Seung-Yul Noh survived a broken driver to shoot an opening 60 and a three-stroke lead after the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson near Dallas.

The South Korean – who has won once on the PGA Tour – cracked the head of his driver on the 12th tee, but matched his outward nine of 30 on the way home with birdies on three of the last four holes.

That leaves him three clear of Australia’s Adam Scott and Zecheng Dou of China with world number two Scottie Sheffler and Jason Day among those a further stroke back.

Scott’s 63 was his lowest opening round for nine years after tying for fifth at the Wells Fargo Championship last week.

“The game was feeling really good there last week and getting a result is always good for the confidence,” said Scott. “Coming here on a course that’s going to throw a lot of birdies out there, getting in that attack mindset was key.”

Scheffler had struggled with his putting before a three-week break and missed five putts from within 10 feet before a strong finish capped by an eagle on the last.

“I was pretty frustrated mid round,” he said.

“I didn’t feel like I was doing anything wrong, I just kind of got on the wrong end of a few things and the putts definitely weren’t falling middle of the round.”

I’ll remember those putts towards the end and the beginning of the round, I hit a lot of good putts today and was fortunate to shoot a good round.”

England’s Harry Hall had four birdies in five holes to the turn en-route to an opening 67, one better than Tyrell Hatton.

Seung-Yul Noh survived a broken driver to shoot an opening 60 and a three-stroke lead after the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson near Dallas.

The South Korean – who has won once on the PGA Tour – cracked the head of his driver on the 12th tee, but matched his outward nine of 30 on the way home with birdies on three of the last four holes.

That leaves him three clear of Australia’s Adam Scott and Zecheng Dou of China with world number two Scottie Sheffler and Jason Day among those a further stroke back.

Scott’s 63 was his lowest opening round for nine years after tying for fifth at the Wells Fargo Championship last week.

“The game was feeling really good there last week and getting a result is always good for the confidence,” said Scott. “Coming here on a course that’s going to throw a lot of birdies out there, getting in that attack mindset was key.”

Scheffler had struggled with his putting before a three-week break and missed five putts from within 10 feet before a strong finish capped by an eagle on the last.

“I was pretty frustrated mid round,” he said.

“I didn’t feel like I was doing anything wrong, I just kind of got on the wrong end of a few things and the putts definitely weren’t falling middle of the round.”

I’ll remember those putts towards the end and the beginning of the round, I hit a lot of good putts today and was fortunate to shoot a good round.”

England’s Harry Hall had four birdies in five holes to the turn en-route to an opening 67, one better than Tyrell Hatton.

Players who competed in LIV Golf tournaments without permission have been fined up to £100,000 for each breach of the DP World Tour’s regulations.

Suspensions of up to eight events have also been handed out in the wake of an arbitration hearing which ruled that players had committed “serious breaches” of the DP World Tour’s code of behaviour.

In April, the Tour won its legal battle against 12 players who had appealed against being fined £100,000 and suspended from the Scottish Open for playing LIV Golf’s inaugural event in June 2022 without permission.

Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland subsequently resigned their membership of the DP World Tour, with all but Garcia having paid the £100,000 fine.

On Thursday, the DP World Tour announced details of further sanctions imposed for playing in the remainder of LIV events in 2022 and those contested before the arbitration panel’s verdict was reached.

It is understood that the largest fine falls short of the seven-figure sums which had been reported.

A statement from the DP World Tour read: “In total, 26 players were today informed individually of the sanctions applicable to them based on the specific conflicting tournaments they each played in, as a DP World Tour member, without being granted a release.

“These sanctions include fines and, where appropriate, tournament suspensions.

“The sanctions imposed were determined on a case-by-case basis, acknowledging differences between the events in terms of the impact on the DP World Tour’s broadcast partners, sponsors and stakeholders.

“Where fines were issued to players they ranged from £12,500 to £100,000 for each individual breach of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation.

