Ireland’s Shane Lowry is two shots off the lead held by American Sahith Theegala after a weather-hit opening day at the Phoenix Open.

Theegala hit seven birdies and a bogey in a six-under-par 65 and leads by one from compatriot Andrew Novak after the first day at Scottsdale.

Novak had only completed nine holes with around half of the field needing to complete their first rounds on Friday after a rain delay of more than three hours around lunchtime.

Theegala, who had played 14 holes before the break, said: “The weather was, it was not good, those last four holes felt great.

“I played great and that’s all I can do, really.”

Lowry, 36, who is tied third with S H Kim, started with six birdies and a bogey in his first nine holes, adding one bogey on the way home to finish with a 67. He said the weather made conditions “really bad towards the end”.

“We came back out, the wind was not blowing as strong but the ball was going nowhere, and it was cold and kind of tough,” he said.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick dropped two late shots after the resumption to fall back to two-under- par, alongside Scotland’s Martin Laird and one ahead of European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

Tiger Woods will make his first competitive appearance of 2024 in next week’s Genesis Invitational.

The 15-time major winner announced on social media that he was “excited to be a playing host” at Riviera Country Club – in a tournament which benefits his foundation – as he continues his latest comeback from injury.

Woods underwent ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round and did not compete again until the Hero World Challenge in December.

The 48-year-old finished 18th in the 20-man field in the Bahamas, but said after rounds of 75, 70, 71 and 72 that he was pleased with his progress

“I think I’ve come a long way,” Woods told NBC.

“From being a little bit rusty to playing four days and knocked off a lot of rust which was great, and just the physicality of actually playing and competing again – I haven’t done this in a while.

“It was nice to get out here with the guys, have some fun and compete. I wish I would have played a little cleaner but there’s always next time.”

Asked about his pre-tournament prediction that he could be able to play one competition a month in 2024, Woods added: “If you ask me right now I’m a little bit sore.

“But once a month seems reasonable. It gives me a couple of weeks to recover, a week to tune up. Maybe I can get into a rhythm. That’s what the plan was going into next year and I don’t see why that would change.”

Europe captain Luke Donald insists Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have not been “judged” for their decision to join LIV Golf and place their Ryder Cup futures in jeopardy.

Hatton and Rahm won both of their matches together in Rome last year, the fiery characters earning the nickname of “Team Angry” as they helped Donald’s side to a convincing victory over the United States.

As things stand, both will be eligible to qualify or receive a wild card for Europe’s defence of the trophy at Bethpage in 2025 as long as they remain members of the DP World Tour, which requires them to play in four regular tournaments per season.

They will also earn points towards qualification through major championships, but face fines and suspensions for playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases from the DP World Tour.

Asked ahead of his appearance in the WM Phoenix Open if he had spoken to Rahm and Hatton, Donald told a pre-tournament press conference: “I haven’t seen too many of the guys.

“We still have a group WhatsApp chat and we’re all participating in that chat that we created for Rome.

“There’s nothing adverse or anything within that chat. Everyone understands each individual wants to do the best for themselves and I don’t think anyone is judging Tyrrell or Jon’s decision.

“Jon is someone who decided that was the best choice for him. A lot of guys have decided that going to LIV is the choice that they were comfortable with. I’m not here to judge that.

“There’s been a lot of talks about the World Rankings and should LIV guys get it. Again, I think sometimes there are consequences to certain decisions and I think a lot of these guys knew that going into it.

“Do I see them (on the team)? It’s really hard for me to answer that question now. What I did so well in my captaincy last year was just control what I can control.

“We’re seven months out probably until qualification starts. We have all this talk about being potential deals with the PGA TOUR, with DP World Tour, with the PIF (Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia).

“I have no idea what’s going to happen and for the next seven months I don’t really need to know what’s going to happen because qualification for the Ryder Cup won’t start until then.”

As soon as Rahm’s decision to join the Saudi-funded breakaway was announced, Rory McIlroy said the rules on qualification for the European team would have to be changed to allow the Masters champion to compete at Bethpage.

The four-time major winner subsequently acknowledged that was not strictly accurate and Donald confirmed that he had monitored the form of LIV players who had remained eligible to make the team in Rome.

