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Australia's Deyen Lawson claimed a share of the first-round lead at the Euram Bank Open in Austria on Wednesday.

Geelong-born Lawson carried his weekend form into the event, taking the early clubhouse lead at Golf Club Adamstal with a seven-under-par round of 63.

The 29-year-old finished last week at the Diamond Country Club with consecutive rounds of 67 and bettered that on Thursday with a round which included nine birdies, including a run of five in a row down the back nine.

"I felt like I was hitting it alright, I was hitting it steady but made a couple of little errors late on the front nine," Lawson told europeantour.com.

"I stayed positive and took it shot by shot. I didn't realise I'd made that many birdies in a row, after the nine I had six more in seven holes.

"I just tried to hit each shot as good as I can, not worrying about what it was for - for bogey or birdie."

Lawson was joined at the top of the leaderboard later in the day by Stanislav Matus. Unlike Lawson, the Czech enjoyed a bogie-free round and reached 63 with seven birdies.

The pair are a shot clear of Jordan Wrisdale, Oliver Lindell and Philip Eriksson while nine other players are a shot further back on five under par.

Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau pounded shots along the front nine of Muirfield Village in a practice round that would have attracted a capacity crowd if spectators were allowed at the Memorial.

They are gobbling up most of the attention in golf, for entirely different reasons.

One of them because he's Woods.

The other because he's unlike anyone else in the game.

DeChambeau has everyone talking, whether it's his super-sized physique, how hard he swings the driver, how far he is hitting the golf ball or his beliefs - which can sound like boasts - that he's changing the way the game is played.

Even the tournament host is curious.

"Bryson's golf swing is not a fluid golf swing," Jack Nicklaus said. "Bryson's golf swing is pretty much pretty firm going back and firm coming through with a lot of body rotation.

"It's a little different than a lot of guys. And can you believe the power he's getting from that? I mean, it's unbelievable."

DeChambeau faces a stacked field at the Memorial - nine of the top 10 in the world, 43 out of the top 50 - while coming off a victory two weeks ago when he pummelled Detroit Golf Club with his driver.

He had seven straight top-10 finishes dating to March, before COVID-19 shut down the tour. Since its return, DeChambeau has hit 29 tee shots at 350 yards or longer.

Woods is 44 and still has plenty of pop.

"There was a couple holes he hit 320, 325," said DeChambeau, 26. "I'm like, 'That's pretty good for his age.'"

Woods is intrigued by a different way of playing, which is why a generation ago he used to practise early with Bubba Watson to see not just his length but the shape in his shots.

DeChambeau brings an element of physics to his approach, such as air density and ground force.

Woods has always been about power, and so much more. It's why he has won 82 times on the PGA Tour and has a chance at the Memorial - where he has won five times - to break the career victory record he shares with Sam Snead.

When he started, Woods and John Daly were the biggest hitters. Technology has changed all that, starting with launch monitors that have led to sonar devices that allow players to optimise everything.

"Let's look at the fact that he's hitting it as straight as he is," Woods said. "That's part of the most difficult thing to do.

"The further you hit it, the more the tangent goes more crooked. So the fact that he's figured that out and has been able to rein in the foul balls to me has been equally as impressive as his gains off the tee."

The next question is whether that will work at Muirfield Village, which figures to be the toughest test since golf resumed at shorter courses with minimal rough and softer greens.

DeChambeau believes other players will figure out his equation soon enough - swinging it hard, hitting it straight.

Reigning British Open champion Shane Lowry is excited to be competing in the Memorial Tournament this week in Ohio but it is not lost on the Irishman where he would have been if not for the COVID-19 outbreak.

If not for the pandemic which wreaked havoc on the global sporting calendar, the world's best golfers would have been at Royal St George's on England's south-east coast this week to contest the year's final major championship.

"It is strange, like I should be going, should be in St. George's today probably sitting in the pressroom there as defending champion and wondering how I'm going to go out and tackle that golf course as opposed to being here in Ohio," Lowry said on Wednesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

"It's just very strange times for us at the minute, isn't it."

One benefit for Lowry, who won the Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland by six shots last season, is that he gets to hang on to the coveted Claret Jug for another year.

While Lowry, like any golfer, would rather be competing in a major this week than at a spectator-free event in Ohio, he said he is not wasting energy dwelling on what could have been.

"Obviously I'd love to be in St. George's this week defending. I'd love if we were playing in front of 40,000 or 50,000 people this week in St. George's," said Lowry.

"I'd love, like everybody in the world, if things were back to normal, but they're not, and we kind of have to get on with that."