“The total cumulative suspension imposed on any single player for breaches in the period June 22, 2022, to April 2, 2023 is a maximum of eight DP World Tour tournaments, comprising a combination of one or two-week suspensions.

“The suspensions imposed relate to regular season DP World Tour events (i.e. excluding Major Championships) and will run consecutively, effective from the Porsche European Open from June 1-4, 2023 – the first tournament chronologically on the DP World Tour schedule whose entry list remains open as of today.

“Players who have resigned their membership will not be eligible for reinstatement unless and until they pay their fines and their suspensions will apply from then onwards.

“Further sanctions for breaches of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation in events which occurred subsequent to April 2, 2023, will be considered in due course.”

Scottie Scheffler has been working hard on the one weak link in his game as he bids to win a third PGA Tour title this season.

Scheffler, who can reclaim the world number one ranking from Jon Rahm with victory in the AT&T Byron Nelson, defended his title in February’s WM Phoenix Open and also claimed the prestigious Players Championship at Sawgrass.

And the former Masters champion did so despite ranking just 89th in total putting on the PGA Tour, a stark contrast to leading the categories for strokes gained off the tee and tee to green, as well as greens in regulation.

“I just feel like I’ve seen a lot of putts that I’ve really thought were going to go in that haven’t,” Scheffler told a pre-tournament press conference at TPC Craig Ranch.

“I’m usually pretty dangerous when my putter gets hot, so I’ve been working on it pretty good. Yeah, just hoping to see some putts go in. Instead of lipping out, maybe lipping in.”

Scheffler made his PGA Tour debut in what was then called the HP Byron Nelson Championship as a 17-year-old amateur in 2014, recording a hole-in-one during the third round and eventually finishing in a tie for 22nd.

Nine years later he is the star attraction and the only member of the world’s top 15 in the field following the injury withdrawal of Jordan Spieth.

“It’s definitely a bit different than when I came here in high school,” Scheffler added. “I feel like I’m a little bit more a part of this thing than I was then, but I was just fortunate to get a spot and come out and play.

“Now I guess coming full circle out here is a little different scenario and it’s a lot of fun being able to play in front of the home crowd.

“Now that I’ve had some success out here on Tour, there’s a lot more people that will show up to watch me, which is great.

“I’m fortunate to be able to come out here and support an event that supported me from a young age, and I’m looking forward to going out there and playing in front of the home crowd and hopefully making some birdies.”

Tiger Woods will miss the US PGA Championship as expected after undergoing ankle surgery last month.

Woods was not included in the 155-strong field issued by the PGA of America on Wednesday for next week’s event at Oak Hill Country Club.

The final spot will be filled by the winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas.

Jordan Spieth was included in the field despite withdrawing from this week’s PGA Tour event with a wrist injury.

Woods pulled out of the Masters during the third round in April, saying at the time it was due to plantar fasciitis.

However, the 47-year-old then had a subtalar fusion procedure in New York to address the problem caused by a previous fracture of his talus, a bone in the ankle joint.

Woods feared his leg would have to be amputated due to the serious injuries he suffered in a car accident in Los Angeles in February 2021.

He made a remarkable return to action 14 months later and finished 47th in the Masters, but withdrew from the US PGA following a third-round 79 and did not contest the US Open before missing the cut in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.

Woods has accepted that he can only play a handful of times a year going forward and is targeting majors and events with which he has a personal connection.

The US Open takes place at Los Angeles Country Club in June and Woods will hope to defy the odds and be able to compete in July’s Open at Royal Liverpool, where he won a third Open title in 2006 in his first tournament since the death of his father Earl two months earlier.

World number one Kipp Popert is targeting victory in the inaugural G4D Open and hopes the event will inspire more disabled people to take up golf.

Popert will be among 80 male and female players from 19 countries competing at Woburn from May 10-12.

