Tony Finau is one of four players with a share of the lead after finishing Thursday's opening round of the Houston Open with a five-under 65.

Finau is joined by fellow Americans Aaron Wise and Tyson Alexander, as well as Sweden's Alex Noren, although Alexander still has one hole to play as the late-starters had their rounds cut short when darkness halted the action.

Ranked 15th in the world, Finau caught fire on his second nine, posting five birdies from his final eight holes to fly up the leaderboard.

Canadian duo Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes headline the logjam tied for fifth at four under, with England's Justin Rose part of the 10-player group one further back at three under.

It was a rough day out for the big names in the field, with world number two Scottie Scheffler and former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama shooting even-par 70s to finish the round tied for 53rd.

That pairing at least remain in the hunt, which is more than can be said for last week's winner of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, with Russell Henley struggling on his way to two over.

Another former Masters champion had a tough time, with Danny Willett unlikely to make the cut after his five-over 75, while world number 12 and recent Presidents Cup debutant Sam Burns had a day to forget, shooting seven over.

Russell Henley sealed a four-shot victory in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba as he cruised to a fourth PGA Tour title.

It was Henley's first win since the 2017 Shell Houston Open, and he tied the tournament low-scoring record – set by Viktor Hovland last season. Henley's final aggregate of 23 under was secured by rounds of 63, 63, 65 and a 70 on Sunday.

He finished four shots clear of the field, but after going bogey-free for his first 58 holes, Henley's first blemish for the week came with a six at the par-five fifth, adding another bogey on 16 to go with his three birdies.

Speaking to NBC after stepping off the final green at the event in Mexico, Henley said he was guided by experience of previous occasions where he has not been able to convert 54-hole leads into wins.

"Just tried to learn from my past, and my screw-ups," he said. "That's kind of what I took from the last two events this season – what am I doing wrong, and how can I get better with it.

"All those events that I haven't closed out [five times he has held the 54-hole lead and not won], they hurt. You don't know if you'll ever get to win another one, it's so hard out here.

"To come down 18 with a four-shot lead, it's really cool. I don't even know what to say. I felt very nervous this weekend, I slept on the lead both nights – I've never slept on a six-shot lead.

"You just don't feel the same as when you're practising at home, you can't create that environment that you get out here when you're leading at a PGA Tour event.

"I guess all the times I didn't get it done, I learned from it, and here we are."

Alone in second place at 19 under was Brian Harman, who posted rounds of 66, 66, 67 and 66 in an incredibly consistent week which included a hole-in-one on Friday.

Scottie Scheffler was two strokes better than anyone else in the final trip around El Camaleon Golf Club, shooting a nine-under 62 to fly up the leaderboard into a tie for third at 18 under.

Joining Scheffler at 18 under were fellow Americans Joel Dahmen, Troy Merritt and Will Gordon, as well as last week's winner of the Bermuda Championship, Ireland's Seamus Power.

Sweden's David Lingmerth joined Sam Ryder at 17 under in a tie for eighth, while defending back-to-back champion of this event Hovland was one further back, tied for 10th.

Collin Morikawa finished the week at 15 under, and former world number one Jason Day was joined by former Masters champion Danny Willett at 14 under.

Russell Henley carded the lowest 54-hole score of the season to pull six strokes clear at the final turn at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on Saturday.

The 33-year-old American carded a six-under-par 65, following on from successive rounds of 63 to hold a significant advantage from the nearest contenders, Will Gordon and Patton Kizzire at 16 under. Henley has tallied 191 across the three rounds at El Camaleon Golf Club.

Only four players had a better third round than Henley, who went into the day's play with a three-shot lead. Henley's long putt for birdie on the par-three 15th hole was his 22nd birdie of the tournament.

Seamus Power, who won last week's Butterfield Bermuda Championship, enjoyed the round of the day with an eight-under 63 to be alone in third.

Power's round included four birdies and two eagles, with one of the latter being a 138-yard hole-in-one on the eighth.

