Kurt Kitayama sits alone atop the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am leaderboard after Friday's second round with a score of nine under.

Kitayama enjoyed a strong seven-under 64 on his opening round at Monterey Peninsula Country Club – the easiest of the three courses being used – and backed it up with a two-under 70 at the flagship Pebble Beach Golf Links.

He shot three birdies and one bogey on the championship course, which has hosted six U.S. Open tournaments, and will also be the site of Sunday's final round this weekend.

Kitayama will look to remain in pole position after playing the Spyglass Hill course in his third round, with the cut to take place after all players have played all three courses.

First-round leader Hank Lebioda found the Pebble Beach track far more difficult than Monterey Peninsula, opening the week with an eight-under 63 before following it with an even par 72 to remain at eight under, tied for second.

He is joined by fellow Americans Brandon Wu, Keith Mitchell and Joseph Bramlett – who all played at Monterey Peninsula on Friday. Of the five players to shoot rounds of five under or better, all took place at Monterey Peninsula.

Ireland's Seamus Power is one further back at seven under, and he is joined in a five-man group that includes Japan's Satoshi Kodaira and the USA's Scott Stallings, who both sit in a strong position.

Both Kodaira and Stallings have already got the two difficult courses out of the way, and will have a chance to slingshot to the top when they tee up at Monterey Peninsula on Saturday.

Of the big names, world number 11 Viktor Hovland pulled to within three strokes of the lead at six under, while three-time major champion Jordan Spieth is two further back at four under.

After failing to make the cut in each of his first five events this PGA Tour season, Hank Lebioda is alone atop the leaderboard after Thursday's opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Lebioda, 29, has never won on the PGA Tour before, but he looked right at home on the Monterey Peninsula Country Club course, collecting nine birdies and one bogey for an eight-under 63.

He shot to the top of the leaderboard after a blistering stretch to open his back-nine, with five birdies and two pars from seven holes.

Unfortunately for Lebioda, that will be the only time he plays at Monterey Peninsula as the tournament is spread across three courses. Every player will also get a round at Spyglass Hill and the Pebble Beach Golf Links, with the latter hosting the final round after a cut at the end of Saturday's action.

Of the seven players to shoot six under or better, six of them played at Monterey Peninsula, which makes Chad Ramey's seven-under 64 at Pebble Beach stand out.

Ramey is joined in a tie for second with fellow American Kurt Kitayama and England's Harry Hall, while France's Martin Trainer and Australia's Aaron Baddeley are joined by the USA's Eric Cole one further stroke back at six under.

The big names were quiet on the opening day, with world number 11 Viktor Hovland the best performer of the rankings' top-40 at two under.

Jordan Spieth is joined by fellow major champions Danny Willett and Matt Fitzpatrick at one under, while Kevin Kisner shot himself out of contention at four over.

Open champion Cameron Smith claims golf's world rankings are becoming "obsolete" due to there being no points awarded for LIV Golf tournaments.

The Australian spoke out ahead of this week's Saudi International, an Asian Tour event that was getting under way on Thursday, saying it hurt him that his prospects of getting to number one had been dealt a blow.

Smith is among a host of major winners and star names who have defected from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to the controversial LIV Golf tour, a lucrative Saudi-backed series that critics claim was launched in an effort to 'sportswash' the Middle East country's reputation.

For 29-year-old Smith, who won the Chicago leg of the LIV series last September, the limitations of where he can collect ranking points is a setback. He has been as high as number two but is now fourth on the rankings list, which is led by Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy has been as vociferous an opponent of LIV Golf as any player and is not playing this week in Saudi Arabia, where a host of top names, many of them from LIV Golf, are in the field and ranking points are available.

Smith said of the rankings situation: "I've tried to take it not that badly. When you rock up to a tournament, you know who you have to beat, whether there's a world ranking or not. There's generally seven or eight guys that are in that field that you know are going to put up a pretty good fight.

"For sure it hurts. I feel as though I was really close to getting to number one, and that was definitely something I wanted to tick off, but the longer that this stuff goes on, I think the more obsolete those rankings become.

"That's just the long and short of it, I think. Do we need them? It would be nice, but like I said, you know who you've got to beat when you get on the golf course."

LIV Golf is hoping it will be able to award ranking points in future.

Smith said he had enjoyed parading the Open Championship's Claret Jug while at home during the off-season.

"I took it back down to Australia, took it to my home club," he said. "They actually had a trophy night, kind of the day that I got back down there, so I took it to the trophy night.

