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Jason Day has recorded his third straight top-10 finish in a promising precursor to this week's US PGA Championship in San Francisco.

As American Justin Thomas regained the world's top ranking with a three-stroke triumph, Day closed with a final-round three-under-par 67 to share sixth place at nine under at the WGC-St. Jude Invitational in Memphis.

After opening his round with successive bogeys, Day reeled off six birdies in 13 holes to claw his way to within a shot of the lead heading to the 17th tee.

But a last-hole bogey ultimately left Australia's former world No.1 four strokes adrift of Thomas, who out-duelled defending champion Brooks Koepka (69) down the stretch with a final-round 65 to chalk up his 13th PGA Tour title.

Daniel Berger (65), Phil Mickelson (67) and Englishman Tom Lewis (66) tied for second with Koepka at 10 under, one ahead of Day who will head to the PGA Championship feeling ready to contend for a second Wanamaker Trophy.

After missing three of four cuts upon the tour's resumption from the three-month coronavirus-enforced shutdown, Day has finished tied for seventh at the Workday Charity Open, equal fourth at the Memorial Tournament and now joint sixth after a well-earned week's rest.

The PGA Championship winner in 2015 and runner-up in 2016, Day's encouraging form continues even after his tough decision last week to part ways with lifelong coach Col Swatton.

The 32-year-old Day's latest strong finish also elevated him from 62nd to 50th spot in the FedEx Cup standings.

Fellow Australian Lucas Herbert closed with a 67 at TPC Southwind to post his best WGC result, a tie for 49th at even par.

Marc Leishman (73) was one back in equal 57th, with Cameron Smith (68) and Matt Jones (71) sharing 59th spot.

Ryan Ruffels, meanwhile, went agonisingly close to notching his maiden professional win at the secondary Korn Ferry Tour event in Omaha.

After taking a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha, Ruffels missed his golden opportunity after a disappointing two-over 72.

The 22-year-old finished equal runner-up, one shot behind American Seth Reeves.

Reeves' sizzling seven-under 64 finish helped him overturn an eight-shot deficit.

"Well 18 months ago I had to dig deep to find my game again. Today I came really close to winning on the @KornFerryTour. Devastated might be the understatement of the year," Ruffels tweeted.

"But I've come a long way since then. Look forward to learning from this and getting back at it!"

At the LPGA On Drive Championship in Toledo, Minjee Lee finished third, three strokes behind American Danielle Kang after a final-round 70 left the Australian world No.8 at four under for the tournament.

Two late birdies have given Troy Merritt a four-point lead going into the final round of the PGA Tour's Barracuda Championship.

A year ago Merritt gave up the final-round lead in the lone modified stableford scoring event on the tour.

On Saturday, had eight birdies and two bogeys on Tahoe Mountain Club's Old Greenwood Course for 14 points.

Players receive eight points for albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie, zero for par, minus-one for bogey and minus-three for double bogey or worse.

Tahoe Mountain is staging the event for the first time after 21 years at Montreux Golf and Country Club.

"Don't get beat again like last year when we had the lead after 54," Merritt said.

Seeking his third PGA Tour victory, the 34-year-old Merritt is on 33 points.

Maverick McNealy and Argentine Emiliano Grillo are tied for second.

Grillo had an 11-point round and McNealy scored 10 points.

"I'm very happy with the way I played today," McNealy said."

"I'm really excited and optimistic and, if my putter keeps going the way it's going, I'll have a chance."

His girlfriend, world No.4 Danielle Kang, is tied for the lead in Ohio in the LPGA Tour's return.

"It was pretty fun for the six or seven months that they were off, practising with a top-five player in the world and working with Butch Harmon," McNealy said.

Grillo, from Argentina, won his lone PGA Tour title in 2016.

Robert Streb is fourth with 28 points with Joseph Bramlett and Richy Werenski sharing fifth on 26 points.

Merritt has a spot next week in the PGA Championship in San Francisco, while many others are fighting for a position reserved for the tournament winner.

The top two from the top 10, not already eligible, will get spots in the US Open in September at Winged Foot.

Cameron Percy in the best-placed Australia but just three points on Saturday took him to 21 points - dropping from a share of eighth to tied 15th.

Cameron Davis is in a group on 16 points while Rhein Gibson is on 10 points.

Branden Grace has been ruled out of next week's US PGA Championship after testing positive for coronavirus during the Barracuda Championship.