The Irishman is behind Gordon and Kizzire at 15 under, with Troy Merritt and Brian Harman one shot behind at 14 under. Reigning back-to-back champion Viktor Hovland is a further stroke behind among a group of four players.

Greyson Sigg, who is 13-under overall, aced the 10th to join Power and make it two holes-in-one on the same day in excellent conditions.

Joel Dahmen went within a whisker of the second-ever hole-in-one on a par four in PGA Tour history, when his massive approach landed inches away from the flag on the 17th hole.

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.

Davis Riley produced a bogey-free opening round to claim a share of the lead alongside Will Gordon after the opening day of the Sanderson Farms Championship on Thursday.

Mississippi-native Riley carded a six-under-par 66 including four birdies in his first seven holes to set the pace at the Country Club of Jackson.

Riley he also holed an 18-foot putt for birdie on the 17th, backing up his birdie on the 16th for a strong opening round.

Gordon, who was among the last to finish on the opening day, came in strong with three birdies in his final five holes. He sunk a 23-foot birdie putt on the ninth.

Seven players are tied at five-under, including tour rookie Brandon Matthews who finished his round with back-to-back birdies to card 67.

Matthews is tied with Andrew Putnam, Kevin Yu, Mark Hubbard, Thomas Detry, Trevor Cone and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, the latter fresh from his Presidents Cup debut.

Among the day's highlights were aces on the fourth hole to Brandon Wu, who is three-under-overall, and M.J. Daffue, who had just double bogeyed the par-five third hole.

Reigning champion Sam Burns carded a bogey-free two-under-par 70, while one of the pre-tournament favourites Denny McCarthy is a further stroke behind after birdieing his final two holes.

Sahith Theegala (one over), Russell Henley (two over) and J.T. Poston (four over) struggled on the opening day, with the latter carding four bogeys and one double bogey in the par-four 12th.

20-year-old Kim Joo-hyung became the second-youngest player since 1932 to win a PGA Tour event – trailing only Jordan Spieth – as he produced a final-round 61 to run away with a five-stroke buffer and claim the Wyndham Championship at 20 under.

In doing so, he became the event's youngest ever winner, and after entering the last tournament of the season ranked in the 400s in the FedEx Cup standings, he booked his place in the playoffs later this month.

His final round included an incredible front-nine score of 27, with six birdies and an eagle, and making his win even more remarkable is the fact that he started his week with a quadruple bogey from his opening hole on Thursday.

Speaking to CBS after stepping off the final green, Kim said his ability to keep a sense of humour about his rough start was the key to bouncing back.

"I stayed very patient this week," he said. "I felt like after that quad, once I started to laugh it off I could feel like I was in a much better mental state. 

"Instead of being angry and depressed I just stayed in the moment – I can't believe I won with a quadruple bogey on the first hole – hopefully that doesn't happen again.

"It's definitely a week I will remember forever."

He added: "it was a hard day – I didn't know golf was this stressful before."

Finishing in a tie for second was Kim's South Korean compatriot Im Sung-jae and American John Huh at 15 under, with Ben Griffin alone in fourth at 14 under.

American trio Max McGreevy, Russell Henley and Taylor Moore tied for fifth at 13 under, and there was another two-stroke gap to the group rounding out the top-10 at 11 under consisting of England's Tyrrell Hatton, Australia's Cameron Percy, India's Anirban Lahiri, and Americans Brandon Wu and Chesson Hadley.

Germany's Stephan Jaeger posted Sunday's second-best round with a 62 to finish tied for 13th at 10 under, and Canada's Corey Conners produced a pair of 66s on the weekend to sit on the fringe of the top-20 after scraping through right on the cut-line, tied with Will Zalatoris at nine under.

There is nothing in golf quite like The Masters.

Arguably the most prestigious of the majors, Augusta National becomes the centre of the sporting world once more over the weekend, as the famous green jacket goes up for grabs again.

In 1997, Tiger Woods won his first major when he triumphed in Georgia, and 25 years on he is set to make a sensational comeback from injury.