“It would be a big deal to win the inaugural G4D Open,” said the 24-year-old from Kent, who has a form of cerebral palsy called spastic diplegia which impairs the muscular movement in his legs.

“Only one person is ever going to win the first one and if I put my name on that trophy then that will be incredible. It will be a memory I will treasure forever.

“What The R&A, DP World Tour and EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association) are doing for grassroots golf for people with disability has been brilliant and important, but those getting into the game need something to aspire to and that is what I’m trying to achieve.

“I hope people watching the G4D Open come away thinking that anyone can play golf. It doesn’t matter what your disability is.”

The 54-hole event will feature players competing in standing, intellectual, visual and sitting categories.

Kris Aves, a 41-year-old former Metropolitan Police officer who was injured in the terrorist attack on Westminster Bridge in March 2017, will be playing in the sitting category.

He was paralysed from the waist down after being struck by the attacker’s car but has been able to resume playing golf thanks to a ParaGolfer, a special mobility device that lifts people from a sitting to a standing position.

“I got inside and was able to make a swing,” said Aves, who was a keen golfer before the attack.

“That first hit brought tears to my eyes. Even though I knew I’d never get back to the standard I had been, I was able to play again.

“I was over the moon to get a place (in the G4D Open). I’m looking forward to meeting people from across Europe and around the world and seeing how well I perform against the seated golfers. But, really, I’m looking forward to simply taking part.”

The establishment of The G4D Open follows on from the Modified Rules of Golf for Players with Disabilities being included in the Rules of Golf from the start of 2023.

Jordan Spieth has withdrawn from this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson Classic due to a left wrist injury.

Spieth said in a statement posted on his social media accounts that the injury had flared up over the weekend.

It raises doubts over Spieth’s fitness for the PGA Championship at Oak Hill later this month, the last major Spieth needs to win to complete a career Grand Slam.

Spieth wrote: “Over the weekend, I had severe pain in my left wrist and had doctors confirm an injury that requires rest and limited movement.

“The AT&T Byron Nelson means the absolute world to me and I’m disappointed to miss it this week.

“Playing in front of family and friends in Dallas is one of the highlights of my year, and the tournament staff and volunteers are second to none.

“I look forward to being back next year and many years after.

“I’m focused on healing as quickly as possible and will have to evaluate my recovery week to week.”

Wyndham Clark overcame the swift loss of his overnight lead to claim his first PGA Tour title in the Wells Fargo Championship.

Clark’s two-shot advantage was wiped out in the first three holes and the 29-year-old American found himself a shot behind playing partner Xander Schauffele after seven holes of the final round at Quail Hollow.

However, Clark responded superbly to birdie five of the next eight and with Schauffele stumbling around the turn, the win became something of a formality.

A closing 68 gave Clark a winning total of 19 under par and four-shot victory over Schauffele, with England’s Tyrrell Hatton and American Harris English three strokes further back in third.

Tommy Fleetwood and former world number one Adam Scott finished in a tie for fifth on 11 under.

“Gosh, sorry, I’m a little choked up,” Clark told CBS after joining the likes of Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Max Homa in making the Wells Fargo Championship their maiden PGA Tour title.

“It’s been a long five years to get to this point on Tour and I thought I would have had one earlier, but it’s well worth the wait and I’m so grateful.

“There’s so much that goes into this and there’s so many times I wanted to cry and break clubs – and I did break the club sometimes – in this journey and to get to this point is so sweet.

“It’s just amazing to finally do this.

“I didn’t start out great, I was kind of shaky and I think in years past I might have folded. This time I just stayed patient and hung in there and got hot on the back side.”

Poland’s Adrian Meronk breathed a sigh of relief after winning the DS Automobiles Open to boost his chances of securing a Ryder Cup debut.

Meronk held his nerve on the closing stretch to withstand the challenge of French pair Romain Langasque and Julien Guerrier at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, which will host the Ryder Cup later this year.