"It was a little bit hectic. It's a pretty cool trophy. I'd describe it as like seeing a ghost, I think, for the most part, the look that it brings to their face and the feeling that it gives them is pretty special.

"I've taken it everywhere with me. Just about had every liquid you can put in there I've tried to put in it. But it's been awesome. It's been fun over Christmas; the family drinking out of it was something I'll never forget."

Patrick Reed relished an "epic battle" with Rory McIlroy and shrugged off another controversy by stating "I know who I am" after missing out on a Dubai Desert Classic victory.

Reed has been in the spotlight at Emirates Golf Club after the American threw a tee towards McIlroy, having been snubbed for a handshake following a dispute between the pair.

LIV Golf star Reed was the centre of attention again on Sunday when he took an unplayable penalty drop after his ball got lodged in a tree, with question marks raised over whether it was in fact his ball he had identified by using binoculars.

When the tournament finally came to an end on Monday as a result of poor weather last week, Reed carded a seven-under 65 to ramp up the pressure on McIlroy.

A birdie at the 18th for Reed drew him level with the Northern Irishman at the top of the leaderboard, but McIlroy sunk a putt from 15 feet for a gain of his own to finish on 19 under with a round of 68 and take the title.

McIlroy had put a stray tee shot just short of the water at the last hole, but got himself out of trouble to seal a third Dubai Desert Classic win that he said was all the sweeter given he denied Reed.

Reed said: "I knew what I had to do early. I went out there and I put the pressure on him. Being four back of a guy like Rory is not easy.

"I battled it out, but missed a great opportunity on 15. The only real bad shot I hit was the tee shot on 16 [which resulted in his only bogey of the day]. Ended up behind the tree."

On the subject of trees, Reed was unperturbed over questions being raised about his integrity on Sunday.

"I don't really look at media or social media whenever I'm playing a tournament," he said. "Normally it's always negative, so I try to stay away from it.

"I've heard about it, but really all I can say is that I looked through the binoculars, identified my golf ball and explained what my markings were to the rules official. He looked and he identified [the ball] exactly the same way I did."

He added: "The good thing is I know who I am. All I can do is focus on my golf and focus on me. Felt like I've done that this week. Felt like I played great.

"It always seems to come down to Rory and I. We love to put on a good show. Unfortunately, I was on the wrong end of this one. Hats off to him, he played some great golf, especially on the weekend.

"It would have been even better if both of us were in the same group. But whenever he and I are battling, we have fun and epic battles."

The LIV Golf Invitational tournament schedule for 2023 has been confirmed.

The breakaway tour, headed up by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), started last year and caused ripples across the world of golf.

High-profile players such as Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson signed up for the lucrative competition, leaving the PGA Tour in the process.

On Monday, the 14 tournaments were confirmed, with the events set to take place across seven different nations.

Five venues that were on last year's slate return for 2023, with the Centurion Golf Club close to London, the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois, Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami and Jeddah's Royal Greens Golf and Country Club all making a comeback.

The LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok, LIV Golf International Portland and LIV Golf International Boston are not returning this year, though 

New venues include Orange County National in Orlando and the Trump National Golf Club in Washington D.C. – another course owned by the former United States president Donald Trump.

Seven venues had previously been confirmed prior to Monday's announcement.

The 2023 season will start at El Camaleon Golf Course in Mexico in late February, and end in Jeddah in November.

Eight of the tournaments will take place in the USA, with one each in Mexico, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

LIV Golf 2023 schedule

LIV Golf Mayakoba, Playa del Carmen, Mexico (February 24-26)
LIV Golf Tuscon, Arizona, USA (March 17-19)
LIV Golf Orlando, Florida, USA (March 31-Apr 2)
LIV Golf Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia (April 21-23)
LIV Golf Singapore, Singapore (April 28-30)
LIV Golf Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 26-28)
LIV Golf Valderrama, Andalucia, Spain (June 30-July 2)
LIV Golf London, Hertfordshire, UK (July 7-9)
LIV Golf Greenbrier, West Virginia, USA (August 4-6)
LIV Golf Bedminster, New Jersey, USA (August 11-13)
LIV Golf Chicago, Illinois, USA (September 22-24)
LIV Golf Miami, Florida, USA (October 20-22)
LIV Golf Team Championship, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia (November 3-5)

Rory McIlroy said his victory over Patrick Reed at the Dubai Desert Classic was "sweeter than it should be or needs to be".

World number one McIlroy clinched his third title at the event in a thrilling final round, making a fine birdie at the last hole on Monday to fend off rival Reed.