The 32-year-old South African was in a share of second at the PGA Tour event in Nevada but withdrew before the third round and will now go into isolation for 10 days.

Brace said he felt tired Friday night and thought it had to do with playing in altitude.

He was tested to be sure, and it came back positive for COVID-19 and he withdrew.

"I felt great all week," Grace said.

"Last night, I was tired and thought it had to do with the altitude.

"This morning, I notified the PGA Tour about my symptoms before going to the golf course.

"I wanted to get tested out of respect for my peers and everyone involved with the tournament.

"While it is unfortunate given my position on the leaderboard, the most important thing is our health."

Under PGA Tour guidelines, Grace has to self-isolate for 10 days and be without a fever for 24 hours before returning.

The rescheduled PGA Championship, which will be the first major of 2020, starts at TPC Harding Park in San Fransisco on Thursday.

A PGA Tour statement said: "The PGA TOUR has implemented its response plan in consultation with medical experts, including working with those who may have had close contact with Grace."

Grace's caddie tested negative for COVID-19 but will quarantine for a period of 14 days.

The PGA Tour said its contact tracing did not lead to additional testing.

Grace has played in every major dating to the 2014 British Open and holds the major championship record with a 62 at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open.

Winning a World Golf Championship event would easily be the biggest victory of Brendon Todd's career but it won't be easy with a host of PGA Tour stars hot on heels before the final round of the St. Jude Invitational.

Todd started Saturday with a two-stroke lead and finished it one stroke clear after five birdies and four bogeys in a one-under 69 left him at 13-under 198.

Byeong Hun An of South Korea, who had four straight birdies on the back nine, finished with a 66 on moving day at TPC Southwind to be second at 11-under par.

"It feels like a practice round out there," An said, with crowds locked out due to coronavirus protocols.

"There's not many people watching and definitely was kind of a relaxing day, I think. I didn't get really tensed up."

Rickie Fowler carded a 69 to be third at 10-under while defending champion Brooks Koepka (68) is a shot further back.

Thomas, who can become No.1 in the world with a victory here, rose to fifth at eight-under after a 66.

"It was nice to shoot four-under on that back nine to give myself somewhat of a chance," Thomas said.

He won on this course in 2018 before the event became a WGC event last year.

Phil Mickelson (66) and Louis Ooosthuizen (68) were in a group five strokes behind Todd.

Jason Day eagled the par-5 16th and birdied the 17th to recover from a tough front nine to share 10th at six-under.

His 69 on Saturday was matched by fellow Australians Marc Leishman (joint 29th), Matt Jones (tied 53rd) and Lucas Herbert (shared 56th) while Cameron Smith (71) dropped to a tie for 67th.

Todd is aiming to secure a fourth career victory and third this season after two wins in November.

This is the 35-year-old American's second 54-hole lead since the PGA Tour's return to play in June, although he faded to finish 11th on that previous occasion.

"I'm excited to be in this position and feel like if I can go out there and swing a little better and keep this putting momentum going, I'll be in good shape," he said.

Australian Minjee Lee is contention to win the LPGA Tour's first event back from its coronavirus enforced shutdown in February.

Lee carded a one-over 73 on Saturday to be two-under par and in a share of sixth at the Drive On Championship - just three strokes off the lead.

France's Celine Boutier (71) and Britain's Jodi Ewart Shadoff (72) birdied their final holes of round two to grab a share of the lead alongside American Danielle Kang (73) heading into the final day.

The scene is set for an enthralling conclusion in Toledo, Ohio, with Sarah Schmelzel (69) and Japan's Yui Kuwamoto (71) tied for thirdat three-under.

Kang, who won the Women's PGA Championship in 2017, began a rainy day at the famed Inverness Club alone atop the leaderboard, one shot clear of Ewart Shadoff.

But world No.4 Kang suffered a late-round wobble, taking three consecutive bogeys from the 13th hole.

"Today was a complete different challenge than yesterday," American Kang, who carded a 66 in the opening round], said.

"It was a different game. It was different golf course.

"All of a sudden it's gotten cold, it was raining, everything is wet."

Ewart Shadoff, who has more than 20 top-10 finishes, has never won an LPGA event.

Boutier turned in a scrappy effort mixing three bogeys with four birdies but was just one of nine players to post an under-par round.

"I feel like I can handle tough weather conditions pretty well," she said.

"So I feel like whenever the conditions are tough, I kind of actually like it... It's a good challenge and I think especially on this course you have to be very, very smart."