“Even going back to last year, there was a couple of guys playing on LIV that maintained their membership and I kept an eye on everyone that was eligible for me to be able to pick,” Donald said.

“The guys that decided to resign their membership, yeah, at that point I couldn’t pick them, but at this moment those are the rules and so far I’m sure Jon, I’m sure Tyrrell, they want to be a part of it and they will hopefully adhere to whatever the rules are that allows them to play in the Ryder Cup.”

Wyndham Clark has been declared the winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after extensive wind and rain forced the PGA to cancel the final day of play.

The 30-year-old American was six shots behind before hitting a 12-under-par 60 on Saturday to take the lead on the third day.

He finished on 17-under par, one shot clear of Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and two shots ahead of France’s Matthieu Pavon after 54 holes.

Strong wind and rain had postponed the final round to Monday, but a statement from the PGA Tour late on Sunday said after consulting the Monterey County emergency authorities and out of an “abundance of caution” for spectators and players, there would be no further play.

In a press conference call on Sunday, Clark said: “It’s pretty surreal right now.

“It’s maybe not the way you dream of winning.

“With that said, a lot of us yesterday had, not that we knew, but we definitely had this outside shot and thinking that maybe this is our last round.”

It was Clark’s third win in nine months after winning his first major at the US Open last year.

American Wyndham Clark shot a course record 60 to take the lead heading into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.

The US Open champion made five putts of at least 25 feet in his 12-under-par round with two eagles, nine birdies and one bogey, eclipsing the previous record of 62.

Clark, who had a lengthy eagle putt at the last to break 60, said he had a “really good feel on the greens”.

He said: “I was just, ‘See ball, hit ball, try to hit it where I wanted to’.

“So in my mind I was like, ‘All right, let’s just get us to where we’re putting,’ because the hole seemed like a bucket today.”

Clark’s round does count as a course record on the PGA Tour, despite the players being able to clean and place balls on the fairways.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg continued his strong tournament with a five-under-par 67 to sit one shot off the lead with France’s Matthieu Pavon a further shot behind as he chases a second successive victory on tour.

Justin Rose shot a 66 to move to 11-under par – six off the lead – but Rory McIlroy is a further none strokes adrift after a 69.

The final day’s play could be determined by weather with strong winds and rain threatening to delay or cut short play.

American Scottie Scheffler shot an eight-under-par 64 to join Belgian Thomas Detry and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg in the halfway lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Scheffler hit eight birdies without a blemish on his card to sit at 11-under-par while battling a course wet from overnight rain.

The world number one said aside from the weather, it was “just another day”.

“Like on a lot of these back-to-front greens, it’s a big adjustment going from hitting a pitching wedge to hitting an eight iron to try to take off spin,” he said. “It’s little stuff like that you have to adjust to on the course.”

Detry failed to repeat his first day’s efforts of 63 at Spyglass Hill, shooting a two-under-par 70 at Pebble Beach while Aberg hit a seven-under 65 to join the leading trio.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy’s woes continued as he shot a 74 to finish one-over-par, while England’s Matt Fitzpatrick is four strokes off the pace after a 68.

Fellow Englishman Justin Rose is five-under-par after a 71 while Tommy Fleetwood hit a 72 to be two strokes further back in tied 44th.

Belgium’s Thomas Detry took a one-shot lead after the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM as Rory McIlroy suffered a dramatic late-round collapse.

McIlroy, playing his first PGA Tour round of the year after a win and a second place in Dubai, was leading after 14 holes as three successive birdies took him to six-under-par.

But the world number two dropped five strokes in his final four holes at Spyglass Hill – one of two courses being used by the 80-strong field – including a triple bogey at the par five seventh hole after he fell foul of a rule change which cost him a two-shot penalty.

Having dropped within a club length of an unplayable lie, he was informed before signing his card for a final 71 of a change in the rules that a player must drop on the direct line.

“I wasn’t aware that that rule was changed again in 2023, so I took a drop thinking of the 2019 rules when everything was sort of changed, said McIlroy, who trails Detry by eight strokes.

