Help Centre

Cameron Smith has momentum and a great chance to start 2020 with a US PGA Tour victory, sitting second heading into the Sony Open final round in Hawaii.

The Australian started the third round one off the lead and slipped back before birdieing four of the last five holes to card a four-under 66 at Waialae Country Club on Saturday.

He will play in the final group with the leader, American Brendan Steele, who has grabbed a three-shot lead at 12 under after carding a 64.

Already closing on $US10 million in tour earnings, 26-year-old Smith is seeking his second win, and first individual title, having shared in a two-man team event victory in 2017.

"It wasn't looking too pretty at the start there - didn't start with my best golf," Smith said.

"I got into the swing of things on the back nine. Rather than worrying about what I was doing with my swing I just went ahead and tried to hit some golf shots.

"It was good to get in that frame of mind before tomorrow."

Steele is chasing his fourth PGA Tour victory, and first since repeating at the Safeway Open in 2017.

The 36-year-old is coming off a disappointing season where he failed to capitalise on his trademark stellar driving.

"All facets of my game are as good as they've ever been, coming off my worst season on tour," Steele said.

"I'm really excited about my trajectory and where things are going (but) I've been out here long enough to know that it's always difficult (to win)."

Well-performed Americans Kevin Kisner (64) and Webb Simpson (66) are just a shot further back, tied with gun youngster Collin Morikawa (68).

Young Australian Cameron Davis can also give his tour career a big boost on Sunday.

Despite slipping back to tied 11th after a 71, he is still only five shots behind Steele.

Matt Jones is next-best of the Australians at tied 30th ( 2 under), ahead of Marc Leishman (1 under) Rhein Gibson (2 over).

Justin Thomas won a tournament he thought he threw away with a superb wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the third playoff hole at Kapalua to beat Patrick Reed and win the Tournament of Champions for the second time.

Thomas made the playoff necessary by losing a two-shot lead with three holes to play.

Then, he was fortunate to even be in a playoff when defending champion Xander Schauffele three-putted from 35 feet for a par that brought Reed into the playoff.

It was the first three-man playoff since this event moved to Kapalua in 1999.

Reed twice had putts to win on the 18th in extra holes, missing from 30 feet and 12 feet.

Thomas, who narrowly cleared the hazard with his second shot on the final hole of the week, hit a high wedge that landed perfectly with enough spin and rolled out to 3 feet.

Reed had 8 feet for birdie and hit it too hard, leading to an ugly finish in more ways than one.

A fan screamed out, "Cheater!" after he hit the birdie putt, and Reed glared.

It was a reference to his rules violation in the Bahamas when video showed him scooping away sand to improve his lie.

Reed was penalised two shots.

Schauffele was eliminated after the first hole. He had reason to believe he threw it away, too, only his three-putt par on the first playoff hole didn't allow him another chance.

Thomas finished with a 4-under 69, Reed shot 66 and Schauffele had a 70. They finished at 14-under 278.

Xander Schauffele has kept himself on track to become the first player since Australia's Geoff Ogilvy to win the US PGA Tour's Tournament of Champions back to back.

Defending champion and overnight leader Schauffele's two-under-par 71 gave him a one-shot lead at from Justin Thomas with one round to play at Kapalua in Hawaii.

Thomas, the 2017 champion, strengthened his claims with a 69 on Saturday and ensured he joins Schauffele in the final group as he goes for a third win in his last seven starts on the PGA Tour.

US Open champion Gary Woodland (69) a further two shots back in third place, while seven players are tied fourth at seven under, including Kevin Kisner, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed and a pair of newcomers who won last year, Matthew Wolff and Colin Morikawa.

Former US Open champion Ogilvy was the last player to successfully defend the title when he triumphed in 2010

Schauffele is at 11-under 212, the highest 54-hole score to lead at Kapalua since Vijay Singh was at 11 under in 2007.

He won last year by closing with a 62 to make up a five-shot deficit against Woodland.

Thomas is one who believes another 62 is out there if everything falls his way, even though the renovations to the Plantation Course are a big reason why scoring has been higher than usual.

The weather hasn't helped. Saturday brought another dose of gusts in the 25 mph range, and occasional rain that showed up out of nowhere.

