Will Zalatoris took advantage of the friendlier conditions later on Friday to finish his round five under, giving him the outright lead at nine under through two rounds at Southern Hills Country Club.

He is the only player to shoot 66 or better in the first two rounds as fellow fast-starters Rory McIlroy and Tom Hoge both finished over par their second time around the course.

Zalatoris went bogey-free, birdieing the first hole, the 17th, and three consecutive starting on the 11th. While the conditions were conducive to scoring, both of his playing partners – Cameron Smith and Victor Hovland – shot even-par 70s.

In outright second place at eight under is Chile's Mito Pereira, who was one shot off the round-of-the-day with his six-under 64, leaving him at eight under through two rounds. He had seven birdies – including back-to-backs on holes four-five and 10-11 – and just one bogey on 12.

Justin Thomas posted his second consecutive 67 to have a share of third place at six under, and he is one shot ahead of Bubba Watson, who shot Friday's best round of 63 – tying the course record – with nine birdies and two bogeys. He sits alone in fourth.

Tiger Woods was in danger of missing the cut after a double-bogey on the 11th moved his score to five over, but he responded in terrific fashion.

Showing his quality, Woods one-putted on the next six greens for two birdies and four pars to leave him one shot inside the cut-line (four under) heading onto the 18th. With a par on the last, he finished his round one under and earned two more rounds of action.

First-round leader McIlroy is in a share for fifth af four under after his round of 71, and he's tied with Mexico's Abraham Ancer and America's Davis Riley.

England's Matt Fitzpatrick and American Stewart Cink are one further shot back at three under in a tie for eighth, and there is a logjam at two under, tied for 10th, highlighted by Cameron Smith, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Kuchar.

A strong grouping of Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau and Jordan Spieth are part of a large contingent at one over, with Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm a further stroke back after they posted scores of 67 and 69 respectively on Friday.

Jason Day is tied with Woods at three under, while at four under Collin Morikawa and Hideki Matsuyama just did enough to qualify for the weekend.

Tiger Woods says Rory McIlroy "made it look very easy" after the Northern Irishman set the early pace on day one of the US PGA Championship.

Seeking a first major in eight years, McIlroy carded five-under 65 to take a one-shot lead into the clubhouse at Southern Hills on Thursday.

The 33-year-old, who won this event in 2012 and 2014, closed with a birdie on the final hole – his seventh of the day – to put himself in strong contention for another title.

He teed off in a marquee group alongside Jordan Spieth and Woods, who carded 74 and 72 respectively, with the latter impressed by what he saw from McIlroy.

"Obviously you can shoot something in the mid-60s, Rory proved that today," Woods told Sky Sports. "He made it look very easy. 

"He had a couple of shots where he slipped away and he still shot five under and made it look very easy."

McIlroy, who finished second in last month's Masters after shooting a record-equalling eight-under 64 on the final day, is not getting carried away just yet.

"I came in here knowing that my game was in good shape," McIlroy said. "So it's just a matter of going out there and executing the shots that you know that you can.

"Today I did that very well and I just need to try to replicate that tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday and not get ahead of myself, but it was a great start."

While McIlroy is in a strong position, Woods faces an uphill battle to make the cut, as he did at the Masters last month, but he is not giving up hope of a big recovery on Friday.

"It can be done, I've witnessed it first-hand, so hopefully I can put together something similar tomorrow and get myself back in this tournament," he said.

The 15-time major winner is competing in just his second tournament since sustaining serious leg and foot injuries in a car accident 15 months ago.

Woods felt some discomfort towards the end of an erratic opening round, which ended with him nine strokes behind McIlroy.

"Physically, I've felt better," he told Sky Sports. "Emotionally, I've actually felt better too. 

"It was frustrating. I got off to a great start today, I did exactly what I needed to do starting out the round, but I did not keep it going.

"I hit a lot of bad iron shots, put myself in a lot of bad spots and never really gave myself any birdie putts. 

"I actually felt comfortable with the driver, I hit a lot of fairways with it, but from there it wasn't very good. Most of my bunker shots I hit were long, came out hotter than I thought. 