Prior to the tournament American and LIV Golf defector Reed labelled McIlroy an "immature little child" for blanking him at the practice range and was also alleged to have thrown a tee at the Northern Irishman.

McIlroy said Reed's lawyer served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, although Reed said he was not behind the subpoena, with the case concerned being one brought by American attorney Larry Klayman relating to divisions between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

Reed was involved in more controversy on Sunday when he took an unplayable penalty drop after his ball got lodged in a tree, with question marks raised over whether it was in fact his ball he had identified by using binoculars.

But McIlroy, considered by some as the PGA Tour's de facto spokesperson since LIV Golf's breakaway, came out on top in scintillating fashion.

"I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I've had to play, it would have been really easy to let emotions get in the way," he told DP World Tour media.

"I had to really concentrate on focusing on myself, forget who was up there on the leaderboard and I did that really, really well.

"I think I showed a lot of mental strength out there today and something to build on for the rest of the year.

"There's been a ton of positives this year, but also some things to learn from and improve on.

"I'm going to enjoy this, this is probably sweeter than it should be or needs to be but I feel like I've still got some stuff to work on.

"It's a great start to the year and a good foundation to work from."

McIlroy took a three-shot advantage into the final round, but victory could have slipped from his grasp when a tee shot held up close to the water on the 18th.

Yet the 33-year-old kept his cool to set up a 15-foot putt, which he sunk to avoid a play-off.

"Honestly I feel like I got lucky my ball didn't go in the water off the tee shot, it's such an awkward tee shot, driver's too much, three wood's not enough. I tried to hit an easy driver and it came off too hot," McIlroy said.

"I really only had one choice, to lay up and try to get up and down that way. I said yesterday with the two balls in the water on Sunday last year and yesterday, fool me once shame on me, fool me twice… I wasn't going to get fooled a third time."

Rory McIlroy birdied the last hole of a thrilling final round to hold off Patrick Reed and win the Dubai Desert Classic for a third time on Monday.

In a tournament that finished a day later than scheduled due to poor weather last Thursday and Friday, the world number one got himself out of a spot of bother on the 18th to start the year with a maiden Rolex Series victory

American Reed threw a tee in McIlroy's direction at Emirates Golf Club last week after being snubbed for a handshake following a dispute between the pair, but the Northern Irishman held his nerve to avoid throwing away his lead as the tension mounted during the last round.

LIV Golf star Reed was involved in more controversy on Sunday when he took an unplayable penalty drop after his ball got lodged in a tree, with question marks raised over whether it was in fact his ball he had identified by using binoculars.

McIlroy took a three-shot advantage into the final round, but Texan Reed carded a seven-under 65 and birdied the last hole to ramp up the pressure on the four-time major champion.

A tee shot that held up precariously close to the water left McIlroy with work to do at 18 and he had to wait for his second shot while Reed was coming close to an eagle three up in front of him before sinking a short birdie putt.

McIlroy laid up short of the water before showing his class to land his third shot 15 feet from the pin and duly avoided a play-off by draining a brilliant putt for the win.

A closing four-under 68 was enough for the 33-year-old to get the job done, finishing with back-to-back birdies to end the tournament on 19 under – beating Reed by one shot.

McIlroy had made his only bogey of the week at 15, but put that behind him to finish with a flourish following a steady start – adding to the Dubai Desert Classic victories he celebrated in 2009 and 2015.

Reed went out in 32 following three gains and maintained his momentum with an eagle-three at the 10th, then a further two birdies at 11 and 13.

He dropped a shot at 16 and a birdie at the last proved to be in vain as he fell just short.

Lucas Herbert finished strongly with a 66 to take third place, three adrift of McIlroy, with Callum Shinkwin fourth at 15 under and Julien Brun a further stroke back. Ian Poulter double-bogeyed the last and had to settle for joint-sixth along with Thomas Pieters following a closing two-under 70.

Rory McIlroy produced the best round of the day as his 65 took him three shots clear of the rest heading into the final round at the Dubai Desert Classic.

The world number one had not been pleased with his second round as he started Sunday tied for seventh – level with Patrick Reed after their spat earlier in the week – on eight under.

McIlroy excelled in his third round though, starting with four consecutive birdies before producing another four in five of his final six holes.

A bogey on the 18th was the only negative from an otherwise productive day as McIlroy ended on seven under par for the round, and 15 under overall.

"It would be great. I love this golf course. I love this tournament. I've won here a couple of times," the Northern Irishman said after his round.

