Sepp Straka birdied three of the final five holes to clinch his maiden PGA Tour triumph after overnight leader Daniel Berger crumbled at the Honda Classic on Sunday.

Straka became the first-ever Austrian to win a PGA Tour title while he was the sixth first-time winner on the tour this season.

The 28-year-old Austrian started the final day tied for second in a group of four alongside Shane Lowry, Kurt Kitayama and Chris Kirk who were five strokes behind Berger.

But Straka carded a final-round four-under-66 highlighted by his late flurry in wet conditions at Palm Beach Gardens to win outright at 10-under overall.

"They were pretty tough [conditions]," Straka said after the win. "For a little while the wind let down before the rain started which was nice but on the last hole, that second shot into the green it started pouring rain. I was glad I could hit that one on the green two-putt."

Straka and Lowry went into the 18th hole tied at nine-under, but the Irishman could only make par, while the Austrian's two putt earned him the decisive birdie.

Lowry had led by as much as two strokes down the back nine but Straka surged with a fine approach on the 14th setting up birdie, while he sunk a birdie putt from off the green on the 16th to draw level.

Kitayama finished third at eight-under, with Berger's final-round four-over-74 seeing him slide from a five-stroke lead to three shots off the pace.

The American, who resides nearby to Palm Beach Gardens in Florida, saw him lead evaporate quickly, with a double bogey on the third hole, along with bogeys on the fifth and sixth.

Berger, ranked 20th on the PGA Tour, holed a clutch bunker shot on the seventh hole along with a chip for birdie on the 14th but could not do enough to retrieve his lead.

Florida native Daniel Berger moved five strokes clear ahead of the final day at the Honda Classic, matching the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history on Saturday.

The world number 20 had held a three-shot lead at the halfway mark but extended that with a one-under-69 following back-to-back 65s at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida.

Berger led by as many as six strokes after sticking a brilliant tee shot for birdie on the par-three 15th hole before a bogey on the 18th hole.

The American leads from a group of four players tied on six-under, including Irishman Shane Lowry who carded a round of six-under-67 to move up the leaderboard.

Lowry is tied with Sepp Straka, Chris Kirk and day one leader Kurt Kitayama, with the latter two carding rounds of one-over-71 having been tied for second after the first two days.

“Obviously you want to go out and catch him tomorrow, but I don’t think you can go and catch anyone on this golf course," said Lowry, whose round was the best of the day with only 13 players above even.

“You just need to do your thing and shoot the best score you can and hopefully it will be somewhere near good enough."

Lowry's round included four birdies and a bogey, while he drained a 20-foot putt on the sixth hole to save par.

Canadian Adam Svensson is one stroke back from the quartet at five-under, before a three-shot gap to the next in the field.

Pre-tournament favourites Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen are both well back, at one-over and two-over overall respectively.

Hometown hero Daniel Berger opened up a three-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Honda Classic in Florida after carding six birdies on Friday.

Berger, who is ranked 20th in the world, backed up his opening day five-under 65 with a repeat score, highlighted by a 38-foot birdie putt on the par-three seventh hole, to be 10-under at Palm Beach Gardens.

The Florida native leads by three shots from Chris Kirk and first day leader Kurt Kitayama, the latter carding a one-under-69 to slip from the summit.

“Just one of those days when I kept the momentum going,” Berger told reporters. “I hit a lot of quality shots, even though they don't look like they're five feet from the hole, or 10 feet from the hole.

“I know that they're so difficult, that to hit it to 20 feet is a good shot. And that's the challenge for this golf course is the pins are tucked, the greens are firm, wind's up, so you have to be really on point with where you're going to miss.”

Mark Hubbard surged up the leaderboard into a tie for fourth alongside Canadian Adam Svensson with the pair carding rounds of 64 and 65 respectively to be six-under overall.

Pre-tournament favourite Louis Ousthuizen produced a strong round to avoid the cut, after his opening day five-over-75.

The South African is even after two rounds, behind Berger by 10 strokes, but managed six birdies on his back nine to stay in contention after a double bogey on the 11th hole seemed to condemn him.

