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The European Tour has postponed next week's Hong Kong Open due to the ongoing civil unrest in the city.

The protests began in early June over a now-shelved extradition bill to mainland China that many saw as Beijing's creeping interference on legal and other rights guaranteed to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned under Chinese rule in 1997.

The movement has since expanded to include other demands, including direct elections for the city's leaders and an independent investigation into alleged police brutality.

Several sporting events have been cancelled due to the unrest, including the PGA Tour-China's Clearwater Bay Open and the Hong Kong Open tennis and squash tournaments, and the first event on the European Tour's 2019-20 calendar has now become another casualty.

The tournament could be rescheduled for early next year and European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said in a statement: "The decision has been taken due to the ongoing level of social unrest in Hong Kong.

"As the safety of our players, staff, stakeholders and everyone involved in each and every one of our tournaments around the world is our top priority, we feel this is the correct, but unfortunate, course of action.

"We look forward to hopefully returning early next year."

Minjee Lee will be in the power group when the LPGA Tour's top 60 players chase the biggest first-prize cheque in women's golf history at the Tour Championship.

The 23-year-old from Perth is one of four Australians who qualified to tee up in the season-ender at the Tiburon course in Naples, Florida from Thursday, joining Hannah Green, Su Oh and Katherine Kirk.

Lee finished third in the season-long Race to the CME Globe and will play in the final group with the Race winner, world No.1 Jin Young Ko of South Korea and runner-up Brooke Henderson of Canada.

The world No.5 is winding up another successful season in her fifth year on the LPGA Tour, having claimed her fifth career title at the LA Open.

But the $US1.5 million on offer to the winner on Sunday would be considerable icing on the cake.

Unlike the men's tour, the season points are wiped going into the Tour Championship, putting all 60 players on equal footing.

But Lee's toughest competition is quite likely to be right alongside her.

The 24-year-old Ko has won four times this year, including majors victories at the ANA Inspiration and the Evian Championship, claimed the Player of the Year award and is set to win the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average.

Henderson, 22, won twice in 2019 and is fourth on the money list.

Australia's 2019 breakout player Green, 22, is grouped with Spain's Azahara Munoz and Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea after a season that yielded two titles, including a major at the Women's PGA Championship.

Matching or breaking the record for career major titles might just be a bridge too far for Tiger Woods, said his former mentor Mark O'Meara.

With 15 major championships, Woods is three short of the mark held by Jack Nicklaus, and at age 43 is battling 'Father Time' in his quest to catch the Golden Bear.

A decade ago it seemed a formality that Woods would overtake Nicklaus, but injuries and scandal were followed by a decade-long drought that only ended when he won the Masters in April.

"Do I think he's going to catch Jack's record?

"Personally, I don't, but I'd love to see it happen, love to see him win another major, get to 16. But three more majors, with the competition as stiff and as good as these players are, it's going to be very difficult," O'Meara said.

O'Meara, 19 years Woods' senior, took him under his wing when Woods turned pro in 1996 at the age of 20, and still calls him a "kid".

It was a fruitful relationship for both. Woods quickly learned the ropes, while O'Meara took his own game to another level, winning two majors at age 41, the 1998 Masters and British Open. He remains the oldest to have won two majors in the same year.

O'Meara, whose career overlapped with that of both Nicklaus and Woods, said the two had several traits in common, not least that they hit the ball further in their prime than pretty much all of their rivals.

These days, however, Woods is giving up distance to the likes of the world's three top-ranked players - Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson.

"When Jack dominated the game, the qualities (he) had that made him the greatest player, having the most majors, he had the power, the mind and the heart and those are three elements that Tiger Woods has," said O'Meara, speaking at the 50-and-over SAS Championship last month.

"The length that Jack had was a big advantage. Now there are 40-50 guys who hit it past Tiger, so he doesn't have that advantage anymore. He's still powerful but everyone's powerful out there."

Only six players have won a major at a more advanced age than Woods - who turns 44 next month - will have reached during next year's major campaign.

O'Meara, while doubtful Woods can win three or four more majors, is not suggesting he cannot sneak another one or two if the stars align, pointing out that the way he won at Augusta National this year showed how dangerous he is when playing close to the lead.

Woods did not do anything particularly special in the final round, shooting a two-under-par 70, but nor did he make any big mistakes.

He hung around and waited for his foes to fall on their own swords, which Koepka, Francesco Molinari and Tony Finau all did by finding water with their tee shots at the par-three 12th and running up double-bogeys.

"If he gets his nose out front he's got the experience to usually get the deal done," said O'Meara, who has played his final major, but plans to return to Augusta every year as long as he can for the Champions Dinner, a night when he will always be able to catch up with Woods.