The Belgian started and finished with three birdies as he carded an opening 63, one clear of American Patrick Cantlay.

Matthieu Pavon, who on Saturday became the first French winner on the PGA Tour since 1907, was a shot further back on 65 after the best round of the day at Pebble Beach.

Justin Rose birdied his three holes at Spyglass Hill in a four-under-par 68, one better than fellow Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Nick Dunlap, playing his first round as a professional after winning The American Express tournament as an amateur last month, was tied for last place after a four-over-par 76.

Justin Thomas believes he is close to winning tournaments again after ridding himself of the “bad habits” caused by unnecessary swing changes.

Thomas won his second US PGA Championship at Southern Hills in 2022 but endured a first winless year of his career last season, failed to make the FedEx Cup play-offs and needed a wild card for the Ryder Cup.

The former world number one has started 2024 on a much brighter note, finishing third in his first event at The American Express and will contest this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for just the second time.

“I think at this point it’s just [about] starting to win tournaments again,” Thomas told a pre-tournament press conference.

“I feel like I’m very, very close to doing that and starting to do it often again. But I fully understand that just because you think that doesn’t mean you deserve it or it’s going to happen.

“I just need to keep putting myself in that position and getting in contention. I think that’s what I did so often there for a handful of years. Last Sunday was the first final group I’ve played in on Sunday in a while and it was fun.”

Asked what had made the difference to his game, Thomas added: “I’d say working on the correct things. I think, well I know, that I got into some bad habits swing-wise last year.

“To be perfectly honest, I think it just took a little bit of time to get out of some of those, to kind of get that muscle memory out.

“I would love to go back in time and wish I didn’t maybe push for some of those changes. I felt like my hands and my arms were starting to get higher and higher and higher and I didn’t necessarily love that.

“[But] that’s something that kind of makes my swing what it is. I’ve always had very high hands…so that was an example of me chasing something that I probably didn’t need to.

“My dad and I both realised it was something that we both should have noticed or not pursued. But like anything we learn from it and planning to not make that mistake again.”

Rory McIlroy says he has “changed my tune” on players facing punishment if they wish to return from the LIV Golf Series to the traditional tours.

The world number two has been one of the strongest advocates for the PGA and DP World Tours, but admits he has softened his stance on sanctions against players as the sport looks for a deal between the tours, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund – which backs LIV – and Fenway Sports Group.

“I think life is about choices,” said McIlroy ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. “Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here.

“If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back.

“I think it’s hard to punish people. I don’t think there should be a punishment.”

In June, after plans for a merger between the rival tours were announced, McIlroy said “the people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour” and “we can’t just welcome them back in”.

“Obviously I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties,” he said.

“It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game.

“That’s my opinion of it. The faster that we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible, I think, is great for golf.”

McIlroy, who served on the PGA Tour board before stepping down in November, was speaking in the wake of LIV naming England’s Tyrell Hatton as its latest recruit and said he had spoken to his Ryder Cup colleague before the announcement.

“I’ve talked to him quite a bit about it over the past month,” he said. “It got to the point where they negotiated and got to a place where he was comfortable with and he has to do what he feels is right for him.

“I’m not going to stand in anyone’s way from making money and what they deem life-changing money.”

McIlroy is making his seasonal PGA Tour debut at Pebble Beach this week, having started the year by finishing second to Tommy Fleetwood at the Dubai Invitational and winning the Dubai Desert Classic.

He will play more tournaments in the build-up to the US Masters this year, starting with a first appearance at Pebble Beach since 2019.

“You need to keep it fresh,” he said. “I don’t find that (keeping motivated) overly difficult.

“I think there’s always things that you want to achieve and that you can get better at.

“Trying to have a growth mindset to goal-set and try to achieve certain things is something that I’ve just learned to do as my career has progressed.”

Tyrrell Hatton has become the latest player to join LIV Golf and will make his debut in Mexico this week as part of Masters champion Jon Rahm’s team.

The world number 16 has career earnings of more than £20 million, having won six times on the DP World Tour and the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but has not lifted an individual title for three years.

