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Tournament host Tiger Woods roared into contention for a sixth Hero World Challenge title in the Bahamas.

The Masters champion carded a five-under-par 67 in the third round of the limited-field event which raises funds for his foundation.

At 11-under for the week, Woods trails leader Gary Woodland by two shots.

Woodland had five birdies and a single bogey in his 68 to sit 13-under, and his round was matched by Sweden's Henrik Stenson, who is a shot behind the US Open champion in second.

"It was a nice finish, same as yesterday," Woodland said.

"So excited about where I'm at and I look forward to tomorrow."

Woods had two birdies and a bogey on his front nine, before birdieing the 11th from 20 feet.

Back-to-back gains at the 14th and 15th were then followed by a closing birdie as Woods left himself well placed for a final-round title tilt.

"I just have to focus on going out there and making birdies," Woods said.

"And then I have 23 hours on a plan to recover."

The event is finishing on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) to give the US Presidents Cup team - which will be captained by Woods and features 11 players involved this week - time to travel to Melbourne to take on the International team next week.

There was a controversial moment on the 11th hole when Patrick Reed appeared to flatten out sand behind his ball in a bunker with two practice swings.

The American Ryder Cup star was handed a two-shot penalty for the infringement, leaving him three shots off the pace.

The Hong Kong Open golf tournament, which was postponed last month amid violence from escalating anti-government protests, will go ahead in January but without sanctioning by the European Tour.

The former British colony has been racked by six months of pro-democracy protests, sparked by a now-withdrawn China extradition bill, but which widened into calls for greater democratic freedoms.

The tournament, which had been scheduled to be played from November 28 to December 1, would now be held at Hong Kong Golf Club from January 9 to January 12.

"While we are unable to sanction this edition of the Hong Kong Open due to other tournament commitments, we are delighted to retain an integral role in staging one of Hong Kong's best-loved sporting events," European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley said in a statement.

"We very much look forward to returning next November when the 62nd Hong Kong Open will kick off our 2021 European Tour season."

The 120-player field event will be sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Hong Kong Golf Association.

Several other sporting events, including the Hong Kong Tennis Open and the Hong Kong Open squash championships, were cancelled due to the civil unrest in the region.

LEADERS: Matt Jones (65) at 10 under; Paul Casey (65) and Dimi Papadatos (66) sharing second at nine under; Louis Oosthuizen (66) among five players sharing fourth at eight under

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Paul Casey lived up to his billing as the best-ranked player in the field, peeling off four-straight birdies to close his round an equal-day's best 65 to sit one off the lead

STAT OF THE DAY: Pre-tournament favourite and former winner Adam Scott missed his first Australian Open cut as a professional

SHOT OF THE DAY: Although he missed the weekend, New Zealand pro Kieran Muir hit his approach on the 18th hole into a corporate hospitality tent and had to take a drop

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I've finished second and first here, so I should feel pretty comfortable," Jones, on winning the Open in 2015 and finishing second in 2017 - both at The Australian GC

TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: The cream rose to the top with former winner Jones leading England drawcard Casey. Seven amateurs made the cut to set up a thrilling weekend.

The stage is set for a thrilling weekend shootout after the cream rose to the top on day two of the Australian Open in Sydney.

Former champion, club member and The Australian Golf Club specialist Matt Jones will take a one-stroke buffer into moving day having surged into the outright lead with a sizzling second six-under-par 65.

Triumphant on his home track in 2015 and runner-up in 2017, Jones leads English world No.14 Paul Casey (65) - the highest-ranked player in the field - and Dimi Papadatos (66) by a shot.

Former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen headlines five players one shot further back at eight under.

Jones as been a member of the Rosebery golf club since his mid-teens and knows every inch of the Jack Nicklaus design.

The fast-playing Sutherland shire native, who is now based in Arizona, says he will draw on that knowledge and his red-hot results in the past two Opens at The Australian.

"I've finished second and first here, so I should feel pretty comfortable," Jones said.