But Woods is not the only name to look out for.

The favourites

Let's start from the top. Scottie Scheffler is the world's new number one and he heads into the weekend on the back of three victories in his last five events, having not finished worse than T-19th in his six major appearances since 2020.

Scheffler said he has been resting up at home ahead of travelling to Augusta, where he joked he has already been brought down a peg or two.

He told Sky Sports: "I've been humbled a couple of times already, showing up here. The guy who picked me up in the cart this morning called me Xander, so that brought me down to earth real quick! It's been great, really looking forward to this week."

The Xander in question is Xander Schauffele. He finished T3 last year, three shots back from the champion Hideki Matsuyama, and was looking good on his final round until he sent a ball into the water on the 16th, but he won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and comes into the tournament in strong form.

Reigning champion Matsuyama cast doubt over his participation when he withdrew from the Texas Open with a neck problem, meanwhile, which may hinder his title defence.

Brooks Koepka has won four majors, but did not make the cut last year and will be out to put that right this time around, having defeated Jon Rahm in the WGC-Match Play last 16. 

Rahm has finished in the top 10 in each of his last four Masters appearances. However, the Spaniard has not won a tournament since triumphing in the US Open last year, but did secure a place in the top 10 in all four of last year's majors.

Dustin Johnson failed to make the cut in 2021 in a torrid title defence. He had dropped out of the top 10 up until an impressive performance at the WGC-Match Play moved him up to number eight, and he'll be determined to rekindle the form that saw him clinch the green jacket in 2020.

Viktor Hovland is ranked fourth in the world, though his weak chipping game may prove costly to his chances at Augusta, while Collin Morikawa cannot be discounted for a third major title and Justin Thomas will be out to win a second major having won the US PGA Championship in 2017.

The outsiders

Augusta is where golfers can shoot to stardom over the course of four spectacular days, and there will be plenty of the field who fancy their chances despite not being among the bookmakers' favourites.

One such player capable of a challenge is Cameron Smith. The Australian is ranked at a career-high six, won the Players' Championship last month and has finished inside the top 10 in three of the last four Masters.

Will Zalatoris, meanwhile, comes into the weekend with the best SG (strokes gained, which compares a player's score to the field average) tee-to-green* statistics on the PGA Tour this season, with his 1.767 average just edging out Thomas, and he came second on his Masters debut in 2021.

Zalatoris only has one pro win to his name so far but the 25-year-old has largely impressed at the majors. He finished T2 in 2021 at Augusta and T8 in last year's PGA Championship, while recording a T6 finish in the 2020 US Open.

Rory McIlroy's Masters record is frustrating. It is the only major the former world number one has not yet won. He finished in the top 10 six times between 2014 and 2020 before missing the cut last year, and now he'll have another stab at sealing a career Grand Slam, though his best finish this season has been third in the Dubai Desert Classic.

Only five players have previously completed a clean sweep of the majors, and McIlroy has not won one of the big four events since 2014.

Russell Henley will feature for the first time since 2018 after 12 top 10 finishes in the past year, and he has finished in the top 25 at Augusta three times, while Bryson DeChambeau is going to compete despite missing a chunk of the season with a hip problem. He finished T46 on three-over-par in 2021.

Marc Leishman finished fifth a year ago, improving on T13 from 2020, and Sergio Garcia will at least hope to make the cut for the first time since he won in 2017. Perhaps if the Spaniard can just make the weekend, he can go all the way again?

The return of the king

As far as comeback stories go in sport, Woods has already provided one of the very best.

In 2019, against all odds following years of back issues and surgery to fix the problems, Woods won The Masters for a fifth time in his illustrious career, taking his total of major victories to 15. He trails only Jack Nicklaus in that regard.

But this comeback might just top the lot.

The 46-year-old admitted he cheated death in a major single-car crash in February 2021, which left him with serious leg and foot injuries. Woods was unable to walk unaided for several months and has not played serious golf since, but he is all set for a remarkable return on the biggest stage of them all.