"But predominately I just hit bad iron shots. That's not normally how I play, but today unfortunately that's kind of what it was."

Tiger Woods made a bright start to his US PGA Championship quest as he headed out in esteemed company with Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.

The star trio played to a bumper early-morning gallery at Southern Hills, Tulsa, where Woods won his fourth and most recent US PGA Championship title in 2007.

Woods had a birdie at his first hole and was one under through three holes, with Spieth and McIlroy soon joining him on that mark.

Starting at the 10th hole, all three began well off the tee, with Woods receiving by far the loudest reception and hitting the longest drive of the trio at 339 yards.

"Do you mind giving me some breathing space please. Back off a little bit," Woods said towards a camera crew as he walked down the first fairway.

He fired a sweet wedge to three feet away from the hole and made no mistake from that range, holing for an immediate birdie.

Woods found the heart of the green at the short 11th, his second, and sent his putt to just six inches away, tapping in for par.

He had a birdie chance at 12 from around 20 feet away but pushed it just right of the hole. McIlroy and Spieth made their first gains at that hole.

Speaking on Tuesday, Woods said he could "definitely" be a title contender, despite this being just his second tournament back since the February 2021 car crash that saw him sustain serious leg and foot injuries. He made the cut at the Masters last month, before fading as the hilly Augusta course took a physical toll on the 46-year-old former world number one.

"My team did just an amazing job just to get me to a point where I could play the Masters and I was able to have that opportunity to play," Woods said. "Right after each round, it was like getting back to the house and we have an ice bath ready for you, and off you go, get on the treatment table and let's keep working at it, keep things going, and it was tough. It was hard. It was hard on all of us.

"But I've gotten stronger since then. But still, it's still going to be sore and walking is a challenge. I can hit golf balls, but the challenge is walking. It's going to be that way for the foreseeable future for sure."

John Daly, the 1991 US PGA champion, was two under through seven holes and held a share of the lead with Robert MacIntyre, Max Homa, Y.E. Yang, Xander Schauffele and Will Zalatoris early in the first round.

Tiger Woods has decided to leave great rival Phil Mickelson alone with his thoughts after the reigning US PGA Championship winner pulled out of his planned title defence. 

Amid a continuing backlash over Mickelson's comments about the Saudi-backed breakaway tour, the 51-year-old has elected to skip this week's major. 

Mickelson has not played since February after angering many in the game with his remarks about the Super Golf League – now officially called the LIV Golf Invitational Series.  

The veteran American, who became the oldest major winner in history when he triumphed at Kiawah Island last year, said Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights" but added he was willing to commit to the league as it was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates". 

Mickelson has apologised but missed the Masters and is not ready to return to the PGA Tour yet. He, along with several other golfers, has asked for a release from the PGA Tour to compete in the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which is due to start next month, but those requests have been refused. 

Woods was asked about Mickelson in a news conference at Southern Hills, Tulsa, ahead of the US PGA getting under way on Thursday. 

"I have not reached out to him. I have not spoken to him," Woods said. "A lot of it has not to do with, I think, personal issues. It was our viewpoints of how the Tour should be run and could be run, and what players are playing for and how we are playing for it. I have a completely different stance. 

"I don't know what he's going through. But I know the comments he made about the Tour and the way that it should be run, it could be run; it could be run differently and all the different financials that could have happened, I just have a very different opinion on that. And so no, I have not reached out to him." 

Woods said it was "always disappointing" for a major champion to be absent rather than defending a title. 

"Phil has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the Tour and committed to the legacy of the Tour have pushed back against, and he's taken some personal time, and we all understand that," Woods said. 

"But I think that some of his views on how the Tour could be run, should be run, [there has] been a lot of disagreement there." 

Woods described Mickelson's comments about the PGA Tour as "polarising" and pointed to the PGA Tour's long history, as well as its current lucrative events, as reason to show it full support. 

The 46-year-old pointed to how Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer had been instrumental in the Tour breaking away from the PGA of America in 1968, creating greater earning potential for the players. 