"This is my first start of the year. I don't think I've ever won in my first start of the year – I had plenty of chances at Abu Dhabi down the road over the years, and never quite got it done.

"So tomorrow is a nice opportunity to try to do something that I've never done before."

English pair Callum Shinkwin and Dan Bradbury are tied for second on 12 under, going round in 67 and 68 respectively.

Reed is among seven players tied for fourth on 11 under after his 69, joining the likes of Ian Poulter, Victor Perez and Adri Arnaus.

After a promising first two rounds, Thomas Pieters could only record a par-score of 72 to end Sunday tied for 11th on 10 under, while Tommy Fleetwood dropped to a tie for 38th on six under after also going round in 72.

Max Homa produced his best round of the week to erase a five-stroke deficit and win the Farmers Insurance Open with a score of 13 under.

Low scores were hard to come by on the difficult Torrey Pines South Course, with only three players posting final scores of 10 under or better, while Homa's 13 under was the worst winning score of the season so far.

Coming into Saturday's final round at seven under, Homa posted seven birdies and one bogey to shoot 66, tying the round of the day and finishing with a birdie on the last to win by two strokes.

It is the sixth PGA Tour win of Homa's career, and he now has back-to-back multi-win seasons after also collecting the opening event of the campaign at September's Fortinet Championship.

The only other player to shoot a six-under 66 in the final round was Keegan Bradley, flying up the leaderboard into outright second place at 11 under, while world number eight Collin Morikawa finished alone in third at 10 under. 

Sam Ryder was the outright leader after the second and third rounds, but he ended up in a tie for fourth at nine under due to a 75 in his final trip around the course that twice hosted the U.S. Open.

Coming into the event with four wins from his previous six starts, and starting Saturday at 10 under, Jon Rahm had to settle for seventh after a two-over 74, tying with former world number one Jason Day.

World number one Rory McIlroy expressed frustration with his performance at the Dubai Desert Classic, where Thomas Pieters, Michael Thorbjornsen and Richard Bland shared the halfway lead.

The tournament will spill into Monday after adverse weather on the first two days, with Belgian Pieters, Englishman Bland and American amateur Thorbjornsen sharing the lead on 10 under heading into the final two rounds.

McIlroy is tied for seventh place – along with Patrick Reed, after their spat earlier in the week – on eight under.

The Northern Irishman was unhappy with his second round, however, after carding a 70 following his first-round 66.

McIlroy birdied the third and made an eagle putt from 33 feet on the 13th, yet he bogeyed the 10th and could not beat par on any other hole.

"More of the same really," said McIlroy when asked for his thoughts on Saturday's round.

"I think I only hit two fairways. Once you can't hit fairways and the rough is quite thick, it's hard to get any control on your ball, get close to par fours. A little rusty, I need to do a bit of work on it.

"I've chipped and putted it well and got myself around the course okay, been able to post a couple of decent scores and at least have a chance going into the last few days. But definitely more negatives than positives – I need to go and figure it out on the range."

McIlroy was, however, pleased the tournament organisers extended the event through to Monday.

He said: "I'm glad that they've gone to Monday and all the field have the opportunity to play 72 holes. It's such a big event, I think the discrepancy between these big events and the lesser ones, that fourth day could mean a lot to someone for changing the course of their year or their career.

"We can still get to our destinations on Monday night. Thankfully for me, there's two more rounds."

Reed also went round in 70 on Saturday, while Spain's Adri Arnaus, Sweden's Marcus Kinhult and Connor Syme of Scotland stood tied for fourth on nine under par.

Pieters, meanwhile, recovered from a sloppy front nine by having seven birdies after the turn.

American Thorbjornsen carded an eagle and seven birdies as he went round in 64, while Englishman Dan Bradbury registered the best score of the round, a 63, to join McIlroy and Reed on eight under, with Ian Poulter also in the eight-man group on that score.

"It feels good," Thorbjornsen said. "I didn't have the best round yesterday and the day before, felt like I missed a lot of putts out there. I thought I had a pretty good game plan but just stuck to it today. I actually made some putts.

"I enjoy playing professional golf a lot and I'm still an amateur, but just the golf courses that we play, the crowd out there, it's what I'm dreaming of ever since I was five or six years old. It just feels good to be out there."

In-form Jon Rahm surged into contention at the Farmers Insurance Open on Moving Day at Torrey Pines but Sam Ryder remains two shots clear ahead of the final round.

