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A late string of birdies has helped Justin Rose to a one-stroke lead over fast-closing Russell Knox and Abraham Ancer in the opening round of the Dell Technologies Championship.

Englishman Rose birdied three of his final four holes for a six-under 65 in breezy conditions at TPC Boston as the FedEx Cup play-offs moved to the second round.

That temporarily gave him a two-stroke lead on Friday before Scotland's Knox and Mexican Ancer closed with matching 66s.

Americans Chris Kirk, Beau Hossler, Keegan Bradley and Gary Woodland were a stroke back while Tiger Woods endured an up-and-down round of 72 to sit seven shots off the lead.

The Englishman missed the cut at last week's Northern Trust but his steady play soon had him on top.

He backed up a pair of birdies on the front nine with four more in his final nine for a bogey-free round.

"I guess just keeping the card clean made the birdies really count for something," Rose said.

"I looked at the pins last night and I thought there was an opportunity to make some birdies."

Knox also missed last week's cut but surged from even par after his second bogey of the day at the 12th to collect three birdies and an eagle at the par-four 15th in six holes coming home.

Ancer, playing the back nine first, sank four birdies in his last six holes to stay bogey-free.

Woods had trouble from the start.

The 14-times major champion picked up a bogey at his first hole, the 10th, and racked up two more for a three-bogey start before finally getting a birdie on the board at his eighth hole.

He wound up with four bogeys and three birdies but was not blaming his putting for the shots he dropped.

"I putted beautifully today, I really did," Woods, who brought out a new putter, told the Golf Channel.

But other parts of his game let him down.

"When I did miss it, I missed it in bad spots and didn't have very good angles," Woods said.

"Couldn't quite get the momentum going. The front side, my back nine, thought if I felt momentum going, I could have finished under par today."

World No.1 Dustin Johnson was in a group who shot 68s, which included Australia's Marc Leishman, while FedEx Cup points leader Bryson DeChambeau shot a one-under 70, one better than Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy.

Leishman's compatriots Cameron Smith and Adam Scott carded rounds of 69 and 71 respectively to sit in ties for 16th and 42nd respectively while five bogeys left Jason Day well off the pace with a 76.

Billy Horschel, the 2014 FedEx Cup champion, withdrew with sinus problems.

Australia's Minjee Lee shot an impressive eight-under-par 64 but still couldn't find the lead on the opening day of the Cambia Portland Classic on Thursday.

That honour went to American Marina Alex, who matched the course record with a 10-under 62 to lead by two from Lee and Canadian Brooke Henderson.

World No.7 Lee opened her round with a five-hole birdie blitz from the 10th to 14th holes, during a round that fetched nine birdies and a lone bogey on her closing par-four ninth.

"I think it was a combination of everything," Lee said. "Most of the day I struck it pretty well with my iron shots.

"I had pretty good control of the yardages and I hit some solid putts."

Compatriot Su Oh was also in blistering form with her six-under-par 66 keeping her firmly in contention in joint-fifth position.

With Stacy Lewis unable to defend her title as she prepares for the birth of her first child, Alex is using her friend's caddie, Travis Wilson, at Columbia Edgewater.

"It's been a blast," Alex said. "The timing was great. He wanted to work a couple more events before the season ended and I was looking. Trav is awesome. So much fun, really lighthearted."

Winless on the tour, the 28-year-old former Vanderbilt player birdied the last four holes and five of the last six in a back-nine 30.

"Got my ball-striking together and it was awesome," Alex said.

Henderson, the 2015 and 2016 winner, birdied five of the last six holes for a 64.

The 20-year-old Canadian star is coming off a victory Sunday in the CP Women's Open on home soil in Saskatchewan.

Women's British Open champion Georgia Hall matched Oh at 66 while Inbee Park, playing for the first time since the Women's British Open, opened with a 69.

American Kramer Hickok shot a course-equalling seven-under-par 63 to lead the DPA Championship by five shots on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Hickok leads the second of four Web.com Tour Finals events, which will determine 25 PGA Tour cards, from Justin Hueber by one shot.

Hickok, who has already earned his PGA Tour Card with a 23rd-place finish on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list, shot eight birdies and a lone bogey in the opening round.

Aaron Baddeley leads the Australian contingent at the Canterbury Golf Course, his two-under-par 68 leaving him in a tie for 17th.

One shot behind in a tie for 29th are Stuart Appleby, Matt Jones and Cameron Davis.

