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The only thing resembling paradise for Xander Schauffele is his name atop the leaderboard at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

Through bursts of rain and gusts topping 50 km/h, Schauffele managed to go bogey-free for a second straight day with a 5-under 68 on Friday to hold a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann.

The American is trying to become the first repeat champion of the winners-only event in 10 years.

On this day, he was trying to keep it together.

Schauffele finished with a birdie, a two-putt par from just under 100 feet and a 7-foot birdie on the final hole. That gave him the lead at 9-under 137, the highest 36-hole score to lead at Kapalua since 2008.

"A day of adjustment is sort of how I like to look at it, and glad we were able to come out on top," he said.

Reed made three straight birdies around the turn, lost two good scoring chances late, made up for that with a 30-foot birdie on the 17th and wound up with a 66 for the best score of the day.

Niemann didn't make a birdie until the ninth hole and limited the damage enough for a 72.

Rickie Fowler (71) was two shots behind.

Schauffele won last year with a 62 in the final round, a score that now seems out of reach on a Plantation course with entirely new grass on fairways that remain soft because of rain.

The greens have shelves that weren't there a year ago. And the weather was never this rough when he won.

"Besides looking the same and looking over at Molokai, very different," Schauffele said.

"We're on the same property but for the most part there's no memory I can fall back on when it comes to making a putt or hitting a bump-and-run shot on a certain hole since the green layouts are very different."

Justin Thomas was poised to join Schauffele until he missed the green at the 17th to the right and made bogey, and made another bogey on the 18th when his drive went left into the waist-high native grass.

He was three strokes back after a 73.

Fresh off his Presidents Cup debut, Joaquin Niemann of Chile brought fresh confidence and plenty of form to Maui by opening the year with a seven-under 66 for a one-shot lead over Justin Thomas after the opening round at the Tournament of Champions.

Niemann is one of 15 first-time winners on the PGA Tour last year who are playing the rejuvenated Plantation Course at Kapalua for the first time. He knew his way around just fine in weather that might be as good as it gets all week.

He missed only one green and saved par. After a 30-foot birdie on No. 4, which he called his best shot of the day, his other six birdies were all from 10 feet or closer.

Thomas, who won at Kapalua three years ago, played bogey-free and made five birdies over his last eight holes for a 67.

Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler were at 68, with defending champion Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay among those another shot back.

Niemann didn't win a match at Royal Melbourne - he went 0-3-1, twice facing two of the best US partnerships - but thrived on the stage under International captain Ernie Els.

"The Presidents Cup was one of my best experiences since I turned pro," he said.

"I shared a lot of moments with the best players in the world. I got Ernie as a captain.

"That is just awesome. I think that week was really special for me. He told me that it's going to be really helpful for my career, for my future."

It appeared to help in the first round of the new year, and Niemann had plenty of company.

Warm sunshine and moderate wind for these parts also helped.

The wind was reasonable enough for the tour to use all the new back tees that were part of the refinement project.

Kapalua still provided its usual punishment for missed shots, however.

Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner at Kapalua, made six birdies and an eagle.

That was barely enough to offset his double bogey on the par-5 ninth and four other bogeys.

It has been the happiest of hunting grounds for Australian golfers but for the first time in 22 years none will be contesting the US PGA Tour's Tournament of Champions this week.

The rich event is for US tour winners from the previous year only and the Aussies failed to register a US win in 2019, the first time that's happened in a calendar year since 1987.

It is not a great look and more disappointing given the country's glowing record at the Tournament of Champions.

Australians have won seven editions, with Stuart Appleby and Geoff Ogilvy combining for five since it moved to Hawaii's Plantation course on the island of Maui in 1999.

Appleby won three straight at Kapalua from 2004, while Ogilvy was victorious in 2009 and 2010.

Steve Elkington won the event in 1992 and 1995 when it was held in southern California.

The likes of Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and defending champion Xander Schauffele get to fight for a total $A9.5 million prizemoney in a field of just 35 players with no cut from Thursday.

Meanwhile the Australians headed by former world No.1s Jason Day and Adam Scott plus Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman are left plotting a return to winning ways in 2020.

Day is busy tweaking his swing to ease pressure on his troublesome back, which most recently ruled him out of the Presidents Cup and Australian Open.

Day says he'll be ready to return at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines later this month, which he won in 2015.

"The back is feeling good; it definitely needed the time off," Day told AAP.

"I'm still doing rehab on it because it went out on me four times in 2019. It needed rest and I still have to give it time to heal."

Whether Day can recapture the stunning 2015 form that brought him five US Tour wins, including the US PGA Championship remains to be seen.

The 32-year-old tasked long-time coach Colin Swatton with altering his swing to prevent further back trouble.

Swatton believes Day's tendency to shift laterally with his hips on the back-swing prompted compensation in the down-swing and placed stress on the back.