It will be his first appearance in any tournament since he played at Augusta in November 2020. Since winning his maiden major a quarter of a century ago, Woods has claimed nine more major titles than any other player, while he is one of only three players to win successive Masters titles (2001 and 2002).

Woods has never failed to make the cut in 21 appearances, and even if he does not challenge at the top of the leaderboard this time around (though you would not put it past him) his comeback is already the story of the weekend.

Hideki Matsuyama produced a stunning second shot on the first playoff hole to claim victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii as he triumphed over Russell Henley.

The reigning Masters champion had trailed by five strokes on the back nine but produced a surge capped with a birdie at the last to force a playoff with Henley after both finished 23 under par.

Henley's putt on the 18th to win the tournament skimmed the outside edge of the hole and he was left to rue that miss in quite astonishing fashion.

They returned to the same hole for the playoff and Matsuyama, having gone for the 3-wood off the tee, elected to use the same club for his second shot from 277 yards away and could not have hit it any better, sending it to three feet for an eagle putt to secure his eighth PGA Tour title and his third in less than a year as Henley made bogey.

Waialae Country Club holds a special place in Japanese golf history, with it being the course where Isao Aoki became the first player from the country to win on the PGA Tour.

And Matsuyama was thrilled to replicate his achievement.

"I got on a roll, I'm glad it came out this way," said Matsuyama. "To follow him [Aoki] up, I'm over the moon."

Kevin Kisner and Seamus Power were Matsuyama and Henley's closest challengers, finishing in a tie for third, four strokes off the pace.

Russell Henley remains in the lead ahead of the final day of the Sony Open in Hawaii but 2021 Masters Championship winner Hideki Matsuyama surged into contention on Saturday.

Henley carded a three-under-round of 67 to maintain his lead after being three strokes ahead at the halfway mark at the Waialae Country Club.

Japanese 29-year-old Matsuyama, though, moved up the leaderboard into second spot, two shots behind Henley, with a seven-under-63 to be 16 under overall.

Henley leads at 18 under, with Matsuyama 16 under, before four players are tied at 14 under in third in Adam Svensson, Seamus Power, Matt Kuchar and Haotong Li.

The American, who won the Sony Open in 2013, had two bogeys and five birdies in his round, including a 16-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to buffer his lead after Matsuyama made his move earlier in the day.

Matsuyama, who carded rounds of 66 and 65 on the first two days, improved with a day-three 63 headlined by four birdies in his final seven holes.

Svensson and Power both hit five-under-rounds of 65 to remain in contention, while Kuchar and Li are close but carded rounds of three-under and two-under to fail to close on Henley.

American Russell Henley holds a three-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Sony Open in Hawaii after a seven-under-63 on Friday.

Henley, who won the Sony Open in 2013, carded an eight-under-62 on the opening day and backed that up to be 15-under and three shots ahead of second-placed Haotong Li.

Li along with third-placed Matt Kuchar and equal fourth Chris Kirk all carded rounds of five-under-65.

Kirk is one of 10 players tied for fourth alongside Seamus Power, Stewart Cink, Corey Conners, Adam Svensson, Keita Nakajima, Davis Riley, Dylan Wu, Brandt Snedeker, Payton Kizzire and 2021 Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama.

Henley's seven-under-63 was a round-best alongside Cink and Charles Howell III who both surged up the leaderboard.

The 32-year-old American had an even card on the second round before holing a bunker shot for eagle on the 18th hole, his ninth hole of the day.

Henley came home strong with four birdies and an eagle in his final six holes, including a 29-foot eagle putt. He has three PGA Tour titles across his career, the last being in 2017.

Veteran Jim Furyk dropped well off the pace after his fast start, with a two-over-round of 72 leaving him six under at halfway, while day one leader Kevin Na slipped to eight under after a round of one-over-71.

Colombian Sebastian Munoz leads the way after the opening day at the RSM Classic in Georgia after carding a career round of 10-under 60 on Thursday.