The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com regular-season money list (Nos. 126-200) in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings; and non-members with enough money to have placed in the top 200.

Hickok and the other top-25 finishers on the Web.com regular-season money list are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals.

The other players are fighting for 25 cards based on series earnings.

Adam Scott's best putting performance on the US PGA Tour in 11 years has golf pundits predicting a second victory for the Australian at TPC Boston this week.

Scott kicked off the $US67-million FedEx Cup playoffs series last week with a share of fifth at the Northern Trust in New Jersey, where Scott gained more than two shots per round on the field with his putter.

It was Scott's best performance in the strokes gained in putting statistical measurement since his four-shot win at the 2004 Booz Allen Classic.

Perennially one of golf's premier ball-strikers, conquering the final frontier of his game has PGA Tour experts naming Scott one of the favourites at the Dell Technologies Championship in Boston, which he won in 2003.

"The game is feeling really good," Scott said.

"It's good news that my putting is looking really good and my proximity to the hole with my irons was sharp last week.

"It'd be great to keep this run going. If I put myself in contention, I'd love to have a go at winning one of these last few events.

"I've had some really good play at TPC Boston; it suits my eye."

Scott's inspired form on the greens has been a direct result of coach Brad Malone suggesting his student carry both a long and a short putter in the bag during competition, sacrificing his three-iron for the 14-club limit.

Scott debuted dual putters at the WGC-Bridgestone and has since recorded top-five results at the US PGA Championship and Northern Trust, while jumping 38 spots on the world rankings to No.38.

"I put it in to try hole a few more putts from 15 to 20 feet (with the short putter) and since then the stroke has gotten so much better with the long putter," said Scott.

Scott's hot finish in New Jersey catapulted him 33 places on the FedEx Cup standings to No.40, and a decent result at TPC Boston will guarantee him a berth at the 30-man Tour Championship finale.

Fellow Queenslander Jason Day leads the Australians on the FedEx standings at No.8 and the former world No.1 says his poor finish in New Jersey is motivation to contend at TPC Boston.

"I didn't quite have it last week; I wasn't quite as focused as I should have been and I need to tidy that up," Day told AAP.

"I know there is some good stuff there but I have to bust my tail over the next few days."

Cameron Smith will tee up at the Dell Technologies buoyed by his third placing at the Northern Trust and subsequent jump to 16th on the FedEx standings.

Marc Leisman rounds out the four-player Australian contingent in Boston.

Northern Trust winner Bryson DeChambeau's last Ryder Cup experience involved paying for his own flights and hotel to watch from the gallery as a passionate fan.

But after romping to a four-shot victory in the first event of the $US67-million FedEx Cup playoffs, the 24-year-old all but guaranteed he will be one of Jim Furyk's captains picks for the Europe-versus-America teams event in Paris next month.

DeChambeau started the final day at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey with a four-shot lead and closed with a two-under-par 69 to earn an 18-under total - leaping to first on the FedEx Cup points list and nine spots on the world rankings to No.12.

Tony Finau (68) was runner-up at 14 under, with Australian Cameron Smith (69) and Billy Horschel (68) sharing third at 13 under. Adam Scott (69) finished a shot further back in a tie for fifth.

Although he won the prestigious Memorial Tournament in Ohio in June, DeChambeau recently missed out on making the eight automatic qualifiers for Team USA - by one spot.

But the Californian is a near certainty to be thrown a lifeline by Furyk when he makes the first of three captain's picks on September 3, with a fourth to come on September 9.

DeChambeau's likely Ryder Cup debut will come in stark contrast to the 2016 edition when he travelled to Minnesota's Hazeltine golf course at his own expense.

Having only turned professional six months prior, DeChambeau wasn't on the radar of Team USA selection.

"It was different," DeChambeau said about watching from the stands.

"But I definitely wanted to have that experience.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and I hope I get the opportunity to do that in the next few weeks."

Securing 2,000 points and a $1.62-million ($A2.2 million) cheque for his Northern Trust win, DeChambeau moves to No.1 on the FedEx Cup standings with three events remaining.

He was seemingly in cruise control on the final day, opening with two straight birdies which allowed him to weather two bogeys on the front nine.

He threw the hammer down with back-to-back birdies at the par-4 12th and par-5 13th and never looked back as he secured his third career US Tour title.

"It's amazing; this one (win) is different," DeChambeau said.

"Not really knowing what to do under the gun with a tremendous lead, it was a big learning experience."

Meanwhile, Australian Jason Day carded a lacklustre even-par 71 to finish tied 20th at eight-under.

