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If not for a quiet word from his girlfriend, Andrew Johnston admits his time at the Australian PGA Championship may have come to a severely premature halt.

But, after starting with two drives into the water and three dropped shots across the first three holes, the popular Englishman known as Beef came good.

Partner Jodie, who gave a pep talk when she saw things weren't going to plan, was partly to thank as the Londoner recovered from his early yips off the tee to card a two-under 70 that featured five birdies.

"I nearly walked off the course after 12 (his third hole), to be honest," he said.

"It's been a frustrating year, and yeah, it's really annoyed me in the past.

"But I spoke to my girlfriend and she just said keep going, so I did and I just tried to stay calm.

"Luckily I turned it around."

Johnston's swing has been a work in progress this season and was playing on his mind this week.

"(It) really got to me out on 10 and on 12 after hitting two tee shots, because and I have been working so hard to try to get it right," said Johnston, who has slipped to No.200 in the world rankings.

Playing in the following group, Marc Leishman saw Johnston's first shot of the day - on the 10th hole - dive straight into the drink.

"It obviously wasn't what he was after, but he's come a long way, he's not going to give up," he said.

"He just got off to a bad start and then found something, and he was obviously five or six-under from there on in, so it's pretty impressive."

A pre-dawn rise did Cameron Smith no favours in an up-and-down opening to his Australian PGA Championship defence on the Gold Coast.

The Brisbane talent took a while to get going after a 6am tee off at Royal Pines, turning at even par before mixing four birdies and two bogeys in his final seven holes to finish two-under.

Smith hit the ball crisply under blue, calm skies early on but couldn't buy a putt in a round he said featured one of the earliest tee times of his career.

The 25-year-old had time for a cold shower and a "couple of UP and GOs" in a morning that finished below expectations but kept him in the hunt.

"It was so perfect this morning, you know, we were expecting someone to have seven, eight, nine-under today," he said.

"Maybe it was the tee time; my alarm this morning was 3.15 (am).

"I hit the snooze once and knew I had to get up.

"The vibe just wasn't there in the group early; no-one was making anything."

Fresh off partnering Marc Leishman for Australia at last week's World Cup of Golf, Smith will have to chase from the pack after Jake McLeod and Matt Jager led the morning scoring with rounds of six-under 66.

But he thinks he's playing well enough to be in contention on the weekend.

"I played really good all day, just kind of struggled to get anything going on that front nine we played," Smith said.

"Realistically, it could have been three-under through three holes and it turned out that I was one-over through four, so that's kind of hard to take on the chin."

Jake McLeod found a spot of calm on a dramatic day to continue his hot November run on the Gold Coast.

The Townsville product set the early pace at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines on Thursday, moving to four-under after six holes before finishing with a bogey-free, six-under round of 66.

Matt Jager paired two eagles with two birdies to join McLeod as overnight leader, while Dimi Papadatos was the afternoon standout to sit a shot back with South Korea's Jae-woong Eom.

There was drama elsewhere as Andrew 'Beef' Johnston admitted he was close to walking off the course before 7am after a horror opening three holes.

And Brisbane veteran John Senden completed one of the more bizarre rounds after a broken shaft in his driver caused him to have a rare air swing on the ninth tee.

McLeod meanwhile continued a superb month, the 24-year-old leading the Order of Merit after winning the NSW Open and backing it up with third in the Australian Open.

He said time with a new psychologist had contributed to his run of form and helped him deal with the mental stress that comes with high-pressure golf.

"I'm always very nervous on the first tee no matter what it is," he said.

"So just accepting how I'm going to feel ... I can't change my thoughts and stay focused on the shot and have a laugh out there and just get on with it.

"I'm starting to feel more comfortable out on the first tee now."

A classy Senden accepted the official's decision that he had attempted to hit the ball, meaning he left the par-five ninth with a bogey when many others had birdied the hole.

The long-time pro finished his even-par round with a forced smile on his face, a pinched right hand from the club snap and no driver in his bag.

