Brooks Koepka holds a two-stroke lead of LIV Golf Jeddah after finishing the opening round eight under par in Saudi Arabia.

The four-time major champion made eight birdies in his round of 62 and did not go over par on any hole to head into the weekend ahead of second-placed Charl Schwartzel, while Patrick Reed is tied for third with Hideto Tanihara and Peter Uihlein at three shots off the lead.

The inaugural individual LIV Golf champion Dustin Johnson is T16 on two under par, alongside Open champion and world number two Cameron Smith.

Johnson, who has collected 121 points across the season, struck five birdies, but a double-bogey on the par-three eighth set him back.

Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood fared slightly better at three under, the latter not carding any bogies in his round.

LIV Golf Bangkok winner Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra struggled to back up his performance in Thailand and is T28 at one under par, seven shots back from Koepka. Bryson DeChambeau, meanwhile, only managed a par 70.

After withdrawing from LIV Golf Bangkok with injury, Branden Grace carded a one-over-par round on his return to action.

Rickie Fowler is hoping to put on a show over the weekend at the Zozo Championship after moving into a share of the lead.

The American shot a blemish-free 63 at the Narashino Country Club on Friday to sit level with Andrew Putnam on 10 under. Putnam went one better than Fowler with a 62.

Keegan Bradley, one stroke back, provides the closest competition to the leading pair while first-round leader Brendan Steele's 73 saw him fall seven shots off the pace.

Fowler, who missed the cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last time out, is having a ball in Japan and looking forward to wowing the crowd in pursuit of a sixth PGA Tour title.

"I definitely enjoy myself over here and the people are awesome. It is really cool to play in front of the Japanese fans," he said.

"I'm hoping we can give them more good golf over the weekend.

"I'm very happy with where we're at. Obviously didn't have the week we wanted last week, drove it poorly, but with some of the changes we've made and to have the finish that we did at Napa [T6 at the Fortinet Championship] and kind of seeing a lot of good things, I'm definitely happy about it and excited to be here and off to a good start."

John Huh's 61 was the best round of the day and saw him climb to eight under, one stroke ahead of Japanese home hope Keita Nakajima.

Headline act and 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama is not likely to figure in the battle for silverware but did move back to even par with a 69.

Phil Mickelson says he has on the "winning side" with LIV Golf and believes the PGA Tour is "trending downwards."

Mickelson defected from the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed breakaway series on a hugely lucrative contract in June.

Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are among the other high-profile players who turned their back on the PGA Tour to sign up for LIV Golf.

As he prepares to tee off in Jeddah on Friday, six-time major winner Mickelson is in no doubt he made the right decision.

He said: "Golf is very lucky to have the PIF [Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia] invest in the game… being influxed with billions of dollars.

"Now the US and the UK are not favourable to this, but everywhere else in the world, LIV Golf is loved. It is very negatively viewed currently [in the US and UK], but that has been changing and evolving already and in a few years LIV will be not only accepted but appreciated, because of the involvement and the influx of capital and what it is doing."

He added: "I've spoken with people who have had dealings that have not been positive with the [PGA] Tour and have had nothing but positive experiences with LIV.

"For a long, long time, my 30 years on the PGA Tour, pretty much all the best players played on the PGA Tour. That will never be the case again.

"I think going forward you have to pick the side you think is going to be successful. And I firmly believe that I'm on the winning side of how things are going to evolve and shape in the coming years for professional golf.

"I see LIV Golf trending upwards, I see the PGA Tour trending downwards. And I love the side that I'm on."

Sergio Garcia admits it was "a hard decision" to eschew next year's Ryder Cup, stating he does not feel as if he would be "very welcome" amid the bitter PGA Tour-LIV Golf Invitational Series split.

The Spaniard, a six-time tournament winner, will not represent Team Europe next year at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy after failing to enter his name by last Friday's deadline.

While Team USA-eligible defectors are barred from inclusion following PGA Tour membership suspension, no call has been made on their opponents.

But even if he was to get a sponsor's invite, Garcia says he will not feature next year, acknowledging he is sad to feel ostracised amid the fallout of his defection to the Saudi-backed tour.

"It was a hard decision," he said. "But unfortunately, it doesn't feel like I'm very welcome there, so I don't want to be a bother to anyone.

"I've always said I love the Ryder Cup too much. I obviously would love to keep being a part of it. [But] when I see that so many people are against [me playing], if the team is better without me, I'd rather be out of it.