"I just think that what Jack and Arnold have done in starting the Tour and breaking away from the PGA of America and creating our Tour ... I just think there's a legacy to that," Woods said. 

"I still think that the Tour has so much to offer, so much opportunity. I believe in legacies. I believe in major championships. I believe in big events, comparisons to historical figures of the past. 

"There's plenty of money out here. The Tour is growing. But it's just like any other sport. It's like tennis. You have to go out there and earn it. You've got to go out there and play for it. We have opportunity to go ahead and do it. It's just not guaranteed up front." 

Woods, in his second major since returning from injuries sustained in a horrific February 2021 car crash, is feeling increasingly optimistic his body can help his skill set deliver a 16th major championship. 

"I feel like I can, definitely. I just have to go out there and do it," he said. "I have to do my work. Starts on Thursday and I'll be ready." 

Tiger Woods will be joined in a golfing super-group by Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy for the first two rounds of the US PGA Championship.

The trio, who between them have landed 22 titles at the majors, will begin on Thursday at 08:11 local time (13:11GMT) at Southern Hills, the Oklahoma course that is staging the tournament for a fifth time.

Woods, who won the last of his four US PGA titles at Southern Hills in 2007, has played only one tournament this season, making the cut at the Masters in April.

He is continuing to recover from the foot and leg injuries he sustained in a car crash in February of last year, but there were flickers of the old Woods during his performance at Augusta.

Woods said in a news conference on Tuesday: "It's better than the last time I played a tournament, which is good

"We've been working hard. I have days when it is tough and days where we can push through, but we keep working at it."

Woods has 15 majors to his name, McIlroy has four, including two at the US PGA, and Spieth needs a win at this event to complete a career grand slam, having won each of the other three majors once.

McIlroy believes 46-year-old Woods would not have entered this week if he did not believe it possible to contend come Sunday.

"Six weeks is a long enough time to recover from that week [at the Masters] and then build yourself back up again. He certainly hasn't chosen two of the easiest walks in golf to come back to, Augusta and here," McIlroy said.

"But he's stubborn, he's determined. This is what he lives for. He lives for these major championships, and if he believes he can get around 18 holes, he believes he can win."

Tiger Woods says he got "a lot stronger" since making an incredible comeback at The Masters as he prepares for the US PGA Championship this week.

The 15-time major champion returned to action at Augusta 15 months after he was involved in a car accident that left him with serious leg and foot injuries.

Woods almost lost a leg in that crash, but made the cut in the first major of the year before falling away to finishing 47th.

The legendary American has not played in a tournament since then and says he was understandably in pain after four rounds in Georgia.

Woods is feeling much better as he gears up for another major at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa.

He said: "I've gotten a lot stronger since the Masters. We went back to work on Tuesday [after the Masters]. Monday was awful. I did nothing and Tuesday was leg day. So, we went right back after it."

Woods knows he will never be fully mobile after such a horrific accident.

"Am I ever going to have full mobility? No. Never again," Woods said.

"But I'll be able to get stronger. It's going to ache, but that's the way it's going to be

"I'm excited about [the US PGA]. I'm not going to play that much going forward, so anytime I do play, it's going to be fun to play and to compete. There are only so many money games you can play at home."

Joe LaCava, Woods' caddie, also provided an encouraging assessment of one of the all-time greats' condition.

"I think the endurance is there now. I don't think he's getting quite as tired as quickly." he said.

"Other than the fact he won here 15 years ago, I think it's the stamina and endurance thing that excites him the most."

Tiger Woods has been included in the final field for the US PGA Championship next week, with Phil Mickelson returning from his self-enforced break to defend his title. 

After contesting his first event in 17 months at the Masters in April, 15-time major winner Woods will take part in the tournament at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. 

The 46-year-old finished 47th at Augusta, an impressive feat having almost lost his leg following a car accident Los Angeles in February 2021. 

Woods two weeks ago played a practise round at Southern Hills, which was the site of his 2007 US PGA Championship success. 