Thomas ran off five birdies on the front nine to take the lead until his first three-putt bogey of the week on the 12th hole. However, he misjudged the wind on another 6-foot par putt at the 17th and failed to birdie the par-5 18th for a 38 on the back nine.

Gone are the days of Zach Murray staying up late to watch the European Tour.

Rather than streaming it on his laptop, the Victorian golfer will be playing on it next year after earning a European Tour card by finishing second on the Australasian Tour's 2019 Order of Merit.

New Zealand's Ryan Fox topped the money list following the year-end Australian PGA Championship and will enjoy starts at the British Open and two World Golf Championship events next year as a result.

But with Fox's presence on the European Tour next season already secured, the eagerly-sought tour card went to second-placed Murray, who held off Brad Kennedy by just $9000.

Murray won the 2018 WA Open before turning professional and notching a wire-to-wire New Zealand Open victory in only his seventh pro start in March.

"Basically all year I've been thinking about this moment," 22-year-old Murray told the PGA website.

"I grew up watching the European Tour on TV at home.

"I'm a big golf fan, I watch a lot of golf. At events, I still whip out the laptop and watch it at night time.

"It's been a huge goal of mine for a long time, so I am fortunate to be in the position I'm in with the Order of Merit."

Fox began the Australian PGA Championship well clear in the merit standings and claimed that honour after placing tied 27th at Royal Pines.

Murray finished in a tie for 36th thanks to a closing 69.

"I was feeling a bit of pressure, as you do, but I played great the last six holes," he said.

Cameron Smith must continue to fight for a Masters berth after narrowly missing out on a guaranteed spot as the golf year closes.

The Queenslander will enter a brief off-season break ranked No.53, three spots shy of the world top 50 at year's end who earned early entry to Augusta National in April.

Fresh from his drought-breaking Australian PGA triumph on Sunday, Adam Scott has risen to No.13 and will be joined at the Masters by countrymen Marc Leishman (28) and Jason Day (36).

Young Victorian amateur Lukas Michel will also be there after becoming the first Australian to win the US Mid-Amateur Championship in September.

Smith impressed when tied fifth at the 2018 Masters - earning him another start there this year - before also finishing 2018 ranked 27 in the world.

Now he needs to either win a US tour event or be in the world top 50 the week before the Masters to get back to Augusta National for the year's first major.

"That's going to be the goal but probably not the long-term goal," said Smith.

"I definitely want to be at the Masters, that's on everyone's mind, for sure.

"But as long as I stay on top of my game, I think I should go alright."

Fellow US tour players Matt Jones (world No.100), Aaron Baddeley (252), Cameron Percy (278) and Cameron Davis (305) will all likely need tournament wins between now and the Masters to get in.

While the Internationals fell short of winning the Presidents Cup, giant-killer Cameron Smith can hold his head high.

Heading into Sunday's singles at Royal Melbourne, debutant Smith was given little chance of taking down American ace Justin Thomas.

At world No.4, Thomas was the highest-ranked golfer in the field and unbeaten in his four matches he looked as good as a gimme.

But the 26-year-old world No.52 threw that script out the window with a gritty performance to secure a two-and-one comeback win over the 2017 PGA Championship winner.

With Team USA on the march, Smith said he knew the International team needed him to deliver a point.

"The Internationals on all the TVs around the golf course were down early so I knew they kind of needed me so it was nice to come through," Smith said.

The American made an early statement, racing to a three-up lead on the back of three birdies in the opening four holes.

Smith locked up the contest winning the 10th and then pushed the lead out to two on the 14th after a Thomas bogey.

Using the massive crowd to will him home, Smith then nailed a two metre birdie putt on the 17th to seal the unlikely win.

He said playing in front of home fans who offered such vocal support had been special.

He finished the tournament with win one win, one loss and one tie from his three matches.

"Obviously the support for the Internationals this week has been really good - it's just been awesome," Smith said of his bitterwseet victory.

"There's no words really to describe the atmosphere.

"You don't get stuff like that very often, so I've just try and enjoy it.

"Yeah, it was a good win for myself today, so much emotion in the match, and after the match, as well.

"I don't think I've ever been so excited and then kind of really gutted in the space of a few minutes."