Since the PGA Tour resumed action in June after a three-month COVID-19 hiatus, Lowry missed two cuts followed by a share of 60th place and a tie for 39th place last week.

Lowry will play the opening two rounds this week alongside five-times major champion Phil Mickelson and Englishman Justin Rose.

Despite the venue, Lowry is keen to jumpstart his season and make the most of the opportunity this week and try to capture a third PGA Tour win.

"Look, we're here, this is the biggest tournament in the world this week, the Memorial here, and this is a huge tournament in its own right, so I'm very happy to be competing here," said Lowry

"But obviously I'd love to be in St. George's."

Rory McIlroy hopes reuniting with coach Michael Bannon can put an end to his "erratic" performances as he bids to return to winning ways on the PGA Tour.

World No.1 McIlroy has struggled for consistency in three behind-closed-doors tournaments since golf resumed following the coronavirus outbreak.

The Northern Irishman has taken more than two weeks off ahead of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, linking up with mentor Bannon for the first time in five months.

He acknowledges there is plenty at stake at Muirfield Village and believes he gained plenty from his frustrating experiences at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the RBC Heritage and the Travelers Championship.

"This might sound bad but looking back on the first three events I played, I sort of treated them as just dipping my toes my back in the water again and seeing how things felt in terms of no crowds," said McIlroy.

"There were spells within that three weeks that I felt my game was there, it was just maybe a little erratic, I would make a dumb mistake here or there. They were just lapses in concentration.

"It was nice to take a couple of weeks off. I needed to do a little bit of work on my game, so I got my coach Michael Bannon over, it was the first time I had seen him since the start of February.

"I feel like my game is definitely better now after that week I had with Michael. I'm excited to get going."

A formidable 133-player field for the event, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, includes a return to action for five-time winner Tiger Woods.

American Woods is seeking a record 83rd PGA Tour success, which would eclipse Sam Snead's mark of 82, set in 1965.

McIlroy, who has been grouped with Woods and Brooks Koepka for the first two rounds feels his opponent may struggle to adapt to the strange crowd-less circumstances.

"The first three weeks were good just to get a feel for what it is going to be like," continued McIlroy.

"Now, someone like Tiger hasn't experienced that, and maybe he's going to find it a little weird going out there tomorrow and not having anyone, especially with the amount of crowds he has to deal with all the times when he plays.

"You just have to work really hard to keep your mind on the task at hand and not let your mind wander."

While McIlroy is looking to retain his place at the top of the PGA rankings, he insists a return to form is far more important.

"Obviously if I play well then the ranking takes care of itself and all I'm thinking about this week is playing well and putting up some good numbers," added the 31-year-old.

Tiger Woods makes his long-awaited return to competitive golf at the Memorial Tournament this week and no golfer will feel the impact of the strange new spectator-less world created by COVID-19 than the 15-time major winner.

For his whole career Woods, one of sport's most recognisable personalities, has been the focus of the golfing world.

He is followed by massive galleries and battalions of reporters, photographers and television cameras wherever he plays.

But when he steps onto the first tee at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Thursday for his first competitive round in five months the only sound is likely to be chirping birds, with the PGA Tour having banned spectators for all events this season.

"I've had cameras on me since I turned pro, so it's been over 20-some-odd years that virtually almost every one of my shots that I've hit on the Tour has been documented," Woods said..

"That is something that I've been accustomed to. That's something I've known for decades.

"But this is a different world and one we're going to have to get used to. It's just a silent and different world."

Woods last competed on the PGA Tour in mid-February when he laboured through a final-round 77 at the Genesis Invitational where he finished last among players who made the cut.

The 44-year-old reigning Masters champion then skipped a number of events with back issues prior to the PGA Tour's three-month COVID-19 hiatus that began in mid-March and opted to sit out the circuit's first five events since the break.

Woods, who is one win shy of a record 83 PGA Tour victories, did play a May 24 charity match with Phil Mickelson and Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

Saying he was unwilling to risk a return to the Tour until he saw how safety protocols would work, Woods made his decision to play only when he felt comfortable enough to do so.

"I just felt it was better to stay at home and be safe," said Woods. "I'm used to playing with lots of people around me and that puts not only myself in danger but my friends and family."

Woods has watched the PGA Tour restart on his computer and said he was immediately struck by what he saw.

"It was more watching golf to see how it is now, see what our near future, our reality is and our foreseeable future is going to be," said Woods, who has won the Memorial a record five times.