Reigning champion Mickelson will also be in the field when the second major of the year gets under way on May 19. 

Mickelson has not played since February after opting to take a break from the sport following the backlash to his controversial comments over the Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League – now officially called the LIV Golf Invitational Series. 

The 51-year-old said Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights", but added he was willing to commit to the league as it was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates". Mickelson later apologised for his "reckless" comments. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tiger Woods will participate in July's JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor in preparation for The Open later that month.

Woods confirmed he will participate in The Open following his successful return to action at the Masters, although he admitted he does not expect to ever play a full schedule again.

The 15-time major winner defied the odds to compete at Augusta National, 14 months on from sustaining serious leg and foot injuries in a car accident.

The Pro-Am, which is hosted by Irish racehorse owner JP McManus, will include a number of the biggest names from the world of golf, including Ernie Els, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy.

Woods has appeared at the charity event on three previous occasions, and McManus was delighted to have the legendary 46-year-old on board.

"His presence at Adare Manor will undoubtedly bring huge excitement to the thousands of spectators," he said.

"We are very grateful to him for giving up his free time to be with us."

Woods' presence at the Masters marked his first time competing at a PGA Tour event since November 2020, and not only did he make the cut for a 22nd successive time at Augusta, he also played all 72 holes.

After a strong start to the week, Woods faded from contention and carded back-to-back rounds of six-over 78 on Saturday and Sunday – both career-worst scores, though he received warm ovations from the crowds all week.

The Pro-Am will be held at the County Limerick venue, which will host the 2027 Ryder Cup.

After winning the Masters, Scottie Scheffler revealed he was in tears on the morning of his final round.

The 25-year-old American had not won a PGA Tour event two months ago, but in the past 57 days he has won four of the six events he has entered, and capped it off with a green jacket on Sunday.

Scheffler shot 71 for the round after four-putting the 18th, trimming his winning margin from five strokes down to three with the double-bogey, to finish 10 under for the tournament.

He looked cool, calm and collected throughout as he fought off the challenge of Cameron Smith, but speaking after his win he revealed he was anything but composed on Sunday morning.

"I cried like a baby this morning," he said. "I was so stressed out – I didn’t know what to do.

"I was sitting there telling [wife] Meredith ‘I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’m not ready, I don’t feel like I’m ready for this kind of stuff', and I just felt overwhelmed.

"She told me ‘who are you to say that you are not ready?' and 'who am I to say that I know what’s best for my life?’

"So what we talked about is that God is in control, and that the Lord is leading me; and if today is my time, it’s my time. 

"Gosh, it was a long morning. It was long. My stomach has been hurting for two days straight."

The gravity of the situation was what weighed on Scheffler, knowing the opportunity he had.

"I think I had a five-shot lead on Friday, and then a three-shot lead going into [Sunday] – I don’t know if you get better opportunities than that," he said.

"You don’t want to waste them. The human condition is to make things bigger than they really are, and years from now I would say people may not remember me as a champion, and that’s fine. 

"But in the moment, you think it’s a lot bigger deal than it really is."

While Tiger Woods was the talk of the weekend after returning to golf and making the cut, Scheffler took inspiration from some of his earlier appearances at Augusta.

"[Woods'] YouTube clips are such an inspiration for me," he said. 

"I remember watching the highlights of him winning in '97, kind of running away with it – he never really broke his concentration."

Tiger Woods had Jon Rahm for company in the final round of the Masters, and his Spanish playing partner senses the American golfing great is bang on track to be a major contender again.

The playing partners had contrasting fortunes on Sunday, with Rahm signing off with a classy 69 and Woods labouring to a weary 78.

But it was to be expected that Woods would flag this weekend, having amazed the golfing world by making the cut in his first PGA Tour event since November 2020. An opening 71 had been a staggering achievement.

After back surgery, and the shocking car crash in February 2021 which Woods has admitted he was lucky to survive, it was a wonder that he played Augusta at all this year.

He was bedridden for a good while after the crash in California in which he sustained major leg and foot injuries, and the undulating course that stages the Masters, a tournament that Woods has won five times, was hardly tailor-made to allow the 46-year-old a soft landing back in the professional game.