Two birdies in the last three holes gave Meronk a final round of 69 and winning total of 13 under par, with Langasque a shot behind and 54-hole leader Guerrier another two strokes back.

“It’s such a relief to be honest,” Meronk told Sky Sports after claiming his third DP World Tour title.

“It was a tough day today. I didn’t play as good as previous days off the tee and tee to green so had to scramble a little bit, but super happy to come out on top and very proud of myself.”

Meronk’s victory lifted him to fifth in the European Points List and within 100 points of an automatic qualifying place for Luke Donald’s team as he bids to become the first Polish player to feature in the Ryder Cup.

“I think it’s a solid statement, a solid brick into the wall but it’s not over yet, I know that,” Meronk said.

“It’s still a lot of time but I’m super excited. It’s one of my big goals this year and it would mean a lot to me. I will keep pushing, keep doing what I can to get on that team but I think (today) should help a little bit.”

Guerrier took a one-shot lead into the final round but bogeyed the first two holes as Meronk and Langasque emerged as the most likely winners on a testing day.

Meronk gained a crucial advantage with his fifth birdie of the day on the short 16th before holing from 15 feet for par on the next as Langasque fell two behind with a bogey on 16.

Langasque bounced back superbly by chipping in for birdie on the 17th but, in the group ahead, Meronk two-putted from 75 feet for a closing birdie to effectively seal the win.

Defending champion Robert MacIntyre was forced out of the DS Automobiles Italian Open due to injury ahead of Friday’s second round.

The news was announced by MacIntyre’s management company less than an hour before the left-hander was due to tee off alongside home favourite Guido Migliozzi and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.

MacIntyre himself then wrote on social media: “Gutted to withdraw this morning from the @ItalianOpen with a back strain.

“Hopefully nothing too serious. Now for a week of rest before the PGA Championship.”

MacIntyre had carded an opening two-over-par 73 at Marco Simone Golf Club on the outskirts of Rome, the venue for this year’s Ryder Cup.

The 26-year-old defeated US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off to win his second DP World Tour title last September.

MacIntyre birdied the first extra hole after he and Fitzpatrick had finished tied on 14 under par.

That was just the second qualifying event for the Ryder Cup, although MacIntyre has since fallen outside the automatic places.

Birdies on the closing two holes gave Tommy Fleetwood the first round lead in the Wells Fargo Championship as Rory McIlroy made solid return to action.

Fleetwood shot a bogey-free 65 as he continued his pursuit of a first PGA Tour title, one better than a group on five under – Xander Schauffele, Kevin Streelman, Taylor Moore, KH Lee and Ryan Palmer.

McIlroy, playing for the first time since missing the cut at the US Masters, is three strokes behind after an opening 68 on his 34th birthday at Quail Hollow.

Fleetwood has won six times on the DP World Tour, but the Englishman is still chasing a first title in the US.

“I just have to keep going and wait for those really big results and hopefully start contending again up at the top of the leaderboard,” said Fleetwood. “We’ll see what we can do from there.”

McIlroy has won three times at Quail Hollow with nine top 10 finishes in 11 starts, but he admitted not touching his clubs for more than two weeks after the disappointment at the Masters.

“I feel relaxed here,” he said. “It’s just a level of comfort at this golf course and at this club that I probably don’t have any other venue.

“I’ve played here so many times I know where to miss it. I missed a few greens but I didn’t feel like I hit the ball that badly.

“It was just really nice to be out there again… nice to feel like I played well. I didn’t want to spend my birthday afternoon grinding on the range.”

Schaufelle had looked on course to set the early pace, but two bogeys in Quail Hollow’s notorious closing three holes – dubbed the “Green Mile” – left him one off the lead.

US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick finished a stroke behind playing partners McIlroy and Justin Thomas, his 69 matched by fellow Englishman Tyrell Hatton with defending champion Max Homa opening with a 70.

English trio Matt Wallace, Callum Tarren and Harry Hall also opened with one-under-par 70s while Tony Finau, winner in Mexico last week, shot a 71.