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka is among a large group alongside Oosthuizen that are even after two rounds with the American carding a two-over-72.

Padraig Harrington, Brian Harman, Charl Schwartzel and last week's Genesis Invitational winner Joaquin Niemann were among those to miss the cut.

Kurt Kitayama managed four straight birdies on his back nine to claim the lead ahead of Daniel Berger in a group of three after the opening day of the Honda Classic in Florida on Thursday.

The little-known American carded a six-under-round of 64, starting the day with three straight birdies, before his hot run on his back nine at Palm Beach Gardens.

Kitayama has enjoyed a good recent period, making the cut at his past five starts before Thursday's impressive feat as solo leader.

"I think when you're struggling, I think just that self-motivation to find keep getting better and finding a way to figure it out, it's kind of how you've got to keep going," Kitayama told reporters.

The 29-year-old leads by one stroke from Rory Sabbatini, Chris Kirk and hometown hero Berger who are five-under.

World number 20 Berger started his round brilliantly, with three birdies on his first four holes, while he also sunk a 28-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole with no ill-effects from a back problem that has been plaguing him lately.

Slovakian veteran Sabbatini made birdie on the 18th to jump into a share of second, with Kirk having eight birdies and three bogeys in an entertaining round.

Danny Willett, Matthias Schwab, Andrew Kozan, Aaron Rai and Peter Uihlein are all next tied for fifth at three under.

Four-time major winner and current world number 15 Brooks Koepka managed three birdies in his round of two-under-68 to be four shots off the pace.

Last week's Genesis Invitational winner Joaquin Niemann had an even round of 70, despite leading early after four birdies on his front nine, with a double bogey holding him up on the fourth hole.

Pre-tournament favourite Louis Oosthuizen will battle to make the cut after five bogeys on the front nine before a double bogey on the 17th hole left him with a five-over-75.

Billy Horschel leads the way after the opening day of the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego with world number one Jon Rahm the best of the big names in the field.

Horschel leads by one stroke from Michael Thompson after the 35-year-old American carded a bogey-free nine-under-par 63 on the North Course at Torrey Pines.

World number 23 Thompson also went bogey free on Thursday, birdieing four of his first five holes to jump out of the blocks, before birdies on the 17th and 18th holes rounded out a strong day.

Stephan Jaeger and Kevin Tway are seven-under-par, with Rahm on six-under-par alongside three others players; Rickie Fowler, Doug Ghim and Francesco Molinari.

Rahm's round on the South Course included two bogeys and six birdies but he jumped up the leaderboard with an eagle on the 18th.

Sam Burns, Daniel Berger and Tony Finau are among a group of players tied at five-under while Justin Thomas started with a four-under-par 64 but had five birdies on his front nine before two bogeys in his final five holes.

Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Xander Schauffele and 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson are also four under.

A bleach-blonde Brooks Koepka had two bogeys and four birdies to be two under, alongside three-time major winner Jordan Spieth and 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

World number one Jon Rahm made his move on the third day of the Tournament of Champions with a course-record round to join Cameron Smith with a share of the lead in Hawaii.

The Spaniard carded a 12-under-round 61 to move level with Smith, who led by three shots at the halfway mark, on 26 under after three rounds at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort.

Rahm's round was an equal course record, with 2017 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas also carding a 12-under-61 on Saturday to surge up the leaderboard to 17 under.

Last year's US Open champion Rahm shot 11 birdies with one eagle and one bogey in his round, drawing level with the Australian when he sunk a 29-foot putt on the 17th hole.

Smith, who also had a one-shot lead after the opening day, held firm with six birdies on his back nine.

The lead pair are five strokes clear of the next best, with American Daniel Berger slipping off the pace after a third straight round of 66 to be 21 under.

Berger finished his round with five consecutive birdies to keep his faint hopes alive.

Matt Jones, Sungjae Im and Patrick Cantlay are tied at 20 under, ahead of Marc Leishman at 18 under with Thomas and 2021 Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama at 17 under.

Top 10 duo Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele were unable to make any major inroads on the third day and are further back at 15 under.