"Knowing where to miss on a golf course is very important to me. I know the types of (chip) shots you need in certain areas if you do miss a green.

"I've got a lot of experience around here and I'm going to have to use that the next two days."

Casey, who won on the US PGA Tour and European circuit this year, is relishing being in contention yet again.

"(I started the Open) sort of bumbling around, just a couple under par, to challenging for lead, so it's good stuff," he said.

American Cameron Tringale also collected seven birdies in a 65 to be among those at eight under with exciting young Queenslander Shae Wools-Cobb.

Among the big-name Australians, Marc Leishman (67) is well in contention at six under while Cameron Smith (72) made the cut by one shot despite carding a triple-bogey six at the par-3 11th.

Adam Scott (67) was the biggest shock, the pre-tournament favourite's even-par total handing him his first ever missed cut at the Australian Open as a professional.

Other big names to miss the cut included Spanish former Masters champion Sergio Garcia (two over), four-time major winner and Presidents Cup skipper of the International team, Ernie Els (seven over).

Seven amateurs made the cut, led by Japan's Takumi Kanaya (eight under), Taiwan's Chun-An Yu and Australia's Lukas Michel (both seven under).

Adam Scott has missed his first cut at the Australian Open as a professional despite putting up a valiant fight in the second round.

The pre-tournament favourite left himself with an uphill battle to make the weekend having opened the event with four-over 75 at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney.

Scott fought back on Friday with a 67 but his even-par total saw him miss the 36-hole cut by one shot.

Since turning professional in 2000, Scott had never missed the cut at his national championship and his record includes a win in 2009.

"I knew (even par) was going to be around the number," Scott said after his round.

"I was just pleased to make some good swings out there today; it was much better than yesterday.

Scott, who teed off on the 10th, picked up three birdies before the turn.

He added another on the seventh (his 16th) to claw it back to even par with two holes remaining.

A horrible break at the ninth had the 13-time US PGA Tour winner against the ropes.

With 324 metres to reach the water hazard on the par-4, the 2013 Masters winner thought his drive was safe when he blasted it down the left side of the fairway.

But it rolled into the hazard and forced Scott to take a penalty drop, then scramble for par from 100 metres out.

"I didn't try and hammer it, it must have gotten a firm bounce down there," Scott said.

Scott hit a sublime wedge shot and made an eight-foot, downhill par putt to give himself an outside chance at making the cut.

But with the top 60 professionals and ties making the cut, the number was set at one under.

Australian fans are going to see plenty of Tiger Woods with the American team captain hinting he may play more than the minimum two matches at next week's Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

Sources inside the 15-time major winner's camp have suggested he will play up to four matches at Royal Melbourne.

The four are believed to be the Thursday (four ball) and Friday (foursomes) sessions, as well as Saturday morning (four ball) before all players contest the Sunday singles.

The US PGA Tour, who runs the biennial teams event, tweaked the rules for this edition and reduced the minimum number of matches outside the singles from two to one.

Some feared Woods, who missed large portions of the US PGA Tour season this year with injury, would only play the mandatory two.

But given Woods has shown flashes of his brilliant best this year, winning a fifth Masters green jacket in April and the US Tour's recent Zozo Championship in Japan, it's believed Woods has a green light to play as much as he wants.

The soon-to-be 44-year-old is currently in contention at his charity's event in the Bahamas, the Hero World Challenge.

However, International team captain Ernie Els is prepared for any number of matches Woods chooses to play.

"I can't worry about what they're doing; I'm worried about what we're doing," Els said at the Australian Open.

"If he plays a lot, he plays a lot. It doesn't really change anything. It's one point per match and that's what we're focused on."

Woods and the American team will leave the Bahamas on Saturday night and arrive in Australia on Monday morning.

The tournament began a day earlier than usual to accommodate golfers travelling to Australia and the field included all but one member of the 12-player US team that will compete at Royal Melbourne.

He was asked by reporters how many matches he would play, Woods joked: "Yeah, I'm playing a minimum of two. Does that help you?

