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Scott Piercy rolled in a birdie on his last hole to take a one-shot lead at the PGA Tour's CJ Cup in South Korea as fellow American Brooks Koepka soared up the leaderboard during the second round on Friday.

American Piercy, chasing his first win since the Zurich Classic in April, shot a seven-under 65 for a nine-under total of 135 at the Nine Bridges course on Jeju Island, with three-times major champion Koepka one behind in outright second.

Overnight leader Chez Reavie shot a 70 to remain in touch, three strokes behind Piercy in third place.

After high winds played havoc with the expected contenders on Thursday, the field enjoyed gentler weather and most feasted on the course.

Piercy's downhill putt on the par-five ninth, his last hole, gave him his seventh birdie of a bogey-free round.

Compatriot Brian Harman went two birdies better, rolling in nine during the day's best score of 64 to finish in a group tied for sixth on four-under.

Koepka, who skipped the first two stops of the new season, hammered his second shot to five feet from the pin on the 568-yard 18th and rolled in an eagle to briefly grab a share of the lead.

His playing partner and defending champion Justin Thomas also eagled the hole to finish with a 70 and a tie for 22nd, eight behind Piercy.

Cameron Smith led the four-strong Australian contingent at three-under in a tie for 11th after a shaving seven strokes off his opening round 74.

He made six birdies and just the one bogey before signing for a five-under 67.

Rod Pampling followed a one-under after losing ground from an overnight tie for fourth thanks to a 73.

Australia's Major-winning duo Jason Day and Adam Scott improved on their shonky opening rounds but were well of the pace an even par.

Day added a 71 to his first round 73 while Scott was the big improver despite a double bogey on the fourth.

He also dropped a shot on nine but an eagle on the par-four 15th and a trio of birdies produced a 69, a six stroke turnaround.

Australian Jason Scrivener is just two shots off the lead at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters after shooting a three-under-par 68 in his opening round.

More than four hours was lost as play was twice suspended because of stormy conditions and the threat of lightning at the Real Club Valderrama in southern Spain on Thursday.

Play then had to be suspended because of darkness, with 60 golfers yet to complete their weather-hit first rounds.

But Scrivener carded five birdies and two bogeys to sit just two shots behind leading Englishman Ashley Chesters, who himself collected six birdies and one bogey to take a single-shot lead over Frenchman Gregory Bourdy.

"It's a shame I can't keep going because the last few holes were the best I played all day. Considering all the delays and everything, I'm very happy with five-under," Chesters said.

"The forecast for the rest of the week is not very good either so I thought I'll just make as many birdies as I can and get in."

Tournament host and defending champion Sergio Garcia was on 68, like Scrivener, along with fellow Spaniards Alvaro Quiros and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Australian No.1 Minjee Lee is comfortably placed after the opening round of the Buick LPGA Shanghai tournament in China.

The West Australian is just two strokes off the early pace set by Thailand's world No.2 Ariya Jutanugarm, who shot a six-under 66 to hold a one stroke lead on Thursday.

Lee recorded six birdies in her four-under 68 to sit in a six-way tie for fourth, while compatriot Su Oh was a stroke further back after also breaking par of six holes.

Jutanugarn had six birdies - including three in a row - in a bogey-free round; Sei Young Kim of South Korea and American Danielle Kang of the United States were a shot back in second after 67s.

Australian's Sarah Jane Smith and Katherine Kirk will seek to improve on rounds on 74 on Friday.

The tournament is the second of five being played in South Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan in the LPGA's annual Asian swing.

Rod Pampling upstaged Jason Day and Adam Scott to lead Australia's five-strong contingent at the PGA Tour's CJ Cup in South Korea and sit two strokes off the pace.

The 49-year-old Queenslander was the only Australian to produce a sub-par round at a chilly, windswept Nine Bridges course on Jeju Island on Thursday.

Pampling signed for a two-under 70 to be in a seven-way tie for fourth behind outright leader Chez Reavie.

The American held a one stroke lead over England's Danny Willett and Si Woo Kim of South Korea after carding a four-under 68.

Only 19 of the 78-strong field broke par on Thursday, underscoring the trying conditions.

Day returned from a break with a 73 comprising four bogeys and three birdies to leave him in a share of 34th.

Playing partner and fellow Major winner Scott recorded six bogeys in a mixed 75 highlighted by a precise downhill putt for birdie on the ninth.

Scott was alongside Marc Leishman who came back to earth after his five-stroke victory in last week's CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur

Scott's highlight was a precise downhill putt for birdie at the ninth.

Cameron Smith rounded out the Australian contribution with a 74.

Two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka, playing in his first tournament since being voted PGA Tour player of the year, shot 71 and was in a group three strokes behind and tied for 11th which included Paul Casey and Hideki Matsuyama.

Fortunately for the stragglers the second of three PGA Tour events in three weeks in Asia does not have a cut.

The Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast will have its very own party hole this year, complete with a beach in a nod to the city's famous coastline.

The 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale - during the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open - is regarded as the loudest hole in golf and Royal Pines will deliver its own take on the phenomenon by transforming its 16th hole when players tee off on November 29.

It adds further intrigue to the signature par three, that also carries a $500,000 prize for the first player to ace it during the tournament.

Scottsdale's stadium hole can house 16,000 fans, many of who dress up and enjoy a new level of engagement with the players.

Brisbane's Big Bash and AFL clubs have successfully incorporated the Pool Deck and Verandah respectively in recent seasons at the Gabba and now golf is following suit with the Oakley Gold Coast Beach Club.

Spectators, who will have to win their way into the fan zone, have been encouraged to "sun bake and cool off in the water" as drawcards Marc Leishman, Andrew 'Beef' Johnston and defending champion Cameron Smith do business.

Organisers will be hoping for some assistance from mother nature though, after last year's event was complicated by constant, heavy rain.

Marc Leishman will draw on his good vibes in Korea when he chases back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges.

Fresh from his win at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last week, the Australian has fond memories of Jeju Island where he played on the Korean tour 12 years ago during his formative years.

The course has been good to the world No.16, who lost here in a playoff to Justin Thomas last year.

Leishman, rightly, is embracing the good memories ahead of a tilt at a fifth PGA title.

"The KPGA (Tour) was a very good experience. It was the first tour I had ever been on and I was very excited to be up here," Leishman said.

"I met a lot of friends, a lot of Korean golfers that I'm still friends with now. It taught me a lot, playing on the Korean Tour.

"Travelling in a foreign country by myself, that teaches you things very quickly. I've got a lot of good memories from 2006 when I played."

Leishman won in Malaysia last Sunday by five strokes, closing with a seven-under 65 to match Thomas' 2015 tournament record of 26-under 262.

Thomas is back as defending champion at Jeju Island, while Brooks Koepka will play his first event since being voted PGA Tour player of the year.

Koepka also will be in Shanghai next week for the HSBC Champions, the third tournament in three weeks on the PGA Tour's Asian swing.

The CJ Cup starting Thursday also includes Adam Scott, Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama and Ian Poulter, who are making their 2018-19 season debuts, as well as FedEx Cup leader Kevin Tway, who won the season-opening Safeway Classic in a playoff.

Shubhankar Sharma of India, tied for the 54-hole lead in Kuala Lumpur last week before finishing in a tie for ninth, is also entered in South Korea. He is leading the Order of Merit on the Asian Tour.

The tournament's $9.5-million purse trails only The Players Championship, the World Golf Championships and the majors on the PGA Tour schedule.

Australian golfer Steven Bowditch is to have spinal fusion surgery, similar to that undertaken by Tiger Woods, after battling pain and numbness for the past two years while his career plummeted.

A two-time winner on the US PGA Tour, 35-year-old Bowditch says doctors finally discovered the cause of his problems after one recommended a moving X-ray, which picked up two stress fractures and spinal slippage.

He was diagnosed with Pars Defect and Spondylolysis.

"After meeting with several surgeons, who all arrived at the same conclusion, treatment is a surgical fusion of the L5 and S1, which I will undergo next month," Bowditch said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"Fingers crossed I will once again be able to sit and sleep without any lower back pain...and ultimately be able to return to golf activity in late 2019."

Bowditch enjoyed career highs when he won the Texas Open in 2014 and the Byron Nelson tournament in 2015.

But there's been very little joy since as he missed 25 of 27 cuts in the 2016/17 PGA Tour season and all eight cuts from his limited opportunities in 2017/18.

"I spent much of the last two years dealing with lower back pain, leg numbness, sciatic pain, loss of control of my right side and tingling in my toes," he said.

"I had exhausted everything I could think of to diagnose the source of my pain ... several MRIs, multiple injections, chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy and massage. It would appear to calm down and then flare right back up as soon as I resumed golf activity."

Bowditch should be able to draw on the example of 14-times major champion Woods, who capped a successful return from spinal fusion surgery by winning the Tour Championship last month.

An irritated Jason Day will kick off a new US PGA Tour campaign at the CJ Cup in Korea this week fuelled by the disappointing end to his promising 2018 season.

The former world No.1 began last season with a victory at Torrey Pines in his first start of 2018 before adding another US Tour title in May.

The Queenslander registered just one top 10 after the Players Championship in May and walked off the season-ending Tour Championship in September with a bad taste in his mouth.

But a three-week off-season has him refocused, with Day aiming to hit the ground running at the 78-man, $US9.5 million ($A13.34m) CJ Cup on Jeju island.

"I've got to be better; plain and simple," Day told AAP.

"I won twice but I was disappointing in the second half of last season.

"I've had some time off; got away from golf a little bit and I feel some hunger coming back."