"There's obviously several guys who feel strongly that way. The [DP World] Tour is of that same thought. So I don't want to be something that might hurt the team.

"Obviously it's sad for me, how much I love the Ryder Cup and everything I've been able to do with Europe. That's the way they want it. I'm just helping out."

Brendan Steele holds a one-shot lead after finishing his first round with a flourish at the Zozo Championship.

Steele started with a six-under 64 to lead the way at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on Thursday.

The American made a first birdie at the second hole and came alive after the turn, making another six gains as his only blemish came with a bogey at 14.

Steele holed his approach shot at the par-four 17th and another birdie at the last put in out on his own at the top of leaderboard in Chiba, Japan.

The 39-year-old has not won a PGA Tour event since retaining his Safeway Open title five years ago.

Adam Schenk is second place following a bogey-free 65, with fellow Americans Sam Ryder, Matthew NeSmith and Keegan Bradley a further stroke back.

Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele are nicely poised just three shots off the lead along with Kazuki Higa, Maverick McNealy and Mito Pereira.

It was not a good day for defending champion Hideki Matsuyama on home soil, as he is down in 41st after a one-over 71.

Tom Kim took advantage of a disastrous final hole from Patrick Cantlay to secure the Shriners Children's Open title on Sunday with an overall score of 24 under.

Kim, 20, became the first player since Tiger Woods to win two PGA Tour events before their 21st birthday, and he did it after coming into Sunday's final round tied for the lead with Cantlay.

The two players atop the leaderboard exchanged the lead multiple times, with Cantlay birdieing the opening hole, before Kim closed out his front-nine with back-to-back birdies to make the turn with a two-stroke advantage.

Cantlay evened things up with back-to-back birdies of his own on 11 and 12, before Kim banked another pair of birdies on 13 and 14, only for Cantlay to level the playing field with two more on 15 and 16.

Heading onto the 72nd and final hole of the week tied at 24 under, Cantlay teed off first and put it into the coarse bushes off the side of the fairway. 

Instead of declaring it unplayable and taking a drop, he opted to try and play his way out, resulting in a botched first shot that traveled less than a yard, before putting his next shot in the water in a catastrophic meltdown.

Kim made no such mistake off the tee, finding the centre of the fairway before approaching safely onto the green and two-putting for the win, while Cantlay needed to sink a 36-foot putt for triple-bogey, tying for second at 21 under.

Speaking after the win, Kim highlighted his mistake-free play as the key to victory.

"I played really solid this week – I had no bogeys for 72 holes," he said. "I think I have to give big credit to Joe [Skovron], my caddy, he really kept me in it and we had a really good game-plan the week, and it paid off.

"I got very lucky on the 18th, I'm not going to lie. Patrick played awesome, and it was an honour to battle with him, and to come out on top, I feel very fortunate."

When asked if he was surprised by his early success on the PGA Tour, he said he is just enjoying the ride.

"I've worked really hard, and my team has worked really hard to get to this point," he said. "I'm just really grateful, and I'm very fortunate to have an opportunity like this. I'm having fun playing on the PGA Tour, it's awesome."

Finishing tied with Cantlay for second place at 21 under was Matthew NeSmith, and first-round leader Tom Hoge ended the week with some momentum as he posted a seven-under Sunday to shoot his way into a tie for fourth at 20 under with Mito Pereira and Kim Seong-hyeon.

Im Sung-jae was alone in seventh at 19 under, and Jason Day tied with Kim Si-woo for eighth, giving South Korea four of the top-10.

Former U.S. Open winner Jon Rahm romped to his eighth DP World Tour title with a six-stroke victory on home turf in the Open de Espana on Sunday.

The 2021 major winner delivered a stunning nine-under round to card 62 on the final day, blowing away the competition at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

With an eagle on the 14th and eight further birdies, the 27-year-old proved too strong for Matthieu Pavon, with the Frenchman's six-under for the fourth round leaving him in a distant second place.

Rahm's triumph saw him take the Open de Espana title for the third time in his career, having previously triumphed in 2018 and 2019.

It means he equals the record set by his fellow countryman, the late Seve Ballesteros, who also won the competition on three occasions.

"You might need to ask me in a few days because I take quite a while to process these things," Rahm stated when asked for his thoughts on matching Ballesteros' feat.

"It was the goal coming in; Seve is a great hero of mine and to do something he took his whole career to do in just a few years is quite humbling.

