, and he is two strokes clear of a logjam tied for sixth at seven under.

The group includes young phenom Tom Kim, as well as former major champion Shane Lowry and England's Tyrrell Hatton, while Masters champion Danny Willett is a further shot back at six under.

Presidents Cup representatives Max Homa and Im Sung-jae enter the weekend six strokes off the pace at five under, with former world number one Jason Day at four under and current world number one Scottie Scheffler at three under.

Being an invitational event with no cut, Collin Morikawa (three under), Rickie Fowler (two under), Justin Thomas (one under) and Hideki Matsuyama (even par) will all get to stick around and play two more rounds.

Mito Pereira tied for Friday's round of the day to shoot his way to the top of the leaderboard after two rounds at the Shriners Children's Open.

Chile's Pereira, who burst onto the scene last season when he led until the final hole at the PGA Championship, shot an eight-under 63 to move to 12 under through 36 holes at TPC Summerlin, posting nine birdies and one bogey.

The only other player to shoot better than 65 on Friday was Robby Shelton, who also enjoyed an eight-under round to climb to outright second at 11 under, birdieing his last hole of the day to elevate himself from the group at 10 under.

Tied for third at 10 under is the trio of Maverick McNealy, and South Korea's representatives at last month's Presidents Cup Tom Kim and Kim Si-woo.

Fellow International team member Cam Davis of Australia is at nine under, tied for sixth with Kevin Streelman and Chad Ramey, while some of the tournament favourites are one further back.

Max Homa and Patrick Cantlay were viewed as the best chances before the event, and they are within striking distance four shots off the pace at eight under, with both shooting back-to-back 67s.

After a strong first day, Im Sung-jae shot a 70 to lose some momentum and head into the weekend at seven under, where he is joined by first-round leader Tom Hoge, who backed up his opening 63 with a one-over 72.

Needing a score of four under to make the cut, rising Canadian Taylor Pendrith and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo snuck in right on the number, while America's Paul Hahn, Scotland's Russell Knox and Ireland's Seamus Power missed out by one.

After the first trip around TPC Summerlin on Thursday it is Tom Hoge alone atop the Shriners Children's Open leaderboard with an eight-under 63.

Hoge finished his bogey-free round with four birdies and two eagles, holing out from the fairway on the par-four seventh hole, before sinking a 33-foot eagle putt when he took on the water on the par-five 16th.

He leads by one stroke from the duo of Kim Si-woo and Maverick McNealy, who combined to shoot one bogey and 15 birdies to sit at seven under.

Kim is part of a strong South Korean contingent in the top-five, with Tom Kim, Kim Seong-hyeon and Im Sung-jae all part of an eight-way tie for fourth at six under.

Former world number one Jason Day headlines the next group at five under as he continues to climb back up the rankings, and Mito Pereira is at four under after bursting onto the scene last season by making the playoff at the PGA Championship.

Winner of the first event of the season and a strong performer at the Presidents Cup, Max Homa is also at four under, along with fellow United States team member Patrick Cantlay and International team representative Cam Davis.

Jordan Spieth and Max Homa capped off their excellent week's work with singles wins to help the United States secure the Presidents Cup by a final score of 17.5-12.5 at Quail Hollow.

Spieth was the only player to win in all five sessions, banking four victories while paired up with Justin Thomas before defeating Cam Davis 4 and 3 in Sunday's singles matchplay.

Despite the comfortable final score, it was Spieth who had to respond to early adversity after Davis won the first two holes, but after clawing back to even, the American rattled off four consecutive victorious holes on the back nine to pull away.

Thomas had a chance to equal Spieth with five wins for the week, but he ended up going down to Kim Si-woo as the South Korean won the 18th hole to finish 1up.

After Spieth, the only other American to finish the competition unbeaten was Homa, who played in three of the four pairs sessions before edging out Tom Kim for a 1up win in the singles.

Xander Schauffele finished 1up against Corey Conners to clinch overall victory for the US team at a time when five matches were still on the course.

In other results to tilt America's way, Tony Finau beat Taylor Pendrith 3 and 1, Patrick Cantlay had a 3 and 2 success over Adam Scott, and Collin Morikawa also won 3 and 2 against Mito Pereira.