McLeod will enjoy a steak and some honeycomb ice cream in Burleigh Heads before returning as the hunted on Friday after big-names Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Johnston all endured slow starts.

Leishman finished strongly to lurk at four-under in a tie for fifth with Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and veteran Mathew Goggin.

Defending champion Smith had a two-under round, bogeying the last two holes in what he described as a missed opportunity in perfect conditions at Royal Pines.

Smith turned at even par before stringing together five birdies in six holes before his deflating finish.

Visibly frustrated as he started his morning with a double-bogey, par and bogey, Johnston recovered tremendously to finish two-under.

Tiger Woods plans to modify his tournament schedule next year after admitting being exhausted during a busy close to his comeback season following injury.

The 14-times major winner enjoyed a strong finish on his return to golf following spinal-fusion surgery in 2017, playing in 18 PGA Tour events - the most he has been involved in since 2012.

But he admitted it was a mistake to take on such a heavy schedule, participating in seven events in the final nine weeks.

"I was not physically prepared to play that much golf at the end of the year," Woods said ahead of this week's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, an event he hosts.

"It was just hard for me to maintain my strength and my weight through all that. I tend to lose a lot of weight when I play. I was exhausted by the time I got to the Ryder Cup. I was worn out mentally, physically, emotionally."

Woods, who turns 43 on Dec. 30, is no longer able to train like he did in his prime, and the hectic end to the season ultimately took its toll.

Still, Woods was able to produce good enough form to triumph at the season-ending Tour Championship and cap a stretch in which he posted five top-10 finishes over eight tournaments.

"I played all my good tournaments when I had time off and I felt rested," said the former world No.1.

"If I didn't feel rested, I didn't play well. Maybe that's just being a little bit older, but I think it's important, and playing seven of the last nine last (season) was too much."

Woods, whose tally of 14 major championships is second only to the 18 held by Jack Nicklaus, may play fewer tournaments next season but he is hopeful that will allow him to be nothing short of his best whenever he plays.

The Hero World Challenge, which begins on Thursday and benefits Woods' foundation, features an elite field of 18 top-ranked golfers, including four of the top five players in the world, at the Albany course on the island of New Providence.

Lucas Herbert is almost ready to reflect on a career-defining year that saw him impress potential Presidents Cup captain Ernie Els and play a round with Tiger Woods.

But, despite shooting from No.278 to 83 in the world this year, an elusive victory will keep him from distraction this week on the Gold Coast.

One of Australian golf's generation next, Herbert turned a series of sponsor invitations on the European Tour this year into a full card for 2019.

The 22-year-old had such a rise that he forced his way onto the Greg Norman Medal shortlist and will be among the fancies when the Australian PGA Championship begins at Royal Pines on Thursday.

His talent was not lost on Els during their pairing in Fiji this year while his confidence showed in securing a British Open practice round with Woods in July.

Now back in Australia, the Bendigo product wants to follow in Norman's footsteps and make his mark on home soil.

"He always said he always wanted to come back to Australia and be seen as a winner in Australia," he said.

"That resonated with me a lot. I would love to come back here and win our events if I'm going to have the career that I hope to have.

"To kick it off here (with a maiden win) on the Gold Coast would be great."

Herbert will enjoy the $1.5 million tournament either way, given its introduction of a beach party hole on the par-3 16th.

"Sometimes I think as golfers we need to just relax, chill out a little bit and maybe not let that drunk guy in the background yelling out affect us too much," he said of the expected rowdiness.

"Those guys are all here enjoying it and in a lot of ways allowing us to play for the money and on the venues, on the tours that we do."

Royal Pines will be a sea of yellow on Thursday to honour the late Jarrod Lyle, who also grew up in regional Victoria and was a close friend of a younger Herbert.

Herbert will auction off the yellow golf bag he uses during the tournament to raise money for Lyle's young family.

Marc Leishman admits the pressure builds every year he fails to win on home soil.