"We have game plans for next week. We've got guys that haven't played. DJ (Dustin Johnson) is coming off an injury, a surgery. We're going to take it day by day, see how guys feel. We're going to communicate with one another and work through it."

Woods equalled the US PGA Tour's winning record with his 82nd title in Japan and said the arthroscopic surgery he underwent on his knee in August had improved his mobility.

"I can drive the ball a little bit better because I can rotate," Woods said.

"I can putt the ball better because I can get down and read putts again."

Woods began the second round of the Hero six shots behind overnight leaders Patrick Reed and Gary Woodland.

His six-under-par 66 matched Reed and Jon Rahm for the day's low score and left him in a share of fifth place with Justin Thomas (69) and Rickie Fowler (69).

He's six shots behind Reed, who holds the outright lead after the second round at the Albany Golf Club.

Tiger Woods equalled the lowest score of the second round at the Hero World Challenge on Thursday to issue a timely warning before the Presidents Cup in Melbourne next week.

Woods, a playing captain at the Presidents Cup, began the day six shots behind overnight leaders Patrick Reed and Gary Woodland.

After reaching the turn at one under for his round, the former world No.1 turned it up with an eagle and three birdies over a sizzling six-hole stretch on the back nine.

The bogey-free, six-under-par 66 matched Reed and Jon Rahm for the day's low score and left him in a share of fifth place with Justin Thomas (69) and Rickie Fowler (69).

"I'm right there," said Woods. "At least I've got a chance going into the weekend."

He is six shots behind Reed, who holds the outright lead after the second round at the Albany Golf Club.

Former Masters champion Reed fired his second consecutive six-under-par 66 to sit three shots clear of Woodland (69) in the 18-man exhibition event.

Defending champion Rahm (66) and Swede Henrik Stenson (67) were a further shot back in a share of third place.

The tournament began a day earlier than usual to accommodate golfers travelling to next week's Presidents Cup in Australia and the field included all but one member of the 12-player US team that will compete at Royal Melbourne.

US Open champion Woodland was at even par on the day after 15 holes but capped his round in style with three consecutive birdies.

Reed's only blemish came at the par-four 16th where he made bogey but the American recovered with a par-birdie finish to wrap up his round in style.

Competitors at the Australian Open face another day of playing through pollution after the state government issued a poor air quality alert for Sydney.

The second round of the Open is underway at The Australian GC with a thick blanket of smog still hovering over Sydney.

The overnight pacesetters, amateurs Chun-An Yu (through four holes) and Takumi Kanaya (12.10pm AEDT), are still tied atop the leaderboard on Friday at six under par.

But several players have already made early moves, including young Australian David Micheluzzi, who has picked up four strokes to race to five under.

He is tied with American Cameron Tringale and Australian veteran Rod Pampling.

England's Paul Casey, among the tournament favourites, has picked up a shot through five holes to move to four under.

Also at four under and due to tee off later in the morning is former Open winner Matt Jones, as well as Dimi Papadatos and Daniel Nisbet.

Speaking after Thursday's first round, Japanese sensation Kanaya refused to get ahead of himself despite upstaging the star-studded Open field.

"I have a little confidence but I have three more days so I will do my best tomorrow," Kanaya said.

As Open favourite Adam Scott floundered with a 75 on day one, Kanaya, the world's top-ranked amateur, carded a stylish 65.

A winner last month in his homeland, 21-year-old Kanaya's sizzling round comes four years after he signed for an 85 at The Australian while on his Open debut at the same venue.

Jones, a long-time member at The Australian GC, complained of burning eyes from the smoke blowing in from NSW's surrounding bushfires following his impressive start.

"It's awful," Jones said on Thursday.

"The smoke's not good at all. It's tough to see your golf ball when you're out there playing, where it finishes. Your eyes do burn up.

"I've got that cough like you've got something in your lungs, phlegm in your lungs or whatever, but yeah it's not fun.

"I hope my kids are inside in the hotel room."