However, it proved a highly competitive singles section of the event as the United States only narrowly edged it with six wins and a halved contest, as Sam Burns and Hideki Matsuyama fought out a stalemate.

The Internationals took five of the 12 matchups. Lee Kyoung-hoon was the most emphatic winner from his team, defeating Billy Horschel 3 and 1, while Sebastian Munoz upset world number one Scottie Scheffler 2 and 1 and Christiaan Bezuidenhout got the better of Kevin Kisner 2 and 1.

Im Sung-jae landed a 1up win versus Cameron Young after taking the lead on the 17th hole.

The United States have won nine consecutive editions of the Presidents Cup since a tie in 2003, with the International team's only triumph coming in 1998.

The Internationals have charged back into contention ahead of the final day of the Presidents Cup but still trail 11-7 at Quail Hollow in North Carolina.

USA had led 8-2 heading into Saturday's action that included four morning foursome matchups followed by four fourball contests, with Australia’s Cam Davis and South Korean Kim Joo-hyung starring for the under-dog International team.

The Internationals won two of the morning's foursome matchups and three of the fourball contests to make up major ground but will need win 8.5 points from the 12 on offer on the final day with singles to determine the winner.

If the International team win, it would be the greatest last day comeback in Presidents Cup history and their first victory since 1998 in Melbourne, the team's sole triumph.

"I'm almost in tears," Internationals captain Trevor Immelman said. "I'm so proud of these guys. We've fought so hard. We've had to be so patient."

"We’ve got a very long way to go. We know how tough the Americans are in singles. But today was a great day for us. This team has been through a lot."

Debutant Kim Joo-hyung had one of the moments of the day, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to clinch a 1up victory with Kim Si-woo against the previously unbeaten Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.

The South Korean emotionally reveled in victory after the putt, having holed a 54-foot eagle putt on the 11th hole. In a seesawing fourball contest, Schauffele also putted in from 37 feet on the 15th.

Davis, paired with compatriot Adam Scott, was crucial with late putts in their 1up fourball victory over Sam Burns and Billy Horschel.

On the par-five 16th, Davis sunk an 11-foot eagle putt to win the hole, before making a 14-foot birdie putt to claim the 17th. Davis backed that up with a nine-foot birdie putt to tie 18 and secure the win.

The unbeaten Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas defeated Hideki Matsuyama and Taylor Pendrith 4 and 3 for USA's only fourballs win, while Im Sung-jae and Sebastian Munoz never trailed as they got past Tony Finau and Kevin Kisner 3 and 2.

In the morning's foursomes, Lee Kyoung-hoon and Kim Joo-hyung defeated Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 2 and 1 and Adam Scott teamed up with Hideki Matsuyama to knock off Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa 3 and 2.

USA got victories as Spieth and Thomas won against Im and Corey Conners 4 and 3 and Finau and Max Homa beating Kim Si-woo and Davis 4 and 3. Spieth and Thomas are the third duo in Presidents Cup history to go undefeated in the first four rounds.

"We're in a good spot," USA captain Davis Love said. "We have a lot of guys hitting it good. They just made more putts than we did.

"We always feel like we're at an advantage in the singles. We've had some great singles days in the past."

Friday was the second day of The Presidents Cup, and the second day in a row the United States team came away with four of the five points on offer to lead 8-2 in the best-of-30 competition.

After foursomes was the format on Thursday, things moved to four-ball for the second trip around Quail Hollow, meaning all four golfers in their matchup play each hole, with only the best score from each duo counting towards their score.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele – the reigning champions from the PGA Tour's only team event during the season, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – showed no signs of slowing down after their blistering 6 and 5 win in the opening round, again delivering the biggest margin of victory for the day.

They defeated the duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Tom Kim 3 and 2, and the International team needed to mount a comeback to even survive that long as the United States were 5up through eight holes.

Kim was responsible for all three winning holes for his duo, with birdies on the 12th, 14th and 15th, while Cantlay and Schauffele evenly split their six triumphant holes with three apiece.