"I love the kid," O'Meara said. "He changed my life."

American Brendon Todd held his nerve to secure a one-shot victory in the rain-delayed Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico on Monday as he lifted his second trophy in as many US PGA Tour appearances.

Todd and Vaughn Taylor were locked at 20-under-par overall with four holes remaining when play was suspended because of darkness on Sunday.

Thursday's washout meant the tournament at the Mayakoba Resort in Playa del Carmen was taken into a fifth day.

Todd, who claimed his first win since 2014 at the Bermuda Championship earlier this month, began with a long birdie putt on the 15th hole but a three-foot par miss meant he gave back the advantage on the next hole.

Taylor also dropped a shot on the 16th to slip to second spot alongside Adam Long and home favourite Carlos Ortiz, before missing a birdie opportunity at the last to force a playoff.

Todd, 34, becomes the first player to win consecutive Tour events since Bryson DeChambeau, who won the first two events of the 2018 FedEx Cup Playoffs at The Northern Trust and Dell Technologies Championship.

"I think I've been playing well for a while," Todd said.

"The confidence that gave me, winning in Bermuda and putting up four rounds in the 60s, it's natural to take that confidence to the next event. I was able to do that, and I'm really happy about it."

Internationals captain's assistant Geoff Ogilvy admits his team need to break their 21-year Presidents Cup drought to keep the biennial golf tournament relevant.

The International team have only defeated the United States once in the 25-year history of the tournament, with that victory coming in 1998 at Royal Melbourne which will host the event from December 9-15.

The Americans crushed their opponents 19-11 in the last meeting in 2017 in New Jersey, underlining their dominance of the event.

"It certainly would help," said Ogilvy, who played on three consecutive International teams (2007, 2009, 2011) and is captain's assistant for the second time.

"The Ryder Cup wasn't the Ryder Cup until Europe started winning it - it was a big event but it went nuclear once Seve (Ballesteros) came along and they started winning a few and now they win more than they lose and it's created this friendly animosity which adds tension and drama to the event.

"A couple of wins from us or a couple of close ones would help that."

The signs don't look promising for an International upset, with America fielding a star-studded 12-man team, which includes seven of the world's top 10 players including playing captain Tiger Woods.

But Ogilvy, who grew up next to Royal Melbourne and said he used to jump the fence to get into the course, said the local knowledge of the Australians in the team as well as their plans to play in the Australian Open the week prior to the Presidents Cup could give them a genuine boost.

He felt that would fast-track the cultural differences in the team, with players coming from Japan, South Korea, Canada, South Africa, Venezuela and Argentina.

Adam Scott, Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith are the local hopes amongst the Internationals, who are skippered by South African great Ernie Els, who holds the unofficial course record at the famed sand-belt course.

"The American team look like a bit of a juggernaut but we've got a good young team," the former US Open champion and world No.3 said.

"This is a tough place for them to play and Ernie is historically great around Royal Melbourne so he's got a lot of wisdom and the players want to win for him.

"The Americans are in a sweet spot of form but if you watch the Ryder Cup, they are very beatable if you play well.

"I see no reason why we can't pump them."

Former Australian great Ian Baker-Finch, who won the British Open in 1991, and has co-captained the Internationals, felt the event's future was secure but also thought his team needed a win.

"I think the future is still solid but yes, it would mean something, especially for the guys who have played many years in a row.

"It's a long time to be going for just one win."

Jason Day has had a day to forget as he prepares for next month's Down Under trip to contest the Australian Open and Presidents Cup.

The former world No.1 racked up a a six-over-par 77 and missed the cut at the US PGA Tour's Mayakoba Classic in Mexico.

Day needed one of captain Ernie Els' discretionary captains picks last week to get into the 12-man International team which will battle the United States in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

He would be glad Els didn't get to ponder his triple bogey, double bogey and five bogeys on Saturday as he missed the halfway cut by five shots.

The 77 was Day's worst score on the PGA Tour outside the four major championships since May 2017.

Former amateur standout Harris English surged to the halfway lead when he chipped in for birdie at the final hole for a seven-under-par 64.

At 13-under 129, he was one stroke ahead of fellow American Vaughn Taylor (66) and two ahead of another resurgent American, Brendon Todd (68).

Aaron Baddeley was the best of the Australians, tied 23rd after a 67 while Matt Jones (69, -2) also made the cut.

American golfer Russell Henley has earned praise after copping a bizarre eight-stroke penalty which took him from the leaderboard to missing the cut at the US PGA Tour event in Mexico.