"I'm confident those changes are filtering through. I'm excited for the new year on the course," Day said.

While he seems at a career crossroads as he approaches his 40th birthday this year, Scott has been a resurgent force.

The 2013 Masters winner recorded nine top-10 results in the US in 2019, including two runner-up results, while contending in three of golf's four majors.

Scott's recent Australian PGA Championship victory, his first win worldwide in more than three years, has the Queenslander back to world No.13 and on the cusp of another great stretch.

The 13-time PGA Tour winner will return to competition at the Genesis Open in Los Angeles in February, an event he has won before.

Leishman and Cameron Smith will resume at next week's Sony Open in Hawaii.

Smith has slid three spots out of the world's top 50 and missed an automatic spot in the Masters at Augusta from the December cut-off.

He will now spend four months trying to win on the US Tour or climb back into that top 50 by March 30.

Rounding out the 10 Australians with full US tour cards are Matt Jones and Aaron Baddeley, as well as Korn Ferry Tour graduates Cameron Percy, Cameron Davis, Rhein Gibson and John Senden.

Veterans Rod Pampling, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Mark Hensby and Steven Bowditch all have conditional PGA Tour status.

The Olympics remains a possibility, but it's majors Adam Scott is hunting in 2020 after ending his trophy drought on the Gold Coast on Sunday.

The former world No.1's second Australian PGA Championship victory ended nearly four years without a trophy for the 2013 Masters champion.

And, after admitting fears of never winning again had crept in, the 39-year-old said the confidence gained would set him up perfectly for that tournament at Augusta National next April.

Scott, who could move as high as No.13 in the world with the Royal Pines win, is also in the box seat for one of two spots to compete at Tokyo's Olympics if he wants to.

But ahead of almost one month off he has made it clear that isn't his priority once he resumes on the US PGA Tour next year.

Scott was a vocal critic of the sport's inclusion for the Rio Games but has softened his stance a little ahead of Japan despite still questioning it's relevance in another packed schedule.

"I'm just going to take my time and see; I mean, I've made it clear it's not my priority, but I wouldn't rule it out," he said after his Royal Pines victory.

"It would be nice to win a major first."

Scott said the win, to go with his 2013 Australian PGA title, would be a significant boost after a season that yielded two runner-up finishes among nine top 10s.

"It's big for the confidence; I've seen what it's done for me in the past," he said in reference to his 2012 Australian Masters title that preceded the US Masters triumph.

"A win, you feel like you're just never going to lose again, so you want to run with that while the confidence is up."

Scott handled the pressure the best down the back nine, getting back on terms with early pacesetter Michael Hendry before a clutch par save on the 12th was followed by a birdie on the 14th and another eagle - his third for the tournament - on the 15th.

"You want to be in contention and you want to find out how you feel and how you respond and I got some of that today," he said.

"So if I happen to be in that position someday at the Masters, I can draw on today and past experience, but this is a little more fresh, you know, than going back to (his last title in) 2016 and trying to remember how I felt."

An emotional Nick Flanagan has broken down following a final-round effort at the Australian PGA Championship he says will bring much-needed relief ahead of his first child's birth next month.

Without a start on any tours next season, the Newcastle product went shot-for-shot with Adam Scott at Royal Pines on Sunday before finishing at 10-under in a tie for third three shots behind him.

In a tournament symbolic of his career, Flanagan needed a birdie on the 17th on Friday to make the cut before an equal course record 63 on Saturday launched him into Sunday's final group.

A European Tour card was up for grabs if Flanagan, now based in San Antonio, had prevailed on the Gold Coast, but a cash injection of almost $70,000 ahead of Christmas was enough to bring home the reality of the pressures facing Flanagan.

"My wife and I really need it at the moment, so it's pretty good," he said while struggling to hold back tears.

"Over Christmas I'll actually feel like I can sit down on the couch for a couple of weeks, relax and not think about where the next cheque's coming from."

A US Amateur champion in 2003, Flanagan is now tossing up becoming a club professional but admits his sporadic bursts of form mean he keeps getting dragged back in.

"When I'm just about down, I'll have a good finish ... it's just golf," he said.

He is still without any concrete playing plans next year, with his child's impending birth likely to stop him competing in the South African Open despite earning a call-up on Sunday.

His return to form was warmly received by Scott, who has shared surfing trips and fairways with him for the past 15 years.

"I'm really happy to see Nick playing golf like that today ... I hope he takes a lot out of the last couple of weeks and gets himself back to where he wants to be," the victor said.

Meanwhile, Ryan Fox (three-under in a tie for 27th) defended his spot at the top of the Australasian tour's order of merit to earn berths at next year's British Open and two WGC events.

Already on the European Tour, that exemption will fall to Victorian Zach Murray after he closed with a 69 to finish one-under and secure second place on the money list.