Hence he's leaving no stone unturned ahead of this weekend's Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast, his only chance this year to break an Australian tournament duck.

The world No.21 said in the past he may have treated tournaments like the Australian PGA as a holiday, but that's not the case anymore.

"That pressure definitely grows, for sure," he said ahead of the $1.5 million tournament's Thursday start.

"I don't think I feel pressure to win, but I'm a lot more determined to do the right things and give myself the best chance to contend when I'm at home."

Leishman has 12 professional victories to his name, four of which have come in the United States.

He was PGA Tour rookie of the year in 2009 but has never forgotten where it all began.

"My first golf memories were at the Australian Masters in Melbourne," he said.

"You see your idols lifting that trophy and you want to do that as well.

"The last few years I've really made sure I've done the right things - I don't want to get another five years down the track and still be getting asked the questions."

Leishman finished fourth at Royal Pines last year and played well in last week's World Cup of Golf in Melbourne alongside defending PGA champion Cameron Smith.

The Victorian revealed on Wednesday he had tinkered with his wedge set-up after watching Smith, who has continually impressed from close to the pin while moving to No.33 in the world this year.

"I think as a golfer you've always got to try and keep learning, whether that's off an older guy or a young guy who's really good at something like Cam is at his wedge play," he said of the man 10 years his junior.

"I'm always trying to get better and I feel like we can learn off each other."

With no Adam Scott or Jason Day on deck the pair will fly the flag for Australia, alongside English fan favourite Andrew 'Beef' Johnston, on a day where players and spectators are encouraged to wear yellow to honour the late Jarrod Lyle.

Fellow young guns Lucas Herbert, Jordan Zunic - who lost to Smith in a play-off last year - and Curtis Luck will hope to finish their seasons on a high.

Having permanently returned to Australia after 20 years abroad, 2008 champion Geoff Ogilvy will contest the tournament for the first time in six years.

Grainy greens and the threat of wind will provide an x-factor on what players have described as a course that provides equal amounts of trouble and birdie opportunities.

Having sampled what's in store for fans, English favourite Andrew Johnston has called on more tournaments to follow the lead of the Australian PGA Championship's newest innovation on the Gold Coast.

The man known as 'Beef' has earnt a following for his entertaining ways on course and love of a quality cut of steak and a beverage off it.

It's the svelte version that has arrived at Royal Pines this week though, after boxing sessions with heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte helping him cut more than 20kg from his figure.

After shouting a round of beers and pies on Wednesday, Johnston put his feet up at a revamped 13th hole will feature an artificial beach, DJ and plenty of rowdy fans from Thursday.

Players will even have the option to request a song when walking up the par-3 in a party hole concept taken from the ultra-popular 16th at TPC Scottsdale during the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open.

"I think it's brilliant, I'm always up for ideas like that," he said.

"It gets more people involved, gives them a day out.

"If you want to go somewhere with your friends and they say we can sit on 16 and there's a DJ here, beach here, we're going to have some fun.

"All of us should be open to it, give it a go."

The 28-year-old said it took a while for his true self to come out on tour but now doesn't hold back.

"Something stupid will just happen naturally," Johnston said when asked if he had any sort of celebrations in mind.

"You want to stand up and make birdies and get the crowd going; it's good fun and I think most of the guys relish it, enjoy it."

Johnston will partner defending champion Cameron Smith and fellow Australian young gun Curtis Luck in the first round of the $1.5 million event and isn't promising anything after a new coach brought with it some changes to his swing.

"I've had days where I hit the ball really well and play well, and other days where it's been sort of a bit average," he said.

"I'm not putting any pressure on myself, I'm just going to go out and play and enjoy it."

Greg Norman Medal winner Minjee Lee has slowed down to speed up, and has her eye on becoming Australia's first official women's world No.1.

The current world No.6 became the first female to earn Australian golf's top gong in the award's four-year history this week, following a campaign that netted two titles and 13 top-10 finishes on the LPGA tour.

That run saw her surge from 19 to as high as five in the world.