Collin Morikawa is close to overtaking Jon Rahm as the world's top golfer after opening up a five-stroke lead ahead of the final round of the Hero World Challenge.

A victory for the two-time major winner in the Bahamas will see him follow Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth in becoming the fourth person to become world number one before turning 25.

Morikawa started Saturday's session at Albany Golf Club as one of three players a stroke behind leader Bryson DeChambeau after an unfortunate bogey on the final hole on day two.

DeChambeau's lead quickly evaporated with a bogey on the opening hole, however, and the American struggled with three more bogeys on the back nine to finish one-over-par for the day as he slipped down to ninth.

Open champion Morikawa took full advantage by firing an eight-under 64 in a round that included six birdies and an eagle chip-in on the par-five third.

Morikawa, who last month became the first American to win the Race to Dubai with a victory at the DP World Tour, is now 18-under after 54 holes on the 20-man field.

Fellow American Brooks Koepka shot 69, his only blemish a double-bogey on the par-three eighth, to move into second place behind Morikawa.

Daniel Berger dropped two shots on the final three holes and joins Patrick Reed, Viktor Hovland, Sam Burns and Tony Finau in a tie for third, six strokes behind Morikawa.

The performance of the day belonged to Harris English thanks to his 10 birdies, though it was not quite a blemish-free round as he dropped a shot on hole one.

Bryson DeChambeau carded an eight-under-par 64 to take the lead after the second round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.

World number seven DeChambeau started Friday's session down in 11th but climbed to the top of the standings on 11 under for the tournament with an impressive round.

The 2020 US Open winner double-bogeyed on the par-four 16th after pulling his drive into a bush, but that was the only blemish as he made 10 birdies.

DeChambeau, whose only title this calendar year came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, is one stroke clear of fellow Americans Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka.

Morikawa will overtake Jon Rahm as the world's number one should he win the tournament, and he would have had a share of the lead if not for a bogey on the 18th.

"When I put myself in the fairway, I was converting, I was making the birdies when I needed to," said Morikawa.

“I still felt like the driver's a little off, but, you know, get my timing a little bit better tomorrow and the next day and we'll be just fine."

Finau began the back nine with a bogey but recovered well with four birdies on the following eight holes to remain in strong contention for the title with two rounds to go.

Rory McIlroy, who held a share of the first-round lead with Daniel Berger and Abraham Ancer, shot a one under-par 71 on Friday to slip four off the pace.

Berger is fifth after a round of 69, while Ancer's 73 – which included five bogeys – saw him drop outside the top 10.

Meanwhile, Sam Burns impressed with seven birdies for a second-round 65 that was bettered only by DeChambeau as he climbed into a tie for sixth alongside Tyrrell Hatton.

Rory McIlroy earned a share of the first-round lead after the former world number one carded a six-under-par 66 at the Hero World Challenge.

McIlroy – winner of October's CJ Cup – was almost flawless on the opening day as the four-time major champion joined Daniel Berger and Abraham Ancer a stroke clear atop the leaderboard.

McIlroy had an eagle, six birdies and a double-bogey at Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas on Thursday.

"It was nice to play the back nine the way I did and put myself back in the tournament," said McIlroy, who did not drop a shot on the back nine with three birdies and an eagle, which he improbably chipped in.

Berger boasted a four-shot advantage at one point in the first round after bursting out the blocks with four consecutive birdies, though two bogeys on the back nine undid some of that good work.

But McIlroy and Ancer ensured the American must share the lead entering Friday's second round, the former going five-under following the turn at the PGA Tour tournament.

Fellow leader Ancer finished in similar style, despite also faltering with a bogey on the ninth, recording five birdies after the halfway point to join the group on six under.

It looked like there would be a different leader, however, with American star Justin Thomas a shot in front until the final hole, which he double-bogeyed.

Brooks Koepka – a four-time major champion – joins the 2017 PGA Championship winner after registering 67, with Webb Simpson also a shot off the initial mark.

The quality on display does not stop there, with Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa all managing 68 to sit two shots off the three-man leading pack ahead of day two.

The 12 singles pairings for the final round of the Ryder Cup have been announced, with the United States looking to dethrone Europe on Sunday.