Jones won the Open at The Australian in 2015 and also finished second in 2017.

Pre-tournament favourite Scott, whose 75 was his first start to an Open since 2010, hopes to avoid an embarrassing missed cut and has helped his quest by picking up three early birdies.

Scott is at one-over-par midway through his front nine on day two.

Scott's fellow big-name Australians Cameron Smith (68) and Marc Leishman (69) are both off at 11.50am.

LEADERS: Amateurs Takumi Kanaya and Chun-An Yu (65) at six under; Australians Matt Jones, Dimi Papadatos and Daniel Nisbet share third (67) at four under.

PLAYER OF THE DAY: After shooting 85 in the second round of the 2015 Open at The Australian, Kanaya mixed seven birdies - including four straight on the back nine - with a bogey to shoot 65 and take the first-round lead.

STAT OF THE DAY: With a four-over-par 75, marquee player and former Open champion Adam Scott made his worst start to the event since 2010.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The smoke's not good at all. It's tough to see your golf ball. Your eyes burn. I've got that cough like you've got something in your lungs. I hope my kids are inside in the hotel room." - Matt Jones on the smoke enveloping Sydney.

TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: Asian amateurs Kanaya and Yu have upstaged some of the biggest names in golf to take the first-round lead at the 104th Australian Open. The pair are being chased by former Open winner Matt Jones and his fellow member at The Australian GC, Papadatos as well as Nisbet.

As a thick blanket of smoke hangs over Sydney, drawcard Scott floundered with a 75 but big names Cameron Smith, Paul Casey, Louis Oosthuizen (68), Marc Leishman (69) and Sergio Garcia (70) are giving the leaderboard some star power.

Sydney's smoky haze continues to plague the Australian Open golf championship, with former winner Matt Jones claiming he'd never endured anything like it and one player even resorting to wearing a surgical mask.

Jones snared the early clubhouse lead with a first-round four-under-par 67 before saying Thursday's visibility and comfort levels were among the worst he'd endured.

"It's awful," Jones said.

"I'm not sure what the forecast is but the smoke's not good at all.

"It's tough to see your golf ball when you're out there playing, where it finishes.

"Your eyes do burn up. I've got that cough like you've got something in your lungs, phlegm in your lungs or whatever, but yeah it's not fun.

"I hope my kids are inside in the hotel room."

With sporting events cancelled across Sydney this week as bushfires continue to rage all over NSW, children, the elderly and those with heart and lung conditions are most at risk.

Health authorities have advised people to reduce outdoor activities and seek medical advice if they experience difficulties.

New Zealander Ryan Chisnall, an asthmatic, covered up with a mask as conditions deteriorated on Thursday afternoon.

Golf Australia boss said Stephen Pitt promised pre-Open to have ample medical staff on site at The Australian and they certainly had their hands full.

St John Ambulance officials reported one asthma attack and "plenty" of people complaining of sore throats, stinging eyes, wheeziness and even ash in their eyes.

"It got pretty thick for a while and still is. It's not great," former world No.1 Adam Scott said after struggling to a four-over 75 start.

"On Tuesday the first day I got here my eyes were stinging. I was joking that I need a cleanse but I should shove some salt water up my nose or something and try rinse myself out.

"Not the conditions we want to be playing in; kind of hope for rain. I don't know what we can do."

Tournament director Trevor Herden was hoping forecast sea breezes would help clear skies by the weekend.

"Even when I played in China, I didn't think it was like this at all," Jones said.

"Definitely not in Malaysia. It's just unbelievably humid (there).

"I've never experienced something like this."

Fellow US PGA Tour star Cameron Smith, a member of Ernie Els' International team, hoped the challenging conditions wouldn't take too much of a toll ahead of next week's Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

"It's a bit odd, isn't it, but what can you do?" Smith said after posting a three-under 68 to trail the leaders by three shots.

"I haven't really felt any different, it's just kind of the look.

"But we'll see after the four days, it might take a bit out of everyone, I'm sure."