Rory McIlroy feels it is a shame that Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia will not someday captain Europe’s Ryder Cup team after they quit the DP World Tour.

The trio stepped aside after being sanctioned for joining rival LIV Golf, thus rendering them ineligible for inclusion when the match against the United States begins in Rome in September.

On Thursday, Westwood spoke out against the European Tour following the controversy, seemingly closing the door on any hope of a return in the future.

And McIlroy said: “I think it’s a shame that you’ve got the highest points score ever in the Ryder Cup and two guys that when they look back on their career, that’s probably going to be at least a big chunk of their legacy is the roles that they have played in the Ryder Cup for Europe.

“For those three guys to not captain Europe one day, it’s a shame. But as the DP World Tour said in their statement, at the end of the day that was their choice and they knew that these were potentially going to be the consequences of those choices and of those actions and here we are.

“Yeah, it’s certainly a shame.”

Europe’s captain, Luke Donald, echoed McIlroy’s sentiments and said he is sad that the three will not be available to represent the side.

Donald, who will lead the Europe team as they seek to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2018, felt sorry that the situation had come to this.

“It’s sad we’ve got to this point but this was always a possibility,” Donald told BBC Sport. “I played with all three and they’ve been stalwarts of, and given a lot to, both the Ryder Cup and European Tour.

“I have a little more clarity now. I know they’re not an option to play in, or be any part of my team. It is a shame. They’ve got a lot of history when it comes to the Ryder Cup.

“Ultimately this is their choice and I wish them well. They feel like this was the best choice for them and now I’ve got choices to make that are best for me.

“There are generational shifts throughout the history of the Ryder Cup and maybe this is one.

“We certainly have plenty of great players to look at and pick from and I’m certainly excited about how everyone has played this year so far.”

Donald was made captain in 2022 after Henrik Stenson was dismissed for joining in the Saudi-backed LIV tour.

He will be without three of Europe’s most successful performers in the contest, with Westwood having featured as a player a record 11 times and Poulter unbeaten in singles across his seven appearances. Garcia is Europe’s all-time record points scorer.

Donald added: “There’s great momentum with European golf. We’ve already had seven winners in the US [this season] and a bunch of people who haven’t played in the Ryder Cup have played great this year on the DP World Tour, so I’m excited about the make-up of this team.”

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald said he is sad that Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia will be unavailable for the team after they quit the DP World Tour.

The trio stepped aside after being sanctioned for joining rival LIV Golf, thus rendering them ineligible for inclusion when the match against the United States begins in Rome in September.

On Thursday Westwood spoke out against the European Tour following the controversy, seemingly closing the door on any hope of a return in the future.

Donald, who will lead the Europe team as they seek to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2018, said it was a shame that the situation had come to this.

“It’s sad we’ve got to this point but this was always a possibility,” Donald told BBC Sport. “I played with all three and they’ve been stalwarts of, and given a lot to, both the Ryder Cup and European Tour.

“I have a little more clarity now. I know they’re not an option to play in, or be any part of my team. It is a shame. They’ve got a lot of history when it comes to the Ryder Cup.

“Ultimately this is their choice and I wish them well. They feel like this was the best choice for them and now I’ve got choices to make that are best for me.

“There are generational shifts throughout the history of the Ryder Cup and maybe this is one.

“We certainly have plenty of great players to look at and pick from and I’m certainly excited about how everyone has played this year so far.”

Donald was made captain in 2022 after Henrik Stenson was dismissed for joining in the Saudi-backed LIV tour.

He will be without three of Europe’s most successful performers in the contest, with Westwood having featured as a player a record 11 times and Poulter unbeaten in singles across his seven appearances. Garcia is Europe’s all-time record points scorer.

Donald added: “There’s great momentum with European golf, we’ve already had seven winners in the US [this season] and a bunch of people who haven’t played in the Ryder Cup have played great this year on the DP World Tour so I’m excited about the make-up of this team.”