The prospect of never winning another golf tournament crossed Adam Scott's mind but after "outsmarting" Royal Pines to claim another Australian PGA Championship title he will carry renewed belief into next year's hunt for a second major.

The former world No.1 (13-under) snapped a near four-year trophy drought when he held the Joe Kirkwood Cup aloft on the Gold Coast on Sunday, prevailing by two shots from New Zealand's Michael Hendry after firing a back-nine birdie and eagle to break free from a bunched leaderboard.

Like Scott, playing partners Nick Flanagan and Wade Ormsby (both 10-under in a five-way tie for third) three-putted for bogey on the 18th but after arriving on the tee with a three-shot lead could afford the minor blip.

It was his 30th win worldwide but his first since he won the Honda Classic and WGC-Cadillac Championship back to back in the US in early 2016.

And it was a welcome one for the 39-year-old, who will enjoy bringing silverware home for his daughter to grant a wish that hadn't eventuated in a frustrating 2019 that featured two runner-up finishes and nine top 10s.

"It's been a long time between drinks for me and maybe only once or twice did the thought cross my mind that I'll never win again," he said.

"It's very difficult to win and I'm on the wrong side of this age thing now.

"I've played some pretty good golf and fell short ... just being alright doesn't really get you wins, you've got to be pretty much sensational.

"I grinded it out this week and feel like I outsmarted the golf course."

Scott (70, 67, 69, 69) eagled the 15th hole three times in four rounds over the weekend, Sunday's effort perhaps the most impressive given a tricky pin placement that commentators were sure he couldn't attack.

But a par save on the 12th after hitting his tee shot into deep tree roots proved just as crucial in setting up Scott's charge home.

Nursing sore ribs, Hendry battled through the pain to make up the two-shot advantage Scott held on Saturday night and led by one at the turn.

Both men missed a series of birdie putts as left-field contenders gathered just below them and Flanagan - chasing a win to earn European Tour status next year - briefly shared the lead at 12-under.

Scott was one of seven men within two shots of the lead with six holes to play, but held his nerve best as Hendry bogeyed the final two holes to give the Queenslander an enjoyable stroll up the 18th fairway.

His 2013 US Masters triumph came hot on the heels of a breakthrough 2012 Australian Masters title and Scott has used that example all week as he eyes another Augusta National tilt in April.

"A win (makes) you feel like you're just never going to lose again," Scott said.

"I hope it helps; it's nice to have reassurance and the belief of winning

"You want to be in contention and find out how you feel and respond and I got some of that today and if I happen to be in that position Sunday at the Masters I can draw on it."

Cameron Smith can still see a way to a historic third-straight Australian PGA Championship and the leader, five shots ahead, can too.

Not even Greg Norman in his pomp could managed three-straight titles, with only Dan Soutar more than 100 years ago able to string a trio of Australian PGA titles together in the tournament's first three instalments.

An even par-round that featured an eagle, two bogeys and plenty of clutch up-and-down par saves at Royal Pines on Saturday halted the momentum Smith (five-under) gathered from a Friday 65.

But he is still close enough to bother leader and 2013 champion Adam Scott (10-under), who birdied the last to finish one shot ahead of Wade Ormsby.

"I don't even think he might need to shoot 63; if I was four shots back, I'd be thinking 66," Scott said.

"The leaders still have to play a hell of a round of golf to shoot 2 or 3-under, so he's right in the mix."

Smith thinks he may need to go lower, but based on his Friday efforts knows that's not beyond his reach.

"I had 7-under with playing just my normal stuff, so there's no need to hit driver off every tee," he said after his round.

"I could be standing here out of the tournament and it looks like I'm only going to be four or five back, which with a day like that, Christmas has come a bit early."

"I'll try and get out with a bit of a hot start; those first five or six holes, really the whole front nine, you can really get going if you're hitting if good.

"Plenty of opportunities, plenty of wedges and the putts just need to go in."

Scott is chasing his first title in nearly four years but has moved to world No.18 on the back of a consistent US PGA Tour season.

Smith is one of 16 men within five shots of the former world No.1 and US Masters champion though and hopes his recent dominance on the Gold Coast will help on Sunday.

"I was behind the first year I won, so I can kind of draw from that," he said.

"But I'm going to have to do some hard work, it's going to be tough."

Sick of missing cuts and struggling for form, Nick Flanagan decided to stop trying.

And it proved a masterstroke at the Australian PGA Championship, moving from the cut-line to within one shot of the overnight lead with a course record-equalling 63 at Royal Pines on Saturday.

His bogey-free nine-under round moved him to eight under for the tournament in an early assault missed by most punters who were arriving later to watch big guns Adam Scott and Cameron Smith.

But it meant the Newcastle product, now based in San Antonio, will likely be in the mix on the final day before he heads back to the United States where his wife is expecting their first child.