"It's emotional. Going up the 18th hole, I knew what was about to happen and to get it done like that, I can't describe it."

Australia's Min Woo Lee carded three-under to finish in third, seven strokes off the lead, while Italy's Edoardo Molinari and South Africa's Zander Lombard tied for fourth after posting equal rounds of four-under.

Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra claimed the LIV Golf Bangkok title after carding a final-round 69 to win by three strokes on a weather-affected final day.

The 22-year-old took a five-shot lead into the final round and did enough to hold off late charges from the likes of Patrick Reed and Paul Casey, the latter of whom will be left to rue an opening round of 71 after shooting 65 on both the second and third days.

Nobody bettered Lopez-Chacarra's first and second rounds of 65 and 63 respectively, and he overcame two bogies on the front nine to finish three under on the final day and seal victory, maintaining his focus despite play being suspended for an hour and a half because of a storm in the area.

The Spaniard was a high-ranked amateur before joining the controversial Saudi-backed tour in June and now earns his first professional championship, as well as a $4million purse.

Richard Bland and Branden Grace formed part of a leading trio with Lopez-Chacarra on seven under after the opening round, but Grace withdrew with injury on Saturday while Bland could not follow up his first-day success, losing pace on the eventual winner to finish joint-third – alongside Casey and Sihwan Kim and a stroke behind second-placed Reed.

Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka was joint-eighth at 13 under, while Bryson DeChambeau ended 14th at 10 under.

Other big names were way off the pace, with Phil Mickelson 10 shots behind Lopez-Chacarra and 2022 Open Championship winner Cameron Smith finishing a disappointing tournament tied for 41st at four under.

Patrick Cantlay carded a joint course record and career low 60 to move to grab a share of the lead with Tom Kim at the Shriners Children's Open with one day to go.

Cantlay, who had shot back-to-back 67s, tied the course record on the third day at Las Vegas' TPC at Summerlin with 11 birdies in his 11-under-par round.

The American world number four just fell shy of the elusive 59, missing with his birdie putt from just under 25 feet on the 18th hole.

Cantlay's 60 was his first on tour as a professional, having achieved the feat in 2011 as a 19-year-old amateur at the Travelers Championship.

Kim and Cantlay are three strokes clear on the leaderboard at 19-under overall, with halfway leader Mito Pereira back with Matthew NeSmith on 16 under.

The South Korean managed six birdies on the back nine to score an impressive nine-under-par 62 on Saturday.

Kim landed his approach on the 18th two feet from the hole to close out his round with birdie and earn the joint lead.

Pereira could only manage four birdies to lose his grip on the lead, while NeSmith had a strong eight-under round fueled by three birdies on the final four holes.

South Korean pair Im Sung-jae and Kim Seong-hyeon are next best on the leaderboard at 15 under.

Behind them is a group of five tied at 14 under, including Kim Si-woo and Aaron Rai, who carded a nine-under 62 on Saturday, with four birdies on his final five holes.

Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra will take a five-stroke lead into the final round at LIV Golf Bangkok after ending a brilliant second day in Thailand at 16 under par.

Lopez-Chacarra was one of a leading trio on seven under after the first round, but Richard Bland was unable to keep up with the Spaniard and Branden Grace withdrew after just three holes on Saturday due to an acute muscle strain.

Bland is one of four five shots off the lead with Sihwan Kim, Patrick Reed and Harold Varner III – while they may not be completely out of the running yet, the chasing pack need Lopez-Chacarra to lose momentum.

If his form from the first two rounds is anything to go by, there is little hope of such a collapse, with no one in the field bettering his respective scores of 65 and 63.

Saturday's 63 was nine under par as the 22-year-old – who was a high-ranked amateur before joining LIV Golf in June – carded seven birdies and an eagle, which was holed from the sand on six, and avoided a single bogey.

Those trailing Lopez-Chacarra will be hoping the Madrid native's inexperience leads to a blip on Sunday.

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka is one of those who will aim to propel himself into contention as he sits on 10 under for the tournament, though victory will require something special.

Few other big names retain much of a chance of glory, however, with Bryson DeChambeau at seven under and Phil Mickelson another shot back.

Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson are among a group on four under, while 2022 Open Championship winner Cameron Smith is way down near the bottom of the standings at two under.

If Lopez-Chacarra can hold his nerve on Sunday, he will have gone from amateur golfer to winner of a $4million purse within four months.