"To have no one yelling, no one screaming, no energy, the social distancing, no handshakes. There's nothing to feed off of energy-wise. There's no one there.

"I think this is going to set up for not just in the short-term but for the foreseeable future for sure."

Jason Day warns critics they will write off Tiger Woods at their peril as the 15-time major champion ends a five-month competitive hiatius at the US PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament this week.

It will be Woods' first tour event since his foundation's Genesis Invitational in California in February, when he got to present the wnner's trophy to Adam Scott.

The reigning Masters champion skipped the two Florida events in March, citing injury, before the circuit was shut down due to the coronavirus.

He makes his return in a marquee group with world No.1 Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka at the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial at Ohio's Muirfield Village GC, an event he has won five times but not since 2012.

Day, a close friend of Woods, expects all eyes will be on the the 44-year-old as he attempts to go past Sam Snead's record by claiming an 83rd US tour victory, having tied him late last year.

"It's pretty exciting to have him back; it's going to be huge and I'm pumped to play against him in a tournament again," Day told AAP from Ohio.

Woods' only public playing appearance during the covid-19 shutdown was a charity teams match in May alongside Phil Mickelson and NFL legends Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

He appeared well-rested and free-swinging as he found plenty of fairways and greens in regulation.

"It is hard to say how he will play because it has been a while since he competed, but you can never bet against Tiger Woods," Day said.

Former world No.1 Day, stopped his freefall down the world rankings with a tie for seventh at last week's US Tour event, also held at Muirfield Village, improving his ranking to 58th.

"I'm definitely excited by the form I saw last week; I feel great overall," said Day, a resident of Columbus, Ohio and Muirfield Village member.

"At the moment, I just have to take small victories each day; try and improve a part of my game and stay patient.

"I have to keep busting my butt and the results will come eventually."

Day will be joined in the field by fellow Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, as well as Jason Scrivener, a European Tour player who was given a sponsor's invitation.

Jason Day has found timely and much-needed form as young gun Collin Morikawa claimed his second US PGA Tour title with victory at the Workday Charity Open.

Returning to his home club, former world No.1 Day broke out of a slump by posting his best result since February with a tie for seventh at 11-under at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

It augurs well for the Australian, now ranked No.63, as the tour is playing back-to-back events on the course, setting him up for another strong showing in this week's prestigious Memorial tournament, when the course set-up is expected to be tougher.

Morikawa will rise to No.13 in the world at the age of 23, having narrowly avoided another play-off heartbreak after Justin Thomas squandered a three-shot lead with three holes to play.

Morikawa, who lost a play-off to Daniel Berger at the Charles Schwab Challenge last month, caught up with a closing 66 on after Thomas bogeyed the 16th and 18th in regulation to send the pair to extra holes.

Tied at 19-under par after four rounds, the duo put on a putting masterclass on the first play-off hole for birdies, with Thomas letting out a roar after sinking a 50-footer.

Morikawa had to make a 25-foot putt to keep playing and duly obliged.

Thomas missed the fairway on the third play-off hole and got stuck behind a tree, and it was Morikawa who kept his nerve for the win.

"We got No.1 (victory) out of the way. We got No. 2. Let the gates just open and let's keep going," Morikawa said.

But it was a bitter defeat for world No.5 Thomas, who had a two-stroke lead over Norwegian Viktor Hovland going into Sunday.

"It's completely unacceptable to give up a three-shot lead with three to go," Thomas said. "I'm upset, I'm disappointed in myself."

After missing the cut in three of his previous four events since the tour's resumption from the coronavirus-forced shutdown, Day was the best-placed Australian with Matt Jones (70) one stroke further back.

Day's closing five-under-par 67 was his equal-lowest round since his fourth-place finish at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am five months ago.

His strong showing propelled the 31-year-old from 101st to 79th in the tour's FedEx Cup standings.

Justin Thomas has kept another clean card at Muirfield Village to turn a three-shot deficit into a two-shot lead after the third round of the PGA Tour event in Ohio.

Thomas first had to run off three-straight birdies to stay within range of overnight leader Collin Morikawa before a trio of back-nine birdies gave him a six-under 66 to lift him to 16-under 200.

Norway's Viktor Hovland had eight birdies in his round of 66 to sit second while an even-par round kept Morikawa at 13-under as he dropped back to solo third.

The final group at Muirfield Village on Sunday is a glimpse of golf's next generation.

Thomas is the proven star, already a major champion and former world No. 1 at age 27 as he goes after his third victory this season and the 13th victory of his career.

Hovland, the former US Amateur champion from Norway, and Morikawa had just left college at this time last year but have both already won on tour.