Team USA hold a commanding 11-5 lead following Saturday's foursomes and four-ball at Whistling Straits, where the hosts boast the biggest two-day advantage since 1975.

Steve Stricker's USA require just 3.5 points to reclaim the cup from Europe, who will need to produce the biggest ever comeback if they are to claim the required nine points to defend their crown.

"That was an important one," Stricker said after USA split the four afternoon matches. "If they blank us, they're right back in the game. I think getting two points and splitting the session is a good outcome for us."

Xander Schauffele will lead the Americans out to start Sunday's play in Wisconsin, facing struggling European star Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy was dropped for Saturday's foursomes having struggled on Friday – the first time in the four-time major champion's Ryder Cup career that he has missed a session. He returned for the four-ball but fell to another defeat alongside Ian Poulter against Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa 4 and 3.

The second matchup pits USA's Patrick Cantlay against Shane Lowry, while Europe captain Padraig Harrington put world number one Jon Rahm down to face Scottie Scheffler.

Bryson DeChambeau and European star Sergio Garcia meet in match four, American Collin Morikawa tackles Viktor Hovland and unbeaten USA veteran Johnson plays Paul Casey.

Elsewhere, Brooks Koepka is set to tee off against Bernd Wiesberger, Poulter and Tony Finau go head-to-head, Justin Thomas will clash with Tyrrell Hatton, Lee Westwood goes up against Harris English, Jordan Spieth faces Tommy Fleetwood and the final matchup is a showdown between Daniel Berger and Matt Fitzpatrick.

The United States launched their bid to reclaim the Ryder Cup from Europe as the action teed off at Whistling Straits on Friday.

Sergio Garcia, playing alongside Spanish compatriot Jon Rahm, had the honour of hitting the opening shot in the morning foursomes, with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas providing the opposition.

A raucous crowd created a tremendous atmosphere on the first tee in Wisconsin, with some boos for Europe, for whom Garcia drove into a bunker before Thomas responded by finding the fairway.

Europe, then led by Thomas Bjorn, won by seven points last time out at Le Golf National in 2018 and new captain Padraig Harrington has gone for experience to kick off his team's campaign after a year's delay amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Paul Casey, 44, joins Viktor Hovland against Dustin Johnson and Open champion Collin Morikawa in the next match out, followed by the 48-year-old Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick against Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger. 

The final clash of the opening session pits Ian Poulter, 45, and Rory McIlroy against the rookie American duo of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. 

Europe have left Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Bernd Wiesberger on the sidelines for the opening matches, while Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Tony Finau and Scottie Scheffler miss out for the hosts.

The fourballs pairings will be confirmed later in the day.

Friday's foursomes

Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth (USA) v Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia (EUR)
Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa (USA) v Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland (EUR)
Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger (USA) v Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick (EUR)
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele (USA) v Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter (EUR)

Europe will look to their Ryder Cup veterans to set the tone when play begins at Whistling Straits on Friday. 

Captain Padraig Harrington's four oldest players, all in their 40s, will feature for Europe in the morning foursomes against a youthful USA group whose oldest player, Dustin Johnson, is 37. 

All-time Ryder Cup scoring leader Sergio Garcia, 41, will lead the charge with world number one Jon Rahm as the Spanish pair face Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the opening match in Wisconsin. 

"We would have been aware that JT and Jordan would have gone first, obviously, so we were going to lead ourselves with a strong partnership," Harrington told a news conference. "The whole world will be watching that one."

Teeing off next, Paul Casey (44) will team with rookie Viktor Hovland against Johnson and Open Championship winner Collin Morikawa, followed by Lee Westwood (48) and Matthew Fitzpatrick against Brooks Koepka and Danel Berger. 

The final matchup of the opening session will pit Ian Poulter (45) and Rory McIlroy against the rookie American duo of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. 

"We've gone with an experienced setup, no doubt about it, but it was our strong setup," Harrington said. "It just happened to be experienced. I was happy with that, there's no doubt, when it came out like that and you're looking at it and you go, yeah, that's very experienced. That is a big bonus.

"But it didn't weaken our fourballs – that was very important. We still have a strong fourball setup and we haven't taken from the afternoon by going with a strong setup in the morning." 