The 32-year-old had entered this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour, but will now contest the Saudi-funded breakaway’s first event of 2024 in Mayakoba.

Hatton is joined on Rahm’s Legion XIII team by former top amateur Caleb Surratt and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent, who won his place via the LIV Golf Promotions event.

“I’m really excited for this next chapter, to link up with Jon Rahm and Legion XIII and to get started this week in Mexico,” Hatton said.

Hatton and Rahm won both of their matches together in last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome, the fiery characters earning the nickname of “Team Angry” as they helped Luke Donald’s European side regain the trophy.

Hatton’s defection will therefore be of huge concern to Donald as he attempts to spearhead a first Ryder Cup win on away soil since 2012 at Bethpage next year.

As things stand, Hatton will be eligible to qualify or receive a wild card as long as he remains a DP World Tour member, which requires him to play in four regular tournaments per season.

He will also earn points towards qualification through major championships, but faces fines and suspensions for playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases from the DP World Tour.

In April last year, an arbitration panel ruled that the Tour had the right to sanction players for such “serious breaches” of its code of behaviour, a case sparked by 12 players appealing against fines of £100,000 and suspension from the Scottish Open for playing LIV’s inaugural event in June 2022.

It is understood that fines and suspensions are assessed on a case-by-case basis, with former LIV player Bernd Wiesberger having regained his DP World Tour membership after serving a ban and paying all of his fines.

Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood resigned their memberships in the wake of the arbitration panel’s decision, while Henrik Stenson was sacked as Ryder Cup captain after joining the Saudi-funded breakaway.

It remains to be seen if the LIV rebels will be handed a route back to the Ryder Cup via the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf.

The initial December 31 deadline for the Framework Agreement to be formalised has been extended, but the PGA Tour is also reported to being on the verge of a deal with a consortium of US-based investors which includes Boston Red Sox and Liverpool owner John Henry.

France’s Matthieu Pavon has claimed victory at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, becoming the first French player to win on the PGA Tour since Arnaud Massy in 1907.

Pavon hit the winning putting a birdie with an eight-foot putt on the final hole to secure the one-shot win, celebrating the moment with his arms raised and a hug to his caddie Mark Sherwood.

The 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie was playing in his 11th PGA Tour event and said after the day’s play that he hopes the win inspires people.

“I still can’t believe it,” Pavon said.

“It is big for our country. I hope it will inspire a lot of people, because coming from an amateur player which is 800 in the world to a PGA Tour winner is pretty big.”

Pavon hit three under par on the final day, edging out Denmarks Nicolai Hojgaard who finished one stroke behind in second place.

German Stephan Jaeger and Americans Nate Lashley and Jake Knapp finished tied in third place.

German Stephan Jaeger jumped 18 spots to take the lead in San Diego after scoring an eagle on the last hole at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Jaeger hit a 64 on the second round of the PGA tournament, finishing the day 12-under par, one stroke ahead of Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard.

The German made a 35 foot eagle on the final hole, saying after the day’s play that ending the round like that was “exciting.”

“I wanted it to kind of go middle of the green and I went right at it. It ended up landing just short of the pin and scooting kind of back fringe,” Jaeger said.

“Had a little downhill right-to-lefter about 35-feet and it ended up curling in. It was awesome to see.”

Jaeger shot one bogey and seven birdies to go with his eagle.

England’s Aaron Rai dropped down three places, shooting a 70 with five birdies and three bogeys.

Belgian Thomas Detry is tied in third place with France’s Matthieu Pavon, two strokes off the lead.

England’s Callum Shinkwin claimed a two-shot lead in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship after threatening to record just the second sub-60 round in DP World Tour history.

Shinkwin covered his first 14 holes at Al Hamra Golf Club in 10 under par, meaning he needed to play the remaining four in three under to match Oliver Fisher’s 59 in the 2018 Portugal Masters.

However, the 30-year-old – whose run of eight successive birdies from the 16th to the fifth was just one short of the world record shared by James Nitties and former Open champion Mark Calcavecchia, could only par the sixth before dropping a shot on the next.

Shinkwin bounced back to two-putt from 70 feet for birdie on the par-five eighth and parred the ninth to complete a superb 62, equalling the lowest round of his career.