Thomas figures it won't be the first time they all play together.

"It'll be fun to hang with those guys tomorrow, but at the end of the day I'm worried about myself and trying to win a golf tournament and have a good round," he said.

Sam Burns (70) and Kevin Streelman (71) are joint fourth at 11-under while Englishman Ian Poulter had a 69 to be in a share of sixth at 10-under.

"It's going to have to be a low one tomorrow," Poulter said.

Matt Jones (67) is best-placed of the Australian contingent at eight-under and a share of 13th while former world No.1 Jason Day carded a two-under 70 to be tied-19th at six-under.

The final round of the Workday Charity Open will start early because of heavy storms in the forecast Sunday afternoon, with threesomes starting on both tees.

The event needs to end before the weather on Sunday as the course that Jack Nicklaus built will become the first in 63 years to host back-to-back PGA Tour tournaments - with the Memorial scheduled to commence on Thursday.

Among the lessons Collin Morikawa found his reliable cut shot at Muirfield Village, and it sent him to a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the PGA's Workday Charity Open in Dublin, Ohio.

Morikawa ran off four straight birdies after making the turn Friday (Saturday AEST), finished with another birdie after the first of two storm delays and shot six-under 66.

He was six shots ahead when he finished, then was four ahead over Sam Burns when his side of the field finished.

By the end, it was down to three shots after some remarkable play by Justin Thomas (66) and Kevin Streelman (64) in surprisingly strong gusts that followed the storm.

Morikawa was at 13-under 131, one shot off the 36-hole course record set by Jason Dufner in 2017 at the Memorial.

Thomas hadn't made a bogey all week and finished his round with an eight-foot birdie putt.

Streelman reached 11-under until a bogey on the par-3 eighth near the end of his round.

They will be in the final group when play resumes, which will be played in threesomes because a pair of 75-minute delays from thunderstorms meant the second round didn't finish.

Sam Burns birdied his last three holes for a 66 and joined past Muirfield Village winner Hideki Matsuyama (68) four shots behind.

Right behind was Viktor Hovland, who took advantage of the tee being moved up on the par-4 14th.

His tee shot nearly went in and he settled for a tap-in eagle on his way to a 67.

Morikawa, with 15 birdies and an eagle through two rounds, is making his debut at the course Jack Nicklaus built, and perhaps it's no coincidence that Nicklaus was famous for hitting a cut.

"I had heard from a lot of people before, this course was going to suit a left-to-right shot, anyway," Morikawa said.

"Obviously, Jack hit that, and I think it does. But I've been able to leave myself some really good numbers into approach shots. I've been keeping myself in the fairway for the most part, and that obviously helps."

Australians Jason Day and Matt Jones shot 71 and 72 to finish the second round above the projected two-under cut on four-under and three-under, respectively.

Jason Day and Matt Jones are four shots adrift of leader Collin Morikawa after the opening round of the PGA's Workday Charity Open.

Both Australians had opportunities to be closer to the top of Thursday's leaderboard, but eventually settled for a tie of 18th at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin.

Jones, in particular, was two behind Morikawa's seven-under round of 65 before registering bogeys on 16 and 17.

Former world No.1 Day's round of 69 included six birdies and three bogeys.

Marc Leishman's even-par 72 leaves him in 64th, but Cameron Davis (73), Aaron Baddeley (74) and Cameron Percy (76) will all have to play well to make the cut.

American Morikawa's deft iron play and hot putter helped him to a one stroke lead over Canadian Adam Hadwin.

The 23-year-old, making his debut at the Muirfield Village Golf Club, would have enjoyed a two-stroke advantage but his putt on 18 came up agonisingly short and was forced to settle for his lone bogey of the day.

But he wasn't discouraged by how his round ended.

"It happens, I think it was just slight fatigue," he said.

"If I look at the entire day it was very consistent and I can take a lot of positives heading into tomorrow."

Canadian Nick Taylor, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and Americans Zach Johnson and Aaron Wise lurk two back after rounds of 67.

World No.5 Brooks Koepka, who has not competed since his caddie tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago, struggled on the front nine and ultimately had to settle for a two-over 74 at the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout.

Three-times major winner Jordan Spieth battled back from a rough start to finish at even par while Phil Mickelson's solid start was undone by a disastrous back nine where he had four bogeys and a double for a one-over 73.

This week's event is being played at Ohio's Muirfield Village in place of the John Deere Classic, which was supposed to be held in Illinois but was cancelled due to state-related challenges regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.