World number two Rahm had a view at close quarters of the returning Woods, and said: "It's really cool. It was great because nobody cared about me, so I was just watching him play. I was able to enjoy today as a fan and as a player.

"You can just tell that his leg is just not quite up there yet. I've seen him in the truck. He is limping in the truck. He is limping on the course. Obviously, he is trying very hard to play, but it's not easy to walk up and down those hills. At the end you can just tell that his leg and his body are just not used to walking this much, right?

"I believe if at home he can walk and get strength up and stamina in that sense, he will be able to be competitive again.

"This is the hardest walk all year. He will be able to go somewhere where it's a little easier to walk. It won't be as long, and I believe he'll be able to contend."

Rahm said "the Tiger effect" can be seen on the PGA Tour, where he faces competition from a generation that grew up watching and admiring Woods; he namechecked the likes of Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, new Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith.

Rahm also said Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau were among the same peer group that has taken the game by the scruff of the neck, and he believes the intense competition may mean there is no one standout player who wins a great glut of majors.

Woods has 15 to his name, but such a staggering haul seems out of range for the players who have followed in his wake.

"All of us are close in age, and we all – Dustin being a little bit older – we're all within five years, and we all grew up watching Tiger. We all grew up wanting to be him, and we all grew up with the dream of being major champions," Rahm said.

"With the advancement in golf, in all of us thinking of ourselves as athletes, you can see the difference. Everybody can reach a new level.

"It's really hard to stay up there for a long time. Some players have been able to do it, but it's just the next guy comes up, gets hot, and there you go. It's a beautiful part of the golden age of golf we're living in right now.

"Hopefully it's me, but you might not get the one guy that's going to dominate for a long time, but you're going to get five, six, maybe 10 players that can do their part. Anybody gets hot for three, four months, and you can see what happens."

Woods said he felt "thankful" that he was able to last the distance.

"Just to be able to play, and not only just to play, but I put up a good first round," Woods said. "I got myself there. I don't quite have the endurance that I would like to have had, but as of a few weeks ago, didn't even know if I was going to play in this event.

"To go from that to here, we're excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven't been able to do because it needed more time to heal. I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we'll get back after it, and we'll get into it."

Tiger Woods has confirmed he will participate in The Open following his successful return to action at The Masters, but he does not expect to ever play a full schedule again.

The 15-time major winner defied the odds to compete at Augusta National this week, 14 months on from sustaining serious leg and foot injuries in a car accident.

Competing in his first PGA Tour event since November 2020, Woods not only made the cut for a 22nd successive time at the Masters, he also played all 72 holes.

After a strong start to the week, Woods faded from contention and carded back-to-back rounds of six-over 78 on Saturday and Sunday – both career-worst scores.

While that score may seem underwhelming for the 46-year-old, who won this event for a fifth time in 2019, Woods received a huge ovation when completing his round.

And after showing glimpses of his old self this week, as well proving his ability to complete a tournament, Woods intends to continue appearing at majors and other select events.

"I won't be playing a full schedule ever again," he told Sky Sports. "It will just be the big events. I don't know if I will play Southern Hills [next month's PGA Championship] or not. 

"But I am looking forward to St Andrews. It's something near and dear to my heart. I've won two Opens there and it's the home of golf, my favourite golf course in the world. 

"So I will be there for that one. Yes."

Woods was limping throughout the final round, which consisted of five bogeys and a double-bogey after a birdie on the second hole, but he was blown away by the support.

"It's crazy, it's just crazy," he said of his reception. "This golf course and this tournament has meant so much to me and my family.

"From the year I was born, it was the first year that a Black man played in the Masters, Lee Elder. He got a chance to be an honorary starter last year, before he passed. 

"He was there when I ended up winning in 1997, my dad was there.

"My mum was there the entire time, and is out there today. She's stubborn. 

"She shouldn't have been out there, she shouldn't have been walking, she has no business going up and down those hills. Where do I get it from, right?"