Munoz landed eight birdies along with an eagle on the 15th hole on a day of low scoring at the event, which is played over both the Seaside and Plantation courses at Sea Island.

Zach Johnson, who like Munoz played his opening round on the par-70 Seaside course, is one stroke behind, while Mackenzie Hughes, Scott Stallings and Chez Reavie are also nine under after starting on the par-72 Plantation.

Munoz's round equalled Tommy Gainey's 2012 round record at Seaside, while Hughes, Stallings and Reavie also matched the Plantation course record with their 63s.

Johnson, who hit all 18 greens, said: "When you’ve got just absolute pure conditions weather-wise and pure conditions on the golf course — the best I’ve ever seen these two golf courses, period — you know you’ve got to get after it."

A further four players are tied at eight under in Russell Henley, Jhonattan Vegas, Talor Gooch and Corey Conners, with only the latter starting on Seaside.

Scottie Scheffler carded seven-under 63 at Seaside, working with Bubba Watson's long-time caddie Ted Scott for the first time.

Australian Cameron Smith, among the pre-event favourites, started with a six-under round at Seaside, while defending champion Robert Streb opened with a four-under day at Plantation. 

A double bogey at the Plantation seventh hole meant Webb Simpson slipped off the pace after shooting a three-under-69, while Louis Oosthuizen had an unspectacular one-under opening round at Seaside.

Marc Leishman is in a four-way tie for the Houston Open lead following an interrupted start at the PGA Tour event.

Play was suspended due to darkness on Thursday, with a number of players yet to complete their opening rounds in Houston.

Leishman – making his first Houston Open start since 2013 – got through his 18 holes and the Australian star carded a five-under-par 65 at Memorial Park Municipal Golf Course.

Russell Henley – winner of the tournament in 2017, Talor Gooch and Luke List are also five under, though the latter was the only member of the quartet still to complete his round, having made it through 15 holes.

"Probably for about six months I feel like I've been playing OK, just not getting anything out of it," Leishman said. "It can be a crazy game, it can get you down and you can play really well and not have a good score and play mediocre golf and have a really good score.

"You have to try and not let that get to you. I think a fresh season, a new start was pretty good for me. Got me to knuckle down and just really focus and been playing some good golf."

Jason Dufner is one stroke off the pace heading into Friday, while Keith Mitchell, Ben Silverman, Jhonattan Vegas (through 13), Wyndham Clark (through 13), Adam Long (through 11) and Martin Trainer (through 11) are a shot further back.

Former world number one Jason Day completed 11 holes to be even par before play was cut short, alongside four-time major champion Brooks Koepka (through nine).

Russell Henley's pursuit of his first PGA Tour title in four years remains on track after a third round 69 kept him in the lead, three strokes clear at the Wyndham Championship on Saturday.

Henley, who held a four-shot lead at the halfway mark, carded a one-under-69 highlighted by an eagle on the 15th hole, before bogeying the 18th at Sedgefield Country Club.

World number 54 Henley sunk a 33-foot eagle putt for his eagle in a stable round which included two bogeys and one birdie.

The American is ahead of Tyler McCumber who moved into outright second with a round of four-under-66 buoyed by three birdies on his front nine to be 12 under.

McCumber landed a 53-foot putt for birdie on the 11th hole as he launched into contention.

South African Branden Grace and Roger Sloan stormed up the leaderboard, both carding rounds of six-under-64 to be tied for third with 11 under.

The pair are alongside Kevin Kisner, Kevin Na, Scott Piercy and Rory Sabbatini at 11 under. Sloan's 54-hole of 199 is a career low for the Canadian.

Australian Adam Scott also shot a six-under-64 to move up to 10 under, level with a number of players including former Wyndham winner Webb Simpson who had an up-and-down day.

Simpson was joint second at the halfway mark but his third round included a triple bogey on the 14th in a dramatic run of five holes on his back nine which included three birdies and a bogey as well.