The restart event is missing some of the biggest names in women's golf with top-ranked Ko Jin-young and Park Sung-hyun among a number of top international players who decided to sit out because of COVID-19 concerns.

The only other Australian to make the cut after round, Sarah Kemp, is tied for 43rd at four-over after a 75 on Saturday.

Overnight leader Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez has held off a spirited challenge from England's Sam Horsfield to retain a share of the lead at the Hero Open at the halfway mark of the European Tour's latest stop in England.

After setting a course record 10-under 62 in the opening round at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel and Country Club, Garcia Rodriguez cooled somewhat in the second with a three-under 69 that included birdies on the last two holes on Friday.

"The key yesterday was the putter, today it was difficult with the irons to get it pin high because it was so windy, but I'm so happy with my round today," said Garcia Rodriguez.

"It was very important to birdie the last two holes. It was in my mind to hit a good drive on 17, it wasn't perfect but a good line. I had an eagle in my mind with an eight iron in my hand, but it was a little right so it was a good birdie."

Horsfield, meanwhile, completed a sparkling nine-under 63 that included an eagle and seven birdies for a share of the lead with Garcia Rodriguez at 13 under.

"Holing a wedge from 110 yards on four (for an eagle) was an obvious highlight and I just got on a bit of a roll and ended up with a nine-under round," said Horsfield who has yet to win on the tour.

"I'm just having fun, it's nice to be playing tournament golf again, it's been a while for everyone and I'm just thankful of that, to get some tournaments going. I've been looking forward to it for a while and I'm just enjoying it."

Thomas Detry was third after a five-under 67 that matched his first-round score and leaves him three shots back of the leaders on 10-under.

Alexander Bjork of Sweden and Antoine Rozner of France share fourth place another stroke back after both shot 67s.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, making his record 707th European Tour appearance, shot an even-par 72 for a five-way share of sixth place on eight-under.

Australian Jason Scrivener is seven shots off the lead after carding a three-under 69 in his second round, while compatriot Maverick Antcliff carded a two-under 70 to be four shots further back.

Brendon Todd has used a red-hot putter to grab a four-shot clubhouse lead over defending champion Brooks Koepka and South Korean An Byeong-hun in the second round at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis.

World No.51 Todd, who won two PGA Tour titles on consecutive starts last November, carded a bogey-free, five-under-par 65 at TPC Southwind on Friday for an 11-under halfway total.

Koepka, who led by two shots after the first round, started on the back nine and reached the turn at two under for the round but made double-bogey at the par-four second where his tee shot found a fairway bunker and then needed three putts from 57 feet.

Among the other early starters, Australian Jason Day (67) was six shots back of Todd while world No.3 Justin Thomas (70) was a further shot adrift.

The 35-year-old Todd, who converted an impressive 50-foot birdie putt over a slope at the par-three 14th, walked off the course feeling better than ever heading into the weekend.

"In my whole life, this is definitely the most confident I've ever felt with my golf game. It's probably the most versatile I've ever been ball-striking-wise," said the American.

"I still don't hit it far, but I feel like I'm able to shape shots a little bit. And my short game's solid, so it just kind of comes down to how the putting is."

The four-times major winner Koepka, who struggled in his last three events, said his putter let him down on Friday but that he was not going to lose sleep with plenty of golf still to play.

"I felt like I did everything we were trying to do, just wasn't working, wasn't seeing the line," said Koepka, who will defend his PGA Championship title next week.

"Even yesterday I said I didn't feel quite comfortable over anything inside five feet and today it just felt kind of the same.

"I've got 36 holes to go, man, I ain't worried."

A flawless, six-under-par round has propelled Danielle Kang into a first-round lead at the LPGA event in Toledo, a stroke ahead of Jodi Ewart Shadoff.

The 54-hole tournament at Ohio's Inverness Club started on Friday without fans as the LPGA resumed after the coronavirus outbreak forced the suspension of play following the Women's Australia Open in February.

Best-placed Australian, world No.8 Minjee Lee is in a share of fifth at three under along with New Zealand's Lydia Ko.

World No.4 Kang (66), who won the Women's PGA Championship in 2017, put up six birdies and told reporters she was happy to be back competing after not working with her caddie for six months.

"I would say I just didn't have any hiccups on any part of the game," the 27-year-old said.

"I definitely miss-hit some shots, miss-hit some putts but I had some great iron shots, great tee shots and great putts and chips.