The Spaniard, who started the day at four-under overall, carded an impressive six-under-par 66 on Friday to fly up the leaderboard to 10 under and be within two strokes of Ryder (12 under).

Ryder had held a three-stroke advantage at the halfway point and maintained his lead despite an even round that included one birdie, where he made a great save after hitting the cart path, and one bogey as the event switched to the South Course for the final two days.

World number three Rahm seemed to relish the conditions in an ominous sign ahead of the final round, with the second-best round of the day underlining his surge, that included a run of three straight birdies before an eagle on the ninth.

Rahm moved into outright second with the eagle, with an excellent approach on to the green followed by an 11-foot putt. The 28-year-old claimed his first PGA Tour victory in 2017 at Torrey Pines.

Tony Finau enjoyed the best round of the day, carding an eight-under-par 64 to move into outright third at eight-under overall.

Finau, who was the only player to go bogey-free, had six birdies plus an eagle on the par-four first hole when he holed out from 138 yards on his approach.

A group of four players are tied for fourth at seven-under overall, in Sungjae Im, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Sahith Theegala.

Rory McIlroy put himself firmly in the mix at the Dubai Desert Classic after a flourish that disguised the "rusty" golf he feared would put him way down the leaderboard.

The lucrative DP World Tour event was again hit by wet weather on Friday, after a six-hour delay on Thursday, and with McIlroy among many in the field yet to begin the second round, organisers decided it would be extended to finish on Monday rather than Sunday.

McIlroy got his work for the day done in the morning at Emirates Golf Club, polishing off an opening round he left in a promising place overnight, having reached two under through 15 holes and given himself a short-range putt at the next that he elected to leave for Friday.

The world number one made that putt, then holed out from 107 yards for eagle at the eighth hole, his 17th, and finished with another birdie to complete a six-under 66 for what was a share of the lead at the time.

McIlroy summed up his performance on Thursday as "honestly not very good", so he was thankful to shoot such a low score.

"I struggled out there most of yesterday," McIlroy said. "I thought did I well to be under par by the end of the day. I fought back after some very sloppy rusty golf over the first 14 holes.

"And then today I came out and I don't really know if anything clicked because I don't think I hit enough shots to know. But it was definitely needed. I would have been happy with anything around 70 the way I played, and then to come in and shoot 66 is quite the bonus."

American Patrick Reed, involved in a pre-tournament spat with McIlroy and alleged to have thrown a tee at his rival, joined the Northern Irishman on six under through the opening 18 holes thanks to a 15-foot eagle putt at the last.

Reed, who missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last week, said: "I'm obviously really happy with the way I played. I felt like last week wasn't really a reflection of all the hard work I've been doing in the off-season.

"To come out this week and feel like I was able to put everything together and to have my mind right on game planning and course management was definitely a plus. I feel like I had full control of the golf ball and made a couple of putts."

Reed and McIlroy will play their second rounds on Saturday, but others began their second circuits before darkness brought an end to Friday's play.

The first-round joint lead was snatched away from Reed and McIlroy by Swedish amateur Ludvig Aberg and Englishman Ian Poulter, who both carded seven-under 65s.

Aberg then stumbled in the early stages of his second round, slipping back to five under through seven holes, but Poulter had a share of the overnight lead on eight under after making birdie at the third, the last hole he completed.

Alongside Poulter was fellow English veteran Richard Bland, who followed a 67 by picking up three shots in the opening four holes of his second round.

Spain's Angel Hidalgo held third place on seven under after he followed a 66 with an early birdie in round two, while South African Louis de Jager joined McIlroy and Reed in a share of fourth position.

Rory McIlroy was tied with rival Patrick Reed for the lead after the delayed conclusion to round one of the Dubai Desert Classic, though the Northern Irishman was not entirely satisfied with his performance.

The build-up to the tournament has been dominated by a spat between world number one McIlroy and LIV Golf defector Reed.

American Reed labelled McIlroy an "immature little child" for blanking him at the practice range and was also alleged to have thrown a tee at McIlroy.

McIlroy said Reed's lawyer served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, although Reed has said he was not behind the subpoena, with the case concerned being one brought by American attorney Larry Klayman relating to divisions between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

A strong start from both players on a rain-delayed day one raised the possibility of an intriguing pairing over the weekend.

And the chances of that happening were increased with McIlroy – who started on the back nine – closing birdie, eagle, birdie to finish his first round at six under par.

Reed matched that score thanks to a 15-foot eagle at the last.