The only other fixture to not go the full 18 was Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas' 2 and 1 win against Australian duo Cam Davis and Adam Scott.

It was another hot start for the United States, with back-to-back birdies from Thomas and one from Spieth putting them 3up through eight holes, and although Davis and Scott both won a hole each down the back-nine, they were never able to bring the margin to within one.

Things were much more competitive in Max Homa and Billy Horschel's 1up win against Canadians Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith, as the Americans picked up the lead with one hole to play.

Team United States took a 2up lead into the back-nine, which was quickly erased by Conners with two birdies on the 11th and 13th, leaving things tied until the 17th, where Homa delivered a clutch birdie to secure the win.

There were no wins for the Internationals on Friday, but they collected two half-points as the duos of Mito Pereira and Christiaan Bezuidenhout as well as Im Sung-jae and Sebastian Munoz held on to salvage something from the day.

Im and Munoz had a tough matchup against world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, but it was Burns doing most of the heavy lifting for the United States, winning three of his team's four holes.

Munoz won three of the Internationals' four holes, including a par on the 17th as both Americans bogeyed to even things up.

Lastly, Pereira and Bezuidenhout were leading through 13 holes, before Cameron Young tied it and collected another half-point for his duo with Kevin Kisner.

Saturday will see teams contest both foursomes and four-ball rounds, before the competition moves to singles play on Sunday.

The United States got off to a blistering start at the Presidents Cup to open lead 4-1 lead over the International Team on Thursday.

Setting the tone for the United States in the foursomes was the pairing of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele – who are the reigning champions at the only other team event on the PGA Tour calendar, winning at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this past season.

Matched up against Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, the Americans were a well-oiled machine, going 4up through the first seven holes, including a string of three consecutive birdies.

While they were the authors of their own early success, the International duo fell apart on the back nine, with three consecutive bogeys handing the United States three more holes, ending the contest at 6 and 5.

The rest of the matches were far more competitive, with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas edging the duo of Corey Conners and Sung-jae Im 2 and 1.

Once again, the Americans got off to a flyer to be 3up through six holes, before the Internationals took two of the next three to tighten things up down the stretch.

The 15th hole decided the contest, after it appeared a poor drive and a mediocre chip that rolled to the fringe of the green would cost the United States, but some poor putting from the Internationals opened the door, with Thomas sinking a difficult one to swing the hole in their favour.

Tom Kim and Lee Kyoung-hoon were the only International team to draw first blood, going 1up on the second hole, but they would finish the front nine trailing by two as Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa responded swiftly.

Back-to-back hole wins on the 11th and 12th for the Internationals tied things up, but again the United States were quick to snatch back the ascendancy on the very next hole, closing things out with a birdie on the 17th for a 2 and 1 triumph.

Max Homa and Tony Finau had to wait until the very last hole to secure their win against Taylor Pendrith and Mito Pereira after the Internationals levelled the contest with five to play.

After four consecutive shared holes, Pendrith's approach on the last found the bunker, and they were not able to salvage a par as the Americans kept it clean with a comfortable two-putt for the 1up win.

The Internationals' only win came from the duo of South Korea's Kim Si-woo and Australia's Cam Davis against world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, emerging as 2up victors.

It was a great fightback after the United States led most of the round – 3up after seven holes, and 2up through 14 – as the Internationals won the final four holes to snatch a point.

Friday will see the teams go head-to-head in the four-ball format.

Max Homa emerged victorious after a chaotic finish to the Fortinet Championship, chipping in for birdie on the last hole to win by one stroke from Danny Willett.

Homa and Willett came into the day tied for the lead, but heading into the last hole it was Willett leading by one stroke.

After Homa found the fairway bunker and was unable to reach the green, it appeared he had blown his chance to get the birdie he required, until a spectacular chip-in pulled him level with Willett.

The Englishman just needed to sink a four-foot birdie putt for the win, but it lipped out. On the return par putt to force a playoff, he incredibly lipped out again, gifting Homa the outright win at 16 under in an incredible turn of events.

It is the fifth PGA Tour win for Homa, who won multiple events last season for the first time in his career, after nabbing one win in 2018-19 and one in 2020-21. 