Europe will leave Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Bernd Wiesberger on the sidelines for the opening matches, while the USA will do the same with Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Tony Finau and Scottie Scheffler. 

While the Europe captain said it was safe to assume his players who will sit out the morning will play in the afternoon fourballs, his US counterpart Steve Stricker declined to be drawn on that topic – though both captains said their foursome and fourball pairings were set and communicated to their teams early in the week.

Each also said he was focused on his own side as opposed to worrying about what the other team might be doing, though both put special emphasis on the first and fourth matches. 

"We talked occasionally about maybe who they're going to put out, but it doesn't matter," Stricker said. "I mean, they're all such great players, they're all highly ranked players and we know that we're going to have to play our best to to beat them.

"We had an idea that Rory and Rahm would probably go one and four, and that's pretty much all we knew, or really thought about. We didn't know who their guys were going to be paired with but we kind of had that figured out, so we tried to act accordingly as well."

Asked whether any of his players had expressed disappointment in not being included in the morning pairings, Stricker immediately responded "not at all." 

"These guys have been incredible," he added. "I can't stress it enough, really, and it's about the communication that we've had, the captains and myself, and being upfront with them and just letting them know what we're thinking, so there's no curveballs.

"We've heard it multiple times from all the players: If you want to play me once, or all five, you know, that's up to you – meaning the captains – and just so we can try to win this Cup."

Friday's foursomes

Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth (USA) v. Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia (EUR)
Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa (USA) v. Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland (EUR)
Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger (USA) v. Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick (EUR)
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele (USA) v. Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter (EUR)

United States captain Steve Stricker has selected Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele among his wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup, but there is no place for Patrick Reed on the 12-player roster.

Spieth will appear at the biennial competition for a fourth time in a row, while Schauffele is set to make his debut against Europe in next month's tournament at Whistling Straits after recently winning Olympic gold.

Schauffele was one of three rookies chosen by Stricker on Wednesday along with Daniel Berger, Harris English and Scottie Scheffler, with Tony Finau – part of the USA side that lost in Paris three years ago – completing the captain's picks.

Speaking at a news conference to announce his final selection, Stricker said: "All six of these guys have been playing some really good golf for a long period of time. 

"It's more about a body of work. They have all played great throughout this year and very well deserving of these picks."

The top-six qualifiers – Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay – had already locked in spots for the USA, who are seeking to regain the trophy after that 17.5-10.5 loss in 2018.

Reed is the most notable name overlooked by Stricker, the 31-year-old having featured in every American team since 2014. 

He made his return from a month-long absence at last week's Tour Championship after being hospitalised with pneumonia in both lungs.

Asked to explain his decision to overlook Reed, who top-scored for USA in their 2016 victory at Hazeltine, Stricker said: "That was a very, very difficult call. I lost sleep over that one. 

"He's a tremendous competitor, he brings a lot of match play golf and his record at the Ryder Cup is pretty darn good.

"I think it was the uncertainty of his health and the lack of play that led to our decision down the stretch."

Team Europe captain Padraig Harrington will announce his final three picks on Sunday.

Colombian Sebastian Munoz and American Chesson Hadley are joint leaders after the opening day of the John Deere Classic in Illinois on Thursday.

Munoz, ranked 75th in the world, hit 17 of 18 greens in his eight-under round which included nine birdies, including five in a row to finish the day.

Hadley, who blew a four-shot lead heading into the final round at the Palmetto Championship three weeks ago, carded an eight-under-63 with eight birdies at the TPC Deere Run.

Hank Lebioda bogeyed on the final hole of the day to let slip a share of the opening day lead.

Lebioda is tied with Chez Reavie and Camilo Villegas at seven under after, marginally ahead of Ryan Moore who carded a six-under-65.

Last week's Rocket Mortgage Classic winner Cameron Davis is four strokes behind the leaders and in contention, landing an eagle on the second hole.

Kevin Na is also four under, with reigning champion Dylan Fritelli carding a three-under 68.

World number 16 Daniel Berger made a 45 foot putt on the ninth hole but finished two under.

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