Lee Westwood has accused the DP World Tour of being “fully in bed” with the PGA Tour after announcing his resignation from the European circuit.

Westwood and fellow Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have resigned their membership and are therefore no longer eligible for the biennial contest against the United States.

The trio were among the players fined £100,000 and suspended for two tournaments after playing the first LIV Golf event last year without permission.

Westwood and Poulter were also among the 12 members of the Saudi-funded breakaway who lost an appeal against the sanctions last month and were deemed to have committed “serious breaches” of the DP World Tour’s code of behaviour by a three-man arbitration panel.

Westwood confirmed he has paid the fine and is keen to “move on”, but reiterated his criticism of the way the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have reacted to the emergence of LIV Golf.

“I’ve been a dual member of the European Tour and PGA Tour, but always said I was a European Tour member first and foremost and that I had fears about the US circuit basically being bullies and doing everything it could to secure global dominance,” Westwood told The Telegraph.

“Check my old quotes, it’s all there.

“But now, in my opinion, the European Tour has jumped fully in bed with the PGA Tour and even though Keith (Pelley, the chief executive) says he hates to hear it, it is now a feeder tour for the PGA Tour.

“The top 10 players on the tour, not already exempt this year, have a pathway to the PGA Tour – that’s giving our talent away. That was never the tour’s policy before this ‘strategic alliance’.

“Sorry, I don’t want to play under that sort of regime.

“I mulled it over and just didn’t like the thought of the tour continuously hitting us with more fines and bans that would have been hanging over me.

“I’ve paid my fine out of respect for the arbitration panel and have then taken the decisions out of the tour’s hands. I honestly want to move on.”

Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have resigned from the DP World Tour and in the process seemingly ended their Ryder Cup careers.

The trio have been stalwarts of Europe’s Ryder Cup squad for the best part of three decades but last summer decided to join the LIV Golf series.

A host of other top names were lured to the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway venture with multi-million dollar deals, huge prize funds and no-cut events.

It proved the catalyst for months of wrangling and legal battles and despite Westwood, Poulter and Garcia long ago pledging their allegiances to LIV Golf, only now have they handed in their resignation to the DP World Tour in the latest chapter of the sport’s civil war.

Englishman Richard Bland has also resigned from the DP World Tour, but it is the confirmation of Westwood, Poulter and Garcia’s withdrawal that is the final nail in the coffin of their illustrious Ryder Cup careers.

Westwood remains Europe’s record appearance holder with 11 showings and Garcia the leading all-time points scorer of the competition, while the biennial event always brought out the best of Poulter, but they will now definitely not be involved in September’s latest instalment in Rome.

“The DP World Tour today confirmed it has received membership resignations from Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland and Lee Westwood who were sanctioned for serious breaches of the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation committed last June,” a statement read.

“The DP World Tour would like to take this opportunity to thank the four players for the contribution they have made to the Tour and in particular to Sergio, Ian and Lee for the significant part they have played in Europe’s success in the Ryder Cup over many years.

“Their resignations, however, along with the sanctions imposed upon them, are a consequence of their own choices.

“As we have consistently maintained throughout the past year, the Tour has a responsibility to its entire membership to administer the member regulations which each player signs up to. These regulations are in place to protect the collective interests of all DP World Tour members.

“The independent panel appointed by Sport Resolutions recognised this, determining that our Conflicting Tournament Regulation and its application in the circumstances did not go beyond what was necessary and proportionate to the Tour’s continued operation as a professional golf tour and that we have a legitimate interest in protecting the rights of our full membership by enforcing it.

“A further update on other sanctioned members will be provided on Thursday.”

Westwood, Poulter, Garcia and Bland were all given sanctions by the DP World Tour for breaking rules by appearing in the LIV Golf series’ opening event in Hemel Hempstead last year without permission.