Homa collected a $1.44million cheque for his victory, with Willett earning $872,000 for second place.

Alone in third was American Taylor Montgomery, who shot Sunday's round of the day with an eight-under 64 to fly up the leaderboard and finish at 13 under.

Rounding out the top-five was round-one leader Justin Lower, and South Korea's An Byeong-hun, who was in the top-five for the entire week before finishing tied for fourth at 12 under.

Rickie Fowler only had one top-10 finish this past season, and he has already matched that figure as he finished tied for sixth at 11 under with Sahith Theegala and Canada's Nick Taylor.

Justin Lower shot a three-under 69 in his third round at the Fortinet Championship to earn a one-stroke lead heading into Sunday's final trip around Silverado Resort.

Lower led by two strokes after the opening round, before a Friday 71 allowed both Max Homa and Danny Willett to overtake him. With Homa and Willett both shooting even-par 72s on Saturday, Lower capitalised and re-established his position at the head of the field at 13 under.

Kicking off his second PGA Tour season after collecting two top-10 finishes in his first campaign, Lower's 69 was the best score from the leading quartet, with five birdies and two bogeys.

Homa and Willett will enter Sunday's play trailing by one at 12 under, with South Korea's An Byeong-hun alone in fourth at 11 under.

The tie for fifth at 10 under includes Matt Kuchar, Paul Haley II, Adam Svensson, and one of the two players to shoot the round of the day, Davis Thompson, who posted eight birdies and one bogey for his seven-under 65.

Australian Harrison Endycott was the only other player to shoot 65, and with it he climbed 50 places up to a tie for ninth at nine under.

Joining Endycott in rounding out the top-10 is rising talent Sahith Theegala, while Rickie Fowler is one shot further back at eight under.

It was a day to forget for major champion Hideki Matsuyama, with only one player shooting worse than his three-over 75.

Max Homa and Danny Willett are in a strong position to kick off the new PGA Tour season in style, tied for the lead at 12 under after two rounds of the Fortinet Championship.

Entering Friday's play, Homa was alone in second place two strokes behind leader Justin Lower, but when Lower shot a one-under 71, Homa capitalised and leapfrogged him with a five-under 67.

Starting on the back-nine, Homa was four under through his first six holes after an eagle on the par-five 16th, cooling off to post two birdies and one bogey from his next 12 holes.

Meanwhile, Willett was comfortably the best performer on the day, with his eight-under 72 coming in three shots better than anybody else in the second round. He went bogey-free with eight birdies.

Lower only slid down to a tie for third place at 10 under, where he is joined by An Byeong-hun.

There is a three-way tie for fifth at eight under consisting of Sahith Theegala, Matt Kuchar and Taylor Moore – with the latter two shooting back-to-back 68s.

Rounding out the top-10 is the American trio of Robby Shelton, Ben Martin and Brian Stuard at seven under.

After a strong start, Rickie Fowler could only post an even-par second round to remain at five under, while major champion Hideki Matsuyama finished two strokes inside the cut-line to qualify for the weekend, and Australian duo Jason Day and Cam Davis were not so lucky.

Justin Lower has kicked off the new PGA Tour season in style, shooting a nine-under 63 in the opening round of the Fortinet Championship to lead by two strokes.

Lower posted nine birdies and nine pars in his bogey-free round, bookending his day with birdies on the first and last holes.

Coming into his second year on the PGA Tour, Lower has two top-10 finishes to his name, making the cut in 16 of his 28 events this past campaign.

Alone in second place at seven under is Max Homa, who was part of the late starters able to finish their rounds right before play was halted due to darkness, with some competitors still not completing the 14th hole.

Tied for third place is J.J. Spaun along with two South Koreans, An Byeong-hun and Kim Seong-hyeon, with the trio shooting 66s.

There is a nine-man logjam at five under, which includes veteran Rickie Fowler as he tries to rediscover some form this season, as well as rising talent Sahith Theegala and Argentina's top player Emiliano Grillo.

Also at five under is Robby Shelton, who will resume play with six holes to play with a chance to climb the leaderboard even further before starting his second round.