"So any time one part of my game kind of gave he me a tough shot, I made it up with a good save."

England's Ewart Shadoff, who has more than 20 top-10 finishes in her career but has never won an LPGA Tour event, hit 15 greens and sunk five birdies for a five-under-par 67.

"I just wanted to come out and find my feet a little bit," she said.

"I'm playing for the next five weeks and I'm really happy with my start and where my game is, especially around such a tough track like Inverness."

Elsewhere in the field, South Africa's Lee-Anne Pace and France's Celine Boutier were each two strokes back from the leader headed into Saturday, while world number two Nelly Korda, the highest-ranked golfer in the field, struggled with uneven play to end the round four-over par.

Friday's action marked the LPGA's first tournament in five months, with rigorous health and safety procedures in place, designed to stop the spread of COVID-19.

World number 44 Gaby Lopez was forced to withdraw after testing positive.

A fast finish has catapulted Cameron Percy into contention at the PGA Tour's Barracuda Championship in California.

With three birdies from the last four holes at the Montreux Golf and Country Club on Thursday, the Australian is hot on the heels of leaders Ryan Moore and Adam Schenk.

Players receive eight points for albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie, zero for par, minus-one for bogey and minus-three for double bogey or worse in this modified Stableford scoring system.

Percy is tied for sixth on 10 points just four behind Schenk and Moore, who curled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the last.

Next best of the Australians is Cameron Davis, who is two points behind.

Davis made bogey on the last hole to drop a point, but is still very much in the mix after a round that included five birdies and two bogeys.

Moore and Schenk each had seven birdies in bogey-free rounds in high altitude on the Old Greenwood Course.

"It was tough," Moore said. "The wind was kind of up and down out there."

Robert Streb, Seamus Power and Patrick Rodgers are tied for third with 11 points.

Then comes Percy, JJ Spaun, Branden Grace, Peter Uihlein, Maverick McNealy, Kevin Tway and Emiliano Grillo.

Moore has five career PGA Tour victories. After missing the cuts in his first three events following the coronavirus break, the 37-year-old tied for 40th two weeks ago in the Memorial in Ohio and tied for 12th last week in Minnesota.

Schenk is winless on the PGA Tour. The 28-year-old former Purdue player birdied five of the final seven holes on his opening nine, parred the next seven and closed with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9.

"Had a couple nice par saves, which always makes it easier to add up these points," Schenk said. "You're not going backwards at all."

The winner will earn a spot in the PGA Championship next week, if not already eligible.

The top two from the top 10, not already eligible, will get spots in the US Open in September at Winged Foot.

Jason Day birdied the final hole to shoot a two-under-par 68 in the opening round of the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis on Thursday.

A day after announcing he had parted company with long-time coach and mentor Colin Swatton, the former world No.1 mixed five birdies with three bogeys to be in a tie for 15th.

The Queenslander is six shots behind leader Brooks Koepka, who returned to form with a 62 that included nine birdies and a lonesome bogey at TPC Southwind.

Day was even for the round after nine holes but birdies on 10, 16 and 18 kept him four shots behind and within striking distance of second-placed duo Rickie Fowler and Brendon Todd.

The world No.43 would have been even closer had it not been for a bogey on 17, but still finds himself in elite company including Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen, Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama.

Compatriot Marc Leishman finished even par while Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert went one over for the day, a shot ahead of Cameron Smith.

Before Koepka struck, Fowler put a poor recent run behind him to grab the clubhouse lead.

The American, who has missed the cut in five of his last nine tournaments, birdied three of his final five holes for his six-under-par 64.

He drained a 30-foot birdie at his penultimate hole before making his only bogey of the day at the last where his tee shot found the rough.

Koepka, a week after missing the cut in Minnesota in the 3M Open, found great form and credited coaches Claude Harmon and Pete Cowen.

"It's the first time I feel like I know where my misses are, I know when the club's in the correct spot, I know when the putting stroke's nice," Koepka said.

"It's all just the work we've put in over the last three weeks of countless hours of beating balls and on the putting green."

Koepka also will defend his PGA Championship title next week at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, and his coaches helped him realise last weekend how much he was favouring his injured left knee.

He sure found something at TPC Southwind, where he turned in his lowest round of the year and best in seven events at this course.

This was his eighth time shooting under par in his last nine rounds here. He needed 26 putts after working earlier this week with Phil Kenyon.

"It's nice to see those results and all the changes we've made come through," Koepka said.