Countryman Harris English shot a seven-under 64 to take a one-shot halfway lead over Vaughan Taylor on Saturday, but the big talking point was the whopping penalty imposed on Henley.

The three-time tour winner was signing his used balls for fans when he realised one was a slightly different type of Titleist ProV1x than the rest and reported it to rules officials.

Under the "One Ball Rule" used on most professional tours, golfers must use the same brand and make of ball throughout a round.

Eight rules officials on site conferred for about an hour-and-a-half and even consulted the USGA before imposing a two-shot penalty for each of the four holes Henley thought he'd used the ball on.

After an opening 66, Henley's two-under 69 on Saturday turned into a 77 and he missed the cut by two shots.

"It was a small dash, a different way (the ball) was marked that would have been easy to overlook," Tour rules official Brad Fabel said.

"He came to us and said he didn't know how it had gotten in his bag."

There was no question, Henley said, that he'd used the ball.

He gives balls he's put into play to his caddie to mark accordingly, and the Pro V1x in question was marked as such.

Henley believed he'd used it on holes 9, 10, 11 and 12, turning his four pars in double bogeys.

The mix-up ends Henley's made cuts streak at eight, including the past four starts of last season and the first four of this season. He took the news well.

"He was great," Fabel said. "I've got a ton of respect for that gentleman."

He's known as the bad boy of American golf and it's a reputation Patrick Reed revels in as he vows to lead the USA to more Presidents Cup glory over the International underdogs next month.

Reed famously clashed with teammate Jordan Spieth and blamed US captain Jim Furyk for last year's Ryder Cup loss to Europe in France, but he's promising to continue being his own man at Royal Melbourne.

The 2018 Masters champion, who earned a captain's pick and nod of approval last Friday from Tiger Woods, said his image was borne from a burning desire to succeed and that he thrived carrying a siege mentality onto the course.

"I have a lot of passion for the game. I love to go out and feel like my back's up against the wall and go out and try to prove something every time I play," Reed said on Wednesday.

"It's just something that's always been a part of me. I like to show my emotions on the golf course and show my passion for the game.

"Go out and do my job and that's to play the best golf I can and try to win as many times and try to win as many points as possible."

Reed will undoubtedly be a target of International team hecklers but he has no plans on toning down his antics in a bid to win over fans when the powerhouse US outfit try to defend the Presidents Cup for the eighth successive time from December 12-15.

"Tiger's always told me - and he's told all of our guys - to be who you are and go out and play golf and do our job," he said.

Dubbed Captain America by fans for his undefeated singles record in Ryder Cup, Reed not surprisingly declared he wanted to square off with the Internationals' top dog in the singles in Melbourne.

"Whoever is playing the best on their team," he said when asked if there was anyone particular he'd like to play.

"For some reason I've always loved to go up against the best so whoever's playing the best that week I'd love to take them on on Sunday."

But he declined to nominate any preferred playing partners for the foursomes or fourballs, saying "really, I can see myself playing any one of the guys".

"It would be unfair for me to say I want to play with Tiger, or this guy or that guy.

"I would go to battle with anyone."

Minjee Lee will head to the LPGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship with plenty of confidence after claiming third place in the Japan Open.

The Australian shot a closing four-under 68 to reach 11 under but she was still six shots from local winner Ai Suzuki (67) and three behind South Korean Hyo Joo Kim (66).

It was world No.7 Lee's ninth top-10 finish of the season, following 12 of them in 2018.

The 23-year-old now joins the rest of the tour's top 60 at the $US 5 million Tour Championship in Florida from November 21-24.

While Lee managed seven birdies against three bogeys in the final round, overnight leader Suzuki went bogey-free.

Lee's countrywomen Hannah Green, a two-time winner in 2019, was tied 10th at eight under after a closing 72.

English golfer Eddie Pepperell brought the movie Tin Cup to mind as he peppered every ball he had into a pond at the Turkish Airlines Open, then walked off the course.

The world number 47 was later disqualified for "failure to complete a hole", officials said after the 28-year-old emptied his bag in the long water carry at the par-five fourth during Saturday's third round of the European Tour event.

"Eddie hit his shots ... then came over to tell us he had run out of balls," playing partner Martin Kaymer told reporters. "Then he walked off."

Former US Open champion Kaymer wasn't sure if Pepperell had hit four or five balls, but thought it was five.

"He was quick, so it was hard to keep track. He did not ask if he could borrow one. It did not look like he wanted to play."

Only in 1996 movie Tin Cup had he ever seen anything like it, Kaymer said.

Contacted by text in his hotel, Pepperell would only say there was "nothing to add really" and admitted he too was unsure how many balls he had launched into the water, Golfworld reported.