One shot further back at four under is a group that includes Matt Kuchar and Canada's Adam Svensson, with major champions Hideki Matsuyama and Danny Willett at three under.

Rory McIlroy became the first three-time winner of the FedEx Cup after coming from six shots behind to win the Tour Championship, beating Scottie Scheffler and Im Sung-jae by one stroke at the end of a thrilling final round.

McIlroy, who also lifted the trophy in 2016 and 2019, required a spectacular collapse from world number one Scheffler to seal his victory on Sunday.

With six holes to play after the third round was halted due to lightning, Scheffler came back and birdied four, leaving Xander Schauffele in his wake as he built a six-shot buffer heading into the last trip around East Lake Golf Club.

But after rounds of 65, 66 and 66, Scheffler posted four bogeys and one birdie for a three-over 73, dropping back to 20 under. No player shot worse than 73 in the final round.

McIlroy did not reach the outright lead until Scheffler gave it to him, bogeying the 16th to leave McIlroy alone atop the leaderboard with two holes to play.

Despite a hook with his final tee shot, McIlroy kept his cool, recovering and tapping in his two-putt for the win, and he acknowledged Scheffler in his speech during the trophy presentation.

"What a day," he said. "Firstly, there's one thing I want to say – I feel like Scottie deserves at least half of this today.

"He has had an unbelievable season – I feel sort of bad that I pipped him at the post, but he's a hell of a competitor, and an even better guy, and it was an honour and a privilege to battle with him today. I'm sure we'll have many more.

"I told him today 'we're one-all in Georgia this year' – because he got the Masters, and I got this."

Finishing tied with Scheffler in second-place was Im, with his metronomic consistency leading to rounds of 67, 65, 66 and 66 for his 20 under.

Schauffele had appeared likely to race past Scheffler before the lightning struck on Saturday, and he struggled after resuming in the morning, going one-over from his last six holes of the third round before posting a 69 to finish alone in fourth place at 18 under.

Max Homa ended up sneaking into the top-five after opening the week with a 71, following it with rounds of 62, 66 and 66 to finish at 17 under, tied with Justin Thomas.

Sepp Straka and Patrick Cantlay were a further shot back, tied for seventh at 16 under, with Tony Finau (15 under) and Tom Hoge (14 under) rounding out the top-10. Finau shot Sunday's round of the day with his 64, posting seven birdies and one bogey.

Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have broken away from the field after two rounds of the Tour Championship, with Scheffler at 19 under and Schauffele the only player within six strokes, sitting at 17 under.

Scheffler, the world number one, started the season's final event at 10 under due to finishing atop the FedEx Cup standings, and he established a five-stroke lead in his first trip around East Lake Golf Club with a five-under 65.

He was strong again on Friday to post a bogey-free 66, but his lead was trimmed by three shots as second-placed Schauffele produced six birdies and an eagle with one bogey to shoot 63, one shot off the round of the day.

The 18th hole could end up being a turning point in the event, as Scheffler opted to play it safe on the par five while Schauffele decided to take on the water to make the green from his second shot. It resulted in a two-stroke swing as Schauffele eagled the last, cutting the deficit in half from four shots to two.

Only three players posted Friday scores better than 65, with Jon Rahm flying up the leaderboard into outright third place at 13 under after his 63. His eight birdies were the most in the round.

The rest of the field is at least seven shots back from the lead, with Patrick Cantlay and Im Sung-jae tied for fourth at 12 under, Joaquin Niemann alone in sixth at 11 under, and Rory McIlroy has sole possession of seventh at 10 under.

The round of the day went to Max Homa, who went bogey-free with six birdies and an eagle to post a 62 for the best 18 of the tournament so far.

After five birdies from his first eight holes, Homa rattled off seven pars in a row, before a birdie on 16 and an eagle on the last.

Matt Fitzpatrick was Thursday's top performer, but he struggled to a 71 in his second trip around the course, and he is tied at eight under in a group that includes Justin Thomas.

Cameron Smith also shot 71 to drop a shot back to six under, where he is joined by Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama and Collin Morikawa.