At 10 under par he enjoyed a two-shot lead over compatriot Richard Mansell and South Africa’s Brandon Stone, who missed a putt for a 59 in the final round of his Scottish Open victory in 2018.

“I just kept going, making birdie after birdie and didn’t think about 59, to be fair,” Shinkwin said.

“It’s not easy to get a 59 on a par 72 but I was a bit gutted about seven. It’s quite an easy tee shot with no wind, but (with) a little bit of wind I just had to fiddle one in there.”

Shinkwin’s 62 equalled his lowest round on Tour at the 2016 Shenzhen International and he added: “That’s a long time ago, that was eight years ago.

“That was on my mind, I wanted to beat that by one because when you have a record you want to keep beating them. But eight years down the line, I’ve shot 62 again, I’m happy.”

Mansell also had an outside chance to shoot 59 when he followed a back nine of 29 – which included three birdies and two eagles – with birdies on the third, fifth and seventh, only to double bogey the par-five eighth after hitting his drive into a bush.

“Obviously you get to a downwind par five, you’re 10 under par with two to play and you do that, it’s frustrating,” Mansell said. “But overall a good start.

“I played brilliant today. I had one bad hole. The stuff I’m working on, I’m going to choose to focus on the good stuff because there was a lot of that today.

“The areas of my game that I’ve worked really hard at the past couple of months are starting to show for me.”

Defending champion Daniel Gavins covered his first 11 holes in eight over par before birdies on the 14th and 18th saw him sign for an opening 78.

Taiwan’s Kevin Yu fired eight birdies as he took a one-shot lead after the first round of The Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.

Yu carded a bogey-free 64 on the North Course at Torrey Pines, a birdie at the last edging him ahead of America’s Patrick Cantlay and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry and England’s Aaron Rai are among a group a further shot back after opening 66s, along with former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, Germany’s Thomas Detry and Alejandro Tosti of Argentina.

Nicolai Hojgaard, who finished seventh at the Dubai Desert Classic, and America’s Nick Hardy were the best of those who started on the more difficult South Course – their 67s leaving them amid a large group on five-under-par.

Hojgaard’s first start as a full-time member of the PGA Tour came despite jetlag and just nine holes on the North Course in practice.

“You’ve got to try to find a way,” the Danish Ryder Cup star told the PGA Tour website. “I’ll just push myself until we feel like the jetlag’s gone.”

“I think sometimes you can take advantage of not knowing the golf course and you’re just thinking about your execution. I felt like that was the only thing I was doing today.”

Luke Donald has appointed Edoardo Molinari as his first vice-captain for Europe’s Ryder Cup defence at Bethpage Black in 2025.

Molinari’s statistical analysis played a key role in Europe regaining the trophy in Rome last year with a five-point victory over the United States at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

The 42-year-old former US Amateur champion, who also played on a winning team in 2010, said: “I’m very happy. It’s something that I’m very proud of and probably means I did a pretty decent job last time, so I cannot wait to help the team and Luke again in Bethpage and I’m really looking forward to it.

“Luke called me the very day he was named captain, a little before the official announcement, and said he really enjoyed working with me in Rome and would like my help again.

“We had another chat about a week later, maybe 30 or 40 minutes on the phone, chatted about a few things and he asked me and I said of course, I would happily do it all over again.

“I think Rory put it best in the press conference after Rome, he said the most difficult thing in golf these days is to win an away Ryder Cup.

“It hasn’t been done in many years now, Luke was part of the team in Medinah, the last one that Europe won away, and hopefully we can produce something similar.”

Donald, who has never been on a losing side in five Ryder Cups as a player or captain, said: “Edoardo is someone I have got to know very well over the last couple of years and he’s going to be a great addition again for the 2025 Ryder Cup.

“He plays a very significant role. He’s around the players a lot and he works with a lot of players on their statistics as well.

“I’ll lean heavily on him with the qualification criteria and then when we get close to the matches, how the team is forming, how their skillsets match to the golf course at Bethpage and whether they’re more foursomes-related pairings, fourballs-related players, and putting those pairings together.”