Day's fellow Australian Marc Leishman will tee off at the CJ Cup fresh off his five-shot win at last week's CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

Leishman, who narrowly lost in a playoff to CJ Cup winner Justin Thomas last year, is determined to back up his fourth US Tour title having recorded lacklustre results after previous victories.

The 34-year-old has only finished in the top 10 once in the three tournaments immediately after hoisting a US Tour trophy.

"I feel I'm certainly a good enough player now to manage the come-down from a win and switch back on for the next tournament," Leishman said.

"I worked pretty hard in the weeks leading up to Malaysia and I feel I've got my game in a good spot to take advantage of some good play."

Like Day, fellow former world No.1 Adam Scott will make his 2019 season debut at Korea's Nine Bridges golf course.

Scott will be joined by fellow Queenslanders Cameron Smith and Rod Pampling.

Headlining the field is defending champion and world No.4 Thomas, Japanese ace Hideki Matsuyama and three-time major winner Brooks Koepka.

Rising golf star Cameron Smith is planning to repeat his formula of more balls and less beers in an attempt to successfully defend his Australian PGA title at Royal Pines next month.

The 25-year-old Queenslander has rocketed to world No.32 after a stellar 2018 and is looking to cap the year with another individual title - with November's Australian Open at The Lakes in Sydney another event in his sights.

Smith will also partner with world No.16 Marc Leishman, who won the PGA Tour event in Malaysia on the weekend, to represent Australia in the World Cup of Golf at Melbourne's Metropolitan from November 21-25.

Smith said he previously had arrived home and spent too much time socialising but last year decided to focus more on his golf.

"Typically I've played well in Australia but haven't really worked that hard," he said on Tuesday.

"Because everyone wants to catch up and have a beer, sometimes the golf gets away from me.

"So last year I did less of that and spent some more time at the course and the results showed.

"Last year I put my head down and arse up and really gave it a crack."

Smith said victory on the Gold Coast gave him reassurance of his place in world golf, which he backed up with six top-five finishes this season, including at a tie for fifth at The Masters.

"It definitely provided validation that I was meant to be out there and I can win," he said.

"It was one of my big goals. I really wanted to get home and try and tick one of those off."

Lauded for his short game, Smith said he had been spending more time in the gym to add to his 78 kilogram frame and improve his length off the tee.

"My trainer and I have switched up the gym program to try and get a little bit stronger for next season, so I've been going pretty hard in the gym," he said.

"I'm trying to bulk up a little bit. My driving distance has improved heaps so I'm going to keep trying to do that."

Playing in Melbourne will mean entering the territory of another Cameron Smith - the Storm NRL captain.

"Everyone makes the joke to me that he's the real Cameron Smith but that just makes me laugh," Smith said.

"I actually got his autograph when I was in grade five and told him we had the same name and he had a chuckle about it."

Marc Leishman had already booked flights to the winner's-only Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January before his five-shot victory in Malaysia made him eligible.

The bold move was somewhat a confident statement he could get the job done despite having just two US PGA Tour events left on his 2018 schedule.

Although the 34-year-old admitted the Tournament of Champions' host island Maui would be an ideal holiday had he not won by year's end, Leishman was determined to earn his fourth PGA Tour title and avoid being just a tourist.

"There was certainly extra motivation to win (in Malaysia) knowing how much the kids and (wife) Audrey loved Maui last year," Leishman told AAP from Kuala Lumpur.

"Particularly having played well there; Kapalua is a course I feel I can win on."

Leishman held the 36-hole lead at the Tournament of Champions this year before sharing seventh place.

The Victorian has occasionally been compared to golf great Arnold Palmer for a similarly kind-hearted demeanour towards fans and officials.

But Leishman possesses significant self-belief that has fuelled victories on four golf tours around the world, including the European and Korean circuits.

Last year, he held off Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler to win the PGA Tour's elite, 70-man BMW Championship by five shots in wire-to-wire fashion.

"I think over the past few years, since (finishing second) at the British Open in 2015, that confidence inside me has grown a lot; knowing my good stuff can beat anyone," Leishman said.

"It's alright to be confident in yourself and I don't feel the need to be obvious about it; you can be quietly confident in your own ability.

"My expectations have changed after these (four PGA Tour) wins, knowing what I'm capable of."

Despite earning almost $A35 million in career prize money on the PGA Tour, Leishman insists he will remain the same approachable bloke from Warrnambool.

"I think it's so much easier to be nice; ... everyone is a person with a heartbeat and I don't see why wouldn't treat people with anything other than kindness," he said.

Rising to world No.16 with his Malaysia triumph, Leishman has now set his sights on a debut stint in the top 10.

"To be in that top 10 would be huge; it's definitely a goal to get that before the end of the year," he said.

"The more you win the more respect, attention and pressure you get; I look at that as a positive."