South Korea's Kim Si-woo and American J.J. Spaun are the co-leaders at eight under after one round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.

Being the first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the field is made up of the top-125 from this season's FedEx Cup standings, minus LIV Golf signees Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford, who failed to have their exclusions overturned by a judge earlier this week.

Spaun shot a bogey-free 62 with eight birdies, while Kim posted seven birdies, an eagle and a solitary bogey on the par-three fourth hole.

Speaking on the broadcast after his round, Spaun said he hopes his performance during the playoffs will book his place at The Masters next year.

"It will be nice to punch another ticket there and be able to plan it out and get down Sunday, maybe even Saturday the week before, take my time and enjoy all the little things that come along with that great tradition," he said. "Hopefully keep playing well this week and the next couple weeks, and I'll be there."

In outright third place is Sahith Theegala at seven under, while one further shot back tied for fourth are Austria's Sepp Straka, South Korea's Lee Kyoung-hoon, American J.T. Poston and the red-hot Tony Finau, fresh off back-to-back PGA Tour wins for the first time in his career. Finau has shot no worse than 68 from his past 10 rounds.

The logjam in a tie for eighth at five under includes England's Tyrrell Hatton, Australia's former world number one Jason Day, and Rickie Fowler, who barely squeezed into the final field. Last week's 20-year-old first-time winner Joo-hyung 'Tom' Kim highlights the group at four under, along with Adam Scott.

Many of the serious contenders are at three under, including Cam Smith, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay, and they are one stroke ahead of major winners Matt Fitzpatrick and Shane Lowry at two under.

Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy shot even-par 70s, and the pair of Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris have plenty of work to do after finishing at one over.

Scheffler was responsible for arguably the round's most viral moment as he caught a side-eye from playing partner Smith when he walked right in front of the Australian while he was lining up a putt, with many speculating it was an intentional slight due to reports Smith has signed on with LIV Golf for next season.

England's Matt Fitzpatrick and American Max Homa spoke about the unforgiving nature of The Country Club at Brookline, despite being two of 25 players to finish Thursday's opening round under par.

Fitzpatrick, who shot a two-under 68, is tied for seventh place, with a bogey-free front nine that featured birdies on the fifth, eighth and ninth holes, before three bogeys and two birdies on his second nine.

On a course billed as favourable to the long-drivers, Fitzpatrick did not finish inside the top-50 four driving distance on Thursday, but made up for it with terrific precision.

He was top-10 in driving accuracy, hitting 10-of-14 fairways, top-10 in strokes gained off the tee (1.26) and fifth in strokes gained around the green (2.59).

Speaking to the media after his round, he said enjoys the challenge the course presents, having also won the 2013 U.S. Amateur Championship there.

"I've got great memories of the place, and the whole time I've been out, I see shots that I hit and I see the places I was," he said. "I think because of that I'm a bit more at ease.

"I think the tight fairways… are a big deal. There is just a premium on driving accuracy. From there – I think you have to putt your way around here… you have to think about it.

"[Compared to the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot] I feel like there is a lot of drivers, but you are then going into the greens. You can't miss on the left side because the slope is so severe, and you have no shot.

"You might decide to play to a corner on 18 with a three-wood, or you just take it even further with driver. I just think it gives you plenty of options and things to think about around this place."

Homa, who finished one shot further back than Fitzpatrick at one under, said he enjoyed his day, but was blown away by the difficulty of the greens. 

"It was good – the weather was really nice in the beginning of the day," he said. "The wind picked up, and it got a little more tricky than difficult.

"But the greens are just so – they're crazy, so it's just really hard to leave yourself good looks for birdie. I missed a bunch of putts today, but they just never felt very easy."

He added: "I have to get my speed better on the greens. They're very uncomfortable. 

"I don't know how to make myself comfortable, but just maybe try to find a speed that I like seeing the ball go in at a little more, because right now my pace just feels a little bit inconsistent."

Set to start Friday's second round on the back-nine, Homa said he expects that to be the far tougher starting position due to the difficulty of holes 10 and 12 right out of the gate, but he acknowledged "it's the U.S. Open – it's always going to be hard."