Marc Leishman's 67 left him sharing 34th at five under, while 14-time major winner Tiger Woods tied for 40th at four under courtesy of a 70.

Young Australian golf star Cameron Davis is headed to the US PGA Tour next season after a trademark weekend charge ensured his promotion from the secondary web.com Tour.

Davis made his name on home soil when he shot seven-under 64 on the final day to win the Australian Open from the likes of Jason Day and Jordan Spieth at The Australian last November.

Now the 23-year-old from Sydney is set to hit the world stage after yet another blazing finish.

Already the winner of the Nashville Open in May, when he overcame a six-stroke deficit on the final day, Davis shot rounds of 67, 66 at the weekend to finish third, just one shot outside a title playoff at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio.

The $US68,000 ($A92,500) he earned at the first of four season-ending tour playoffs events boosted him from 34th to ninth on the web.com Tour's money list, enough to secure a spot in the Finals 25 who earn earn US tour cards.

"Any good week will get you in but you've got four of them as well, so you don't have to do it all the first week," Davis told pgatour.com of the Finals.

"I just kept on telling myself, 'You don't have to rush and do it all now, but if you play really well, take what you get'.

"So I did end up playing really well over the last couple of days and it's nice to be where I am."

With three events remaining, countryman Curtis Luck, the 2016 US Amateur champion, is well-placed to join Davis on the main tour after a tie for fifth in Columbus continued his strong finish to the season.

He had tied sixth in the previous event in Portland to sneak into the playoffs.

Cameron Smith has given himself a red-hot chance to make the FedEx Cup's Tour Championship finale with a strong result at the opening event of the $US 67-million playoffs.

Smith pulled within three shots of runaway leader Bryson DeChambeau during the final round at the Northern Trust in New Jersey, but was ultimately no match as the American romped to a four-shot win.

DeChambeau started the final day at Ridgewood Country Club with a four-shot lead and closed with a two-under-par 69 to earn an 18-under total.

Tony Finau (68) was runner-up at 14 under, with Smith (69) and Billy Horschel (68) sharing third at 13 under. Adam Scott (69) was a shot further back and finished tied fifth.

With his first top-five result on the US Tour since the Masters in April, Smith jumps 37 places on the FedEx Cup to No.16.

He is now a strong chance at remaining inside the top 30 who progress to the Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.

"I haven't been in the mix for a couple months so it was fun to play well under the gun and it was important to do that heading into three really important events," said Smith.

It is likely the new world No.39 will only need to make the cut at the second playoffs event in Boston this week to assure himself of a Tour Championship debut, having missed out on the finale last year.

Advancing to the Tour Championship, where the FedEx Cup winner is crowned, guarantees starts in all four major championships next year.

"To get into the Tour Championship has been a goal all year, so I'm going to be trying my guts out over the next couple of weeks," Smith said.

Smith's fellow Queenslander Scott also made a FedEx Cup leap - 33 places to No.40 - with his second consecutive top-five result on the US Tour also taking him to 38th in the world.

Although one of golf's most prolific ball-strikers, former Masters winner Scott is perennially criticised for lacklustre putting.

But former world No.1 Scott ranked first in the field for strokes gained in putting in a sure sign reuniting with coach Brad Malone is working wonders.

"There was lots of good stuff this week; the putting is looking really good and the proximity to the hole was great," said Scott, who also finished third at the recent US PGA Championship.

"If I can keep that going in these next three events I can get myself to Atlanta."

Jason Day carded a lacklustre even-par 71 to share 20th at eight under at the event he won in 2015.

Marc Leishman signed off in style with a 67 for his five-under total which left him in a tie for 34th.

FEDEX CUP AUSTRALIAN STANDINGS AFTER NORTHERN TRUST:

Jason Day (8)

Cameron Smith (16)

Marc Leishman (24)

Adam Scott (40)

Brooke Henderson has became the first Canadian to win the country's national championship in 45 years, closing with a seven-under 65 for a four-stroke victory.

The 20-year-old finished at 21-under 267, capping the emotional victory in front of a large, adoring gallery with a short birdie putt on the par-4 18th at a chilly and rainy Wascana Country Club.

"Truly amazing, dream come true," Henderson said.

"The crowds were incredible all week. Today was incredible.

"To have their support and then to play as well as I did and to hoist this trophy, I'm just so excited.

"... to have my family and my close friends and the LPGA Tour stars come out and shower me with champagne, I mean, I still have some in my ear, so it's not that fun, but it was just so amazing."