Smith won't get any rest, heading straight to Royal Pines in Queensland where he will attempt to win his third straight Australian PGA title.

International captain Ernie Els is bracing for an in-form Tiger Woods to inspire his United States team to further Presidents Cup supremacy in what promises to be the biggest edition in its 25-year history.

The biennial teams event is run by the PGA Tour and pits the US against a rest-of-the-world side, with the 13th edition starting on Thursday at Royal Melbourne.

With the Americans winning 10 of the 12 Cups, it has struggled to attract the attention of the higher-profile Ryder Cup in which America play Europe.

But this week's event is a chance to garner as much attention given Woods will cap his whirlwind comeback year by becoming a rare playing captain.

The 43-year-old stunned the sporting world when he claimed a 15th major at the Masters in April before bagging a record-equalling 82nd PGA Tour victory in Japan in October.

Last month, the golf great used a captain's pick on himself and signed off on the decision by placing fourth at his own tournament in the Bahamas which finished on Sunday.

Woods and a star-studded American side including Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland then boarded a charter flight from the Bahamas.

Organisers are expecting crowds of 30,000 at Royal Melbourne on each of the four days of competition.

Four-time major winner Els is preparing for Woods to do anything to avoid captaining a losing side.

"Obviously, he's very competitive," Els said.

According to sources within the US team, Woods intends to play up to four matches this week.

"He's won the Masters and won in Japan. When he's healthy, he can play at a very high level," Els said.

Turning 44 later this month and struggling to play a full schedule while battling chronic injuries, the Presidents Cup could be Woods' last chance to play on any American team.

It is why Els has been inundated with requests from International players to face Woods in the Sunday singles.

"The youngsters look up at him but they definitely want to have a piece of him," Els said.

Adding to the hype this week is that polarising figure Patrick Reed - one of Woods' captain's picks - was involved in a cheating scandal that erupted in the 18-player World Challenge.

Former Masters winner Reed was given a two-stroke penalty when television cameras captured him making improper swings in a waste bunker during the third round.

He was sanctioned for flattening out sand behind his ball with two practice swings but insisted he didn't improve his lie despite conceding he had moved sand, and therefore violated the rules.

International team member Marc Leishman said fans at Royal Melbourne now have extra ammunition to sledge the controversial Reed, who has dealt with accusations of cheating and stealing from teammates during his college days.

"It was pretty ordinary, to be honest; it didn't look too good for him," Leishman said.

"There's opportunities there (to sledge Reed) ... he's brought on himself."

International player Louis Oosthuizen, who was second to Matt Jones at the Australian Open, said it was only victory, not controversy, that will get fans interested in the cup.

The Internationals have claimed the President Cup just once, at Royal Melbourne in 1998, and tied in 2003.

"We need to get our name on the trophy again and show the Americans we're here to play," South African Oosthuizen said.

"We're here to win the cup and not just show up and have a good week."

Not satisfied with joining the greats of Australian golf, Matt Jones has set his sights on challenging for major championship glory in 2020.

Jones' thrilling one-shot win over Louis Oosthuizen at the Australian Open on Sunday placed the 39-year-old in an elite group of 16 Australians, including modern-day champions Greg Norman, Peter Senior, Robert Allenby, Peter Lonard and Aaron Baddeley to have had their names etched on the Stonehaven Cup multiple times.

Going back further, the likes of Peter Thomson, Norman Von Nida and Jim Ferrier have also achieved the feat, not to mention golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player at a tournament once regarded as golf's fifth major.

A second victory at The Australian Golf Club, where he's been a member since he was 15, also earned Jones a return to next year's British Open at Royal St George's.

"I've played in maybe five British Opens and it's the one major I would most like to win. To be able to do that and plan a schedule around that, will be fantastic," Jones said.

Recalling how Norman won the Open at Royal St George's in 1993 is fuelling Jones' confidence that he too can contend next July.

"From what I remember, you've got to hit a lot of good tee shots and good drivers on that golf course too and that's one of the strengths of my game now is my driving," said the US PGA Tour regular.

"And Greg was one of the best, if not the best of all time. If I can continue like that, I'll look forward to that tournament.

"I've had a good start to the year in the US. Something like this has been coming and it's very special when it's your national Open and to do it two times in a row is something that's pretty unbelievable right now.