Jon Rahm wishes the LIV Golf International Series defectors could play at the Ryder Cup, though he conceded "it does not look good" for the rebels' hopes.

The controversial Saudi-backed breakaway league continues to battle for world ranking points for its defectors, with the LIV Golf players also indefinitely banned from featuring on the PGA Tour.

Those bans mean the United States golfers that defected will not be able to compete at the Ryder Cup in Rome next September, while European players are awaiting a hearing in February on the sanctions.

A positive outcome for the Europeans who play on the LIV Golf circuit would see the DP World Tour unable to sanction the rebels, with Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sam Horsfield hoping to feature in Italy.

While Rahm has opposed the breakaway league, alongside likely Team Europe colleague Rory McIlroy, he expressed his disappointment that the best players may not be present at the Ryder Cup.

"The Ryder Cup is not the PGA Tour and European Tour against LIV – it's Europe versus the US, period," Rahm said.

"The best of each against the other, and for me the Ryder Cup is above all. I wish they could play but it doesn't look good."

Recent reports suggest Sergio Garcia has ruled himself out of Ryder Cup contention regardless of the hearing result.

The Spaniard failed to submit an entry for the Mallorca Open later in the month, meaning he will not meet the appearance requirements to retain his membership.

"It is a complicated situation for Sergio," Rahm added. "I understand he decided not to play because the last time he played a tournament on the European circuit he was not received very well, although I imagine it would be different in Mallorca.

"In any case, there are still days left and you can still sign up."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bryson DeChambeau says it is "crazy" that LIV Golf players have been denied the opportunity to earn world ranking points.

Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) on Thursday announced that no points will be up for grabs at the events in Bangkok this week or Jeddah next week despite a new alliance between LIV Golf and the MENA Tour being formed on Wednesday.

Players on the Dubai-based MENA Tour have been able to earn points since 2016, but OWGR refused to award points for the two remaining LIV Golf events this year as they stated that insufficient notice had been given for a customary necessary review of the changes to be carried out.

That has not gone down well with 2020 U.S. Open DeChambeau, who was among the big names to turn their back on the PGA Tour and join the Saudi-backed breakaway series.

"They're delaying the inevitable," the American said after his first round in Bangkok on Friday. "We've hit every mark in their criteria, so for us not to get points is kind of crazy with having the top - at least I believe we have the top players in the world.

"Not all of them, but we certainly believe that there's enough that are in the top 50 and we deserve to be getting world ranking points.

"When they [OWGR] keep holding it back, they're going to just keep playing a waiting game where we're going to keep dropping down in the rankings to where our points won't even matter.

"That's what they're trying to accomplish, and I hope that people can see right through that rather than believe the lies that they've been told. From my perspective, I think we deserve points."

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka accused OWGR of "sitting on the fence".

"I don't think it [the OWGR statement] really was much of a response," Koepka said. "I just hate when you sit on the fence. Just pick a side. If it's yes or no, just pick one. I'm not a big fan of that.

"Yeah, not to say something to where it's not really an answer and we'll think about it. Just pick a side. If it's yes, if it's no, it's fine, we'll figure it out from there."

Cameron Smith was among the early stragglers at LIV Golf Bangkok as the Open champion finished his first round seven shots adrift of the leaders.

After winning the Chicago leg of the breakaway series last month, Australian Smith would have been hoping for more at Stonehill Golf Course on Friday.

A double bogey at 16 was followed by a pair of pars as he came home in level-par 72.

Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, Richard Bland and Branden Grace were the unlikely leading trio on seven under, with Marc Leishman and Ian Poulter tied for fourth one shot back.

Brooks Koepka was one of five players on five under, with Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau three under and Dustin Johnson two under.

Only five players shot worse scores than Smith, with Chase Koepka and Matthew Wolff bringing up the rear on two under.

The three co-leaders all had bogey-free rounds, each posting rounds of 65 after making seven birdies.

Lopez-Chacarra is a 22-year-old Spaniard who was a top amateur before embarking on his professional career in the LIV ranks. He has yet to have a top-20 finish on the tour.

Bland is a 49-year-old Englishman who in May 2021 won his first European Tour title at the 478th attempt; while Grace, with two wins on the PGA Tour and nine on the European Tour, is the renowned top performer among the pace-setting trio.

The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) on Thursday revealed that no rankings points will be up for grabs in Bangkok this week or Jeddah next week.

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

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

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

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

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

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