Jocelyne Bourassa is the only other Canadian to win the national championship, accomplishing the feat in 1973.

Henderson earned $337,500 ($A460,000) for her second victory of the season and seventh of her LPGA Tour career.

Angel Yin was second at 17 under after a 68 while Jennifer Song (67) was six back of Henderson in solo third.

Australian duo Minjee Lee (68) and Su Oh (69) finished in four-way share of fourth at 14 under.

Lee had six birdies and two bogeys on Sunday while Oh's roller-coaster final round included an eagle, five birdies and four bogeys.

Katherine Kirk closed with a 70 for a seven-under total while Hannah Green's 74 left her at three over for the week.

Three-time Canadian Open champion Lydia Ko (69) and top-ranked defending champion Sung Hyun Park (71) were among the group at 13 under and tied for eighth.

Tiger Woods has shown he can put together a series of sub-par rounds.

Contending in consecutive tournaments has been more difficult.

Woods took small consolation on Saturday after his first bogey-free round of the year, mainly because he managed only three birdies at The Northern Trust on a soft Ridgewood Country Club that is yielding plenty of them.

He made a 6-foot birdie putt on his last hole - no sure thing the way his week has been going -- for a three-under 68.

That gives him seven birdies for 54 holes.

Bryson DeChambeau made nine birdies on moving day alone in his round of 63 to lead by four shots, 13 shots ahead of Woods.

"That's not going to get it done," Woods said.

"As soft as it is, these guys are making a boat load of birdies. And I just haven't made any."

It wasn't a lack of chances.

Woods missed six birdie putts from 12 feet or closer.

He has hit nine out of 14 fairways all three rounds and he rarely was out of position when he did miss the greens in the third round.

He's just not seeing many putts go in, mainly because he says he can't get the right line with the right speed.

On a few occasions, he's asked caddie Joe LaCava to help read the putts. It hasn't mattered.

"I'm just not seeing the lines this week," Woods said.

Such is golf. Woods chalked it up on more than one occasion to "one of those weeks."

But it extends a peculiar pattern this year of looking as though he were on the verge of winning, and then taking a step back.

He had two straight weeks at the end of the Florida swing where he got within one shot of the lead on the back nine, and then he showed up at the Masters and finished in the middle of the pack. Woods showed plenty of momentum at The Players Championship (65-69 weekend) and the Memorial (67-68 in the middle two rounds), and then he missed the cut at the US Open.

One week after he briefly had the lead in the final round at the British Open, he tied for 31st at Firestone on a course where he has won eight times.

He was runner-up at the PGA Championship in his most recent start and now is playing for little more than pride or FedEx Cup points.

But all is not lost heading into Sunday with Woods setting himself a target of 10 under for the week in New Jersey, before the next event at TPC Boston.

He started the FedEx Cup playoffs at No.20, and with only 30 players advancing to the Tour Championship, he still has some work left.

Brooke Henderson will begin the final round of the LPGA's CP Women's Open as outright leader while Australians Su Oh and Minjee Lee are among the chasing pack within four shots of the Canadian.

The 20-year-old Henderson battled through gusting wind on Saturday at Wascana Country Club in pursuit of a breakthrough home victory, carding a two-under 70 to be 14 under.

"These crowds this week have been totally amazing, and I've been playing well for them, so I'm happy about that," she said.

Australian Su Oh opened her round with a bogey but four birdies resulted in a 69 to move up to 11 under and a share for fifth with Austin Ernst (70).

World No.7 Australian Minjee Lee had a bogey-free five-under 67 to jump into tied seventh at 10 under - in a group including New Zealander Lydia Ko (68) - and just four shots off the pace.

Henderson, a six-times winner on the LPGA Tour, attracted a large gallery on moving day with fans lining the fairways to watch her.

"It's amazing to see all the little kids out here," Henderson said.

"If I high-five them or sign something for them, just their face kind of lights up, and it's a really cool feeling for me.

"I remember being in their shoes, as well, and I know it's really meaningful when somebody like myself spends that little bit extra with them."

Nasa Hataoka of Japan and American Angel Yin are Henderson's closest challengers after three rounds.

Hataoka had a 69 while the long-hitting Yin shot 71, settling for par on par-5 18th after running an eagle putt long.

World No.1 Sung Hyun Park - a three-times winner on tour in 2018 - is at 12 under after a 70.

"I'm in a good position," Park said. "I'm just going to take it shot by shot."