That preoccupation, and a string of poor results that have left him without a full-time tour card next year, meant Flanagan treated Saturday like a free swing.

"It got to a point today where I've been playing so bad and trying so hard that I thought I'd just go out there and not try at all and all of a sudden you loosen up over the ball," he said.

"It'll be different tomorrow; I'll have to get back to being intense again but stay relaxed enough that it's no big deal if things don't work out.

"I've got a baby due in five weeks, that's what I'll be thinking about, obviously I'd love to go out there and win, but it's finding that balance again."

The 35-year-old birdied the first four holes and was flirting with a sub-60 round before a handful of birdie putts and another eagle chance slid by.

He missed a long birdie putt on the 18th, settling for a tap-in par to equal Ross McGowan's effort of last year.

"It was kind of out of the blue. The first two days I was really struggling, especially the first day," the former US Amateur champion said.

"I missed the last two cuts in a row and just went out and didn't play with any pressure on myself.

"I wasn't trying to make a ton of birdies, was just trying to get it on the greens and kind of give myself putts today, and I tended to hit it closer than I had the last two days and I made all the putts."

Adam Scott produced the moment of the tournament to grab the outright lead at Royal Pines, where he'll attempt to seal a second Australian PGA Championship on Sunday.

The former world No.1 lurked several shots off the lead all day before exploding late with brilliant birdies on the 16th and 18th to finish 10-under for the tournament and three-under for the day, one clear of Wade Ormsby.

Chasing his first title in more than four years, Scott drilled a five-metre birdie putt in front of the boisterous 16th 'party hole' par three crowd before his approach landed one metre from the flag on the last.

World No.18 and 2013 tournament winner Scott lapped up the gallery's affection but, frustrated by a run of near misses in a consistent 2019, is determined to finish the job on Sunday.

"I made a good move at it (on the 18th) and it all worked out - you'd hope for that tomorrow to happen but you just never know," he said.

"This golf course can bite you so it's important you execute your shots well when you're down in the valleys of sin around these greens."

Ormsby shot a two-under 70 to ensure he'll partner his childhood mate, the pair having both fallen in a dramatic 2014 Australian PGA Championship playoff to Greg Chalmers.

But Nick Flanagan, who shot an equal course record 63 to begin the day, Min Woo Lee, New Zealand's Michael Hendry and China's Yuan Yechun are just two shots back at eight-under and two-time defending champion Cameron Smith is among nine others within five shots of the lead.

"It's incredibly bunched and if it's windy tomorrow it's going to be hard for anyone to really separate themselves unless they play an incredible round of golf," Scott said.

"Unless I hole a lot of long putts I don't see myself running away with this thing; I'm in for a fight tomorrow."

Flanagan's bogey-free round featured nine birdies in a miraculous turnaround given he needed a birdie on his penultimate hole on Friday to even make the cut.

Late starters struggled to move clear of the Newcastle product, despite Yuan and 21-year-old Perth talent Min Woo Lee (four-under for the day) both threatening to do so.

Smith (five-under) made a habit of rescuing par with some neat up-and-downs in an even round that included two bogeys and an eagle.

Spaniard Alejandro Canizares was another early mover, carding an eight-under 64 in the first group of the day to finish at seven-under and just three shots behind the leaders.

Scott, now 39, has made no secret of his frustration at not adding a title to his cabinet since February 2016 as he looks to build momentum ahead of April's US Masters, which he won in 2013.

"It'd be nice to cap off this year with a win here at home, as I know what the confidence of that can do going into next year, and make things a little more comfortable running into the Masters," he said.

Ryan Fox will be hoping for a kinder bounce on the weekend as he chases down the Australian PGA Championship big guns at Royal Pines.

The New Zealand big-hitter was flying at six-under and just one shot off the clubhouse lead early in his Friday round.

Fox then watched a handful of birdie chances slide by before a tee shot on the 15th then deflected off a cameraman's leg, the catalyst for a double-bogey.

He finished three-under, six shots back from shock overnight leader Yuan Yechun, who carded a seven-under round of 65 that threatened to be lower before two late bogeys.

"I made a mess of it from there, so that kind of halted any momentum," Fox said.

"I was getting a little bit frustrated on the greens anyway up to that point, (it) kind of pushed me on the edge to be honest," Fox said.

Adam Scott (seven-under) and Cameron Smith (five-under) both put themselves in contention on Friday and Fox said having them in his sights would hone his focus.

Sewing up top spot on the Australasian PGA Tour's order of merit is Fox's other goal, with Wade Ormsby (seven-under) well placed to pounce if good enough over the weekend.

"You know with those guys up at the top, you've got to do something pretty special," Fox said.

"They've both won enough times around the world, they're not going to come back to you.

"It's a bit of extra motivation to go as low as possible over the weekend and try to at least put a bit of pressure on them."