"But I'm going to build on this. If I can play as calm on the US Tour as I did these four days, I think I'll have a very good year."

Jones made a clutch up-and-down par at the last to claim the trophy and deny Oosthuizen, who eagled the 72nd hole moments earlier, to set up a dramatic climax.

Himself the British Open champion in 2010, Oosthuizen can now add an Australian Open runner-up finish to second places at all four majors.

But he was happy enough to find some form ahead of this week's Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, where he will try to help Ernie Els' Interntionals beat the Tiger Woods-led USA team for the first time since 1998.

"I used this week as preparation," Oosthuizen said.

"I'll take a lot of confidence out of this and hopefully we can pull it off next week."

Winless in more than two years, Henrik Stenson found himself in the middle of a wild chase to the finish with tournament host and United States President Cup captain Tiger Woods and the elite in golf all around him.

Five players had a chance to win in the final hour on Saturday. Four had at least a share of the lead at one point.

One swing changed everything.

"The shot of the day," Stenson said.

The Swede drilled a 5-wood from 259 yards to within inches of the hole for a tap-in eagle on the par-5 15th, going from a one-shot deficit to a one-shot lead.

Three pars gave him a 6-under 66 and a victory in the World Challenge he might not have seen coming.

Stenson tied for 44th two weeks ago in Dubai and spent a few hours on the range that afternoon with swing coach Pete Cowen.

He carried some of that to the Bahamas, and his nerves held up at Albany Golf Club.

"Sometimes, just keep on working hard and grinding it out," former world No.2 and 2016 Open champion Stenson said.

"Confidence can still be a little higher but I'm really happy with the way I hung in there."

Woods' hopes faded after a bogey on 14, Justin Thomas had a pair of 12-foot birdie putts burn the edge while defending champion Jon Rahm, in his final event before getting married in Spain, appeared to seize control with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch to take the lead on the 16th hole.

But then 43-year-old Stenson struck the decisive blow to win for the first time in 50 tournaments, a drought dating to August 2017.

Rahm (66) had to settle for second place while Patrick Reed, under scrutiny for improving his line of play in a waste area Friday that led to a two-shot penalty, shook that off for a 66 to finish third.

Woods (69) hasn't won his holiday event since 2011 but he and Thomas (70), who along with Reed are headed to Royal Melbourne to take on the Internationals team next week, came up just short.

"I don't think that's how we wanted it to end up," Woods, who finished fourth, said of he and Thomas.

England's Justin Rose (65) and Thomas (70) shared fifth, five shots adrift of Stenson.

US Open champion Gary Woodland, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, ran into trouble chipping up the slope on the par-5 third hole and made double bogey. He never recovered, shot 73 and tied for seventh.

The World Challenge was just the first stop for 11 of the Americans in the field.

They had a few hours to get changed for a charter flight from the Bahamas to Australia for the Presidents Cup, which starts Thursday with Woods as the first playing captain in 25 years.

Victoria's Josh Younger has bounced back from an 18th hole disaster to claim a long-awaited maiden tour victory, winning the NSW Open in a sudden-death playoff with Wollongong youngster Travis Smyth.

The breakthrough victory and $72,000 winner's cheque will give world No.963 Younger's career a huge boost.

But it could have been a very different story for a man who already had three runner-up finishes.

The 35-year-old Younger appeared to have the title in his grasp when he arrived at the 18th at Sydney's Twin Creeks course with the lead at 19-under but he hit his tee shot in the water and took a double bogey.

That ended up putting him into a playoff with Smyth after both men finished with rounds of 71 to tie at 17-under 271, one shot clear of exciting youngster Min Woo Lee (73).

Younger holed a putt from off the 18th green for par on the first extra hole to continue the playoff as Smyth made a regulation par.

And he clinched the title with a six-foot birdie putt after a superb approach shot when they played the hole again, as Smyth missed from 25 feet.

It's a relief. I've been (on tour) 10 years. I got pipped in a playoff in New Zealand PGA in 2016, finished runner up at the (Australian) Masters..it's just so hard to win, that's the reality of it," said Younger, who shot a nine-under 63 to lead after the first round

"Normally when you make six down the last it's all over, you need things to go your way. But it's a massive relief."