But her team is eyeing more, with coach Ritchie Smith revealing plans to lift the West Australian's power game in 2019.

"With Minjee this year we really focused on technically improving her club delivery and dropped her (swing) speed by about seven miles an hour," he told the audience at Tuesday night's Greg Norman Medal dinner.

"Which is non-modern ... but we've improved her greens in reg(ulation) by about three or four per cent.

"The focus for the next two months will be about power and getting that speed back and trying to compete length-wise with the people above her on the rankings."

Lee outlined her plans for 2019 in a live Skype conversation with Norman after her win was announced.

"Probably the plan is to get to that No.1 spot I think," she said.

"Technically I'm pretty sound but we always go back to the little things and a little bit psychologically that will help me get to that next level."

Lee would be the first Australian woman to reach the heights of No.1, given the rankings system didn't exist when Karrie Webb was in her prime.

Webb has won 41 LPGA Tour events, including seven majors, is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and would have jostled with Swede Annika Sorenstam for top spot if the system had been in place earlier than 2006.

Former No.1 Norman, who said Lee's "performance was above everyone else's" in Australian golf this year, was happy to hear her camp weren't about to settle.

"It's (world No.1) not a bad spot to get to," he said with a smile.

Lee's coach is confident it can happen.

"No-one can say that she doesn't put in the effort," Smith said.

"If there's a goal we set her she'll meet it and she's demanding that from us."

Golf fans will soon be able to watch training videos of Tiger Woods and get a glimpse of the life of the 14-time Major champion on the PGA Tour.

The former world No.1 will begin producing weekly golf instructional videos as part of a new partnership with Discovery's GOLFTV, the network said on Tuesday.

Woods says he is excited by the endeavour, which he hopes will generate enthusiasm for the game among a new, younger audience.

"I want to talk to golf fans and golfers everywhere, directly, and straight from me," Woods said.

"That's important to me. Talking about what we care about: what's happening on the course, how to play better, how can I shoot lower scores tomorrow, how can I beat my friends?"

The live and on-demand video streaming service will collaborate with Woods on a wide range of programming to also offer fans an authentic look into his life, mind and performance.

The 42-year-old said sharing his knowledge of the game through training videos was his way of giving back to people who share his love for the game.

"Getting the chance to do instruction is exciting," he said.

"I've always been focused on my own game and this experience can help players everywhere. Whether you're a long-time player or a beginner, there are some things that help us all play better."

"If I can help the next generation enjoy the game more and play better, that's pretty special."

After years of setbacks due to multiple back surgeries, the American had a comeback season this year that culminated with a win at the Tour Championship in September, his first PGA Tour win in five years and his 80th overall.

Knowing that Michael Jordan is only a text message away is a handy confidence boost as Harold Varner III returns to his happy hunting ground this week.

The American has finished second in a play-off, first and sixth in his three Australian PGA Championship jaunts at Gold Coast's Royal Pines.

And the charismatic talent will be hard to miss in his 2018 return, sporting Jordan Brand attire with a backstory to match.

"So I would have been 21, just out of school and I met MJ's best friend, Fred Whitfield, who runs the (NBA's Charlotte) Hornets," he said.

"I just kept in touch with him. He took us to a few games and just got me some seats."

Then last year Varner got word to expect a call from the man himself.

"I was like, alright, cool, no big deal," he said.

"Two weeks later they're like, 'well, we want someone to represent the brand' and I was like, 'you just tell me when'."

Since then the pair have grown close with Jordan acting as a golf buddy and shoulder to lean on.

"(He's) In my ear, I get to ask him anything I want, he's a great contact to have," the 28-year-old said.

"He's like, 'hey, you're putting too much pressure on yourself, you need to just get back to the fundamentals'.

"Little things like that can just go a long way."

Varner entertained the family when he arrived on the Gold Coast as defending champion last year.

But, with a best of sixth at this year's Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, he has returned in business mode.

"I want to play well ... I just want to play as much golf as possible while I'm playing well," he said.