Asked for his thoughts about how he played in round one, McIlroy said: "Honestly, not very good. I struggled out there most of yesterday. I thought I did well to be under par by the end of the day. I fought back after some very sloppy rusty golf over the first sort of 14 holes.

"And then today I came out and I don't really know if anything clicked because I don't think I hit enough shots to know, but it was definitely needed.

"I would have been happy with anything around 70 the way I played, and then to come in and shoot 66 is quite the bonus."

The highlight for McIlroy was holing out from 114 yards out of the sand at the eighth (his 17th).

"You know, I wouldn't say I'm the best fairway bunker player in the world. The desert is a little nicer, it's a little more packed down, so you get some better lies," he said.

"All I was thinking about was catching it clean. My tendency out of those lies is to hit it a little bit heavy. As soon as I struck it – went down the grip a little bit just to make sure of the strike – I knew it came out really nicely and it was right down the pin.

"Again, anything inside of 20 feet, I would have been happy with, so that was certainly a bonus."

Sam Ryder is in a strong position to make a run at his first PGA Tour victory as he heads into the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open with a three-stroke buffer atop the leaderboard.

Ryder, 33, has not collected a professional win since his Web.com Tour triumph back in 2017, but after banking a second-place finish in 2021 and a third-place result in 2022, he now has his best chance at a PGA Tour title.

The American owned a share of the lead after an eight-under 64 in his opening round on the Torrey Pines North Course, and he followed it with a four-under 68 on the South Course during Friday's second round. The final two rounds will be played on the South Course, which has hosted the U.S. Open twice.

Ryder's co-leaders after 18 holes both had far more trouble on the South Course, with Brent Grant posting a two-over 74 to drop to six under, while England's Aaron Rai shot himself out of contention with a six-over 78.

Alone in second place is Ryder's playing partner from the first two days, Brendan Steele, who went two under on the more difficult South Course to reach the weekend at nine under.

Incredibly, Steele is the only player within five strokes of the leader, with Argentina's Tano Goya sitting in solo third place at seven under.

Despite Grant's massive drop-off, he still owns a share of fourth place at six under, where he is part of a six-man group including Max Homa and Sahith Theegala.

Former world number one Jason Day and current top-10 talent Collin Morikawa round out the top-10 at five under, while Jon Rahm, who has won four of his past six starts, is one further back at four under.

Rivals Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed made positive starts to the Dubai Desert Classic after heavy rain caused play on day one to be delayed by over six hours.

World number one McIlroy was involved in an eve-of-tournament spat with American Reed, who labelled the Northern Irishman an "immature little child" for blanking him at the practice range. Reed was also alleged to have thrown a tee at McIlroy.

McIlroy said Reed's lawyer served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, although Reed has said he was not behind the subpoena, with the case concerned being one brought by American attorney Larry Klayman relating to divisions between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

"I'm living in reality. I don't know where he’s living," McIlroy said of his snub for Reed, one of the players who has signed up or LIV Golf. "If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't expect a hello or a handshake."

They could yet end up as playing partners later this week, which would be awkward, and Reed sped out to four under par through 16 holes once play finally got under way on Thursday, before bad light halted players in their tracks.

McIlroy, who began on the back nine, was playing his 16th hole when he abandoned for the day, having reached two under and given himself a great birdie opportunity, leaving himself a five-foot putt for the morning at the par-three seventh.

Playing partner Ryan Fox missed out on a hole in one when his tee shot to the same hole, bang on target, rolled up just six inches short. The New Zealander tapped that in to go to three under.

That put Fox into a share of eighth place, with McIlroy tied for 12th.

Belgium's Thomas Pieters led on five under through 15 holes, one ahead of a group of six, with Reed, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood and Frenchman Victor Perez approaching the end of their rounds, while Matthew Jordan, Daniel Gavins and Oliver Wilson reached the clubhouse. Gavins made bogey after a missed putt at the last, electing to play on after the hooter and forfeiting a share of the lead.

Only 66 players of the 132 in the tournament got going on Thursday, meaning Friday was set to be busy, with those left with holes to complete set to start at 08:00 local time (04:00 GMT), and the rest of the field beginning their first rounds at 08:20, with second rounds to follow.

Padraig Harrington was having a dismal round, with the former Open and US PGA champion at eight over after 13 holes.

After a challenging weather day, leader Pieters said of the course: "I think it played fair. Obviously they guarded against some of the conditions, and they moved a few tees forward on holes like 12, where you normally are hitting long irons, and you're hitting short wedges. If you found fairways and had ball-in-hand, it was definitely playable."