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TIGER WOODS v SAM SNEAD ON PGA TOUR

* Titles

Woods: 82

Snead: 82

* First win

Woods: 1996, Las Vegas Invitational

Snead: 1936, West Virginia Closed Pro

* 82nd PGA Tour win

Woods: 2019, Zozo Championship

Snead: 1965, Greater Greensboro Open

* Years between first and 82nd PGA Tour title:

Woods: 23 years

Snead: 29 years

* Age at first win

Woods: 20

Snead: 24

* Age at 82nd win"

Woods: 43 years 9 months 29 days

Snead: 52 years 10 months 8 days

* Number of different tournaments won in 82 victories"

Woods: 26

Snead: 45

* Seasons with five or more wins"

Woods: 10 (PGA Tour record)

Snead: 8 (2nd all-time)

* Most successful year:

Woods: 2000 - 9 victories

Snead: 1950 - 11 victories

Tiger Woods moved within sight of matching Sam Snead's record of 82 PGA Tour victories, three shots clear of Hideki Matsuyama with seven holes left at the rain-affected Zozo Championship on Sunday.

Woods will resume on Monday morning at 18 under-par after 11 holes of his final round at Narashino Country Club, while local favourite Matsuyama will pick back up at 15 under with six holes left.

Nobody else is closer than six shots in what is realistically a two-horse race, which got a little bit interesting when Matsuyama notched two consecutive birdies to give himself a glimmer of hope.

But the first PGA Tour event in Japan is very much in Woods' control and asked if he would allow himself to think of matching Snead's mark, the American did not bat an eyelid.

"I'm trying to win, no doubt about that," he said.

"If I do what I'm supposed to do and get the job done, then I get a W. I guess that will add up to the 82 number, but my main focus is doing what I need to do to get the W first."

Snead recorded his 82nd victory in 1965, at the age of 52, nine years older than Woods' current age.

It was a marathon day for the entire field, more than 10 hours and 29 holes for Woods before darkness forced the suspension of play, and certainly a stern test for a 43-year-old in his first event since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

But Woods passed with flying colours and then some in front of an enthusiastic but exceedingly polite sellout crowd that had its loyalties split between the 15-times major champion and Japan's top player.

"Tiger, yusho (victory)," a fan called out as Woods walked towards the seventh green.

Woods for his part was pleased with the way he came through the long day.

"Today's been a long day in the saddle. Everything held up pretty good," he said.

"It's not that easy, and considering that I had the stress of having the lead and being under the gun for that long, it's a long period of time having come off of a knee procedure and haven't really stressed it like this."

While Saturday's second round was completed behind closed doors due to muddy conditions the course was remarkably dry on Sunday, with a few damp spots but nothing more.

The greens remained extremely soft, allowing players to fire aggressively at the pins.

Woods shot 66 in the third round on Sunday morning and had a three-shot lead over Matsuyama after 54 holes, which is where it remained as darkness fell.

Jason Day was the best-placed Australia, tied 22nd at five under after a 67 while Adam Scott (66) was a shot further back.

Tiger Woods shot a second straight six-under 64 on Saturday to enjoy a two-stroke lead following the second round of the rain-hit Zozo Championship.

The 15-time major winner birdied the last two holes in Japan to take the outright lead ahead of fellow American Gary Woodland.

Teeing off in front of empty stands, Woods picked up where he left off after a 64 in Thursday's opening round with a birdie on the first hole, one of seven on the day that gave him a 36-hole total of 12-under (128).

Woods took the lead on the par-4 17th when his approach shot landed a foot from the hole and he made the easy birdie putt. His only bogey came on the par-4 second hole.

"I felt pretty good about it today," said Woods.

"The greens are soft, they're a little bit slower today and we could give it a little bit extra rap on it. I left a lot of my approach shots below the hole and I was able to be pretty aggressive."

Organisers of the PGA Tour's first tournament in Japan took the unusual step of closing the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club course to spectators for Saturday's second round over safety concerns.

Torrential rain caused flooding and mudslides Friday in towns east of Tokyo, leaving at least nine people dead and expanding damage in areas still recovering from recent typhoons.

Woods certainly noticed the unusual atmosphere, just the second time in his pro career he has played sans spectators he said.

"I made a couple putts today and I went to put my hand up and I'm like, don't put your hand up, there's no one clapping, so just move on about your business and just go ahead and keep trying to plug my way up the board, and I was able to do that," he said.

Woodland, who shared the lead with Woods after the first round, had five birdies including three straight from the par-3 16th.

Another American in Keegan Bradley fired the round of the day. His seven-under 63 leaving him alongside Hideki Matsuyama at eight under, four shots behind Woods.

Jason Day is the leading Australian in a tie for 29th - 11 shots off the pace following his four-under 66.

Adam Scott (67) is at even while Marc Leishmann's 70 keeps him at six-over par and tied for 70th.

Victory in the tournament, which will finish on Monday after Friday's play was washed out at the Narashino Country Club, will see Woods match Sam Snead's PGA record of 82 wins.

Australian Su Oh is right in the mix to win her first LPGA event after shooting a five-under-par 67 in the third round of the Buick Ladies Championship in Busan, South Korea on Saturday.

South Koreans Somi Lee (67) and Seung Yeon Lee (68) were tied for the lead at 13-under with another local in Ha Na Jang (68) in third place, one stroke behind.

Busan-born Oh is two shots off the pace after carding 11 pars, six birdies and one blemish on the par-4 5th.

The 23-year-old has hit some form after finishing in a tie for 38th in China last week.

She's joined at 11-under (206) along with Amy Yang (67) and second-round leader Danielle Kang (71).

Australia's leading female golfer Minjee Lee is tied for 19th after a one-over 73 has her at seven under.

The 23-year-old from Perth who led following the opening round had a mixed bag of three birdies and four bogeys.

Hannah Green rounded out the Australian contingent with a two-under 70 to be in a tie for 55th - 11 shots behind the co-leaders.

World No.1 Jin Young Ko is at nine under and in contention for her seventh career win.

The LPGA Tour's Asian swing moves to Taiwan next week with a fourth stop in Japan. American Kang won the first stop in Shanghai last week.

Australia's leading female golfer Minjee Lee surrendered the outright lead but is still well in contention for the Buick Ladies Championship in South Korea.

Lee started Friday's second round with a one shot lead and she enters the penultimate circuit of the LPGA International Busan course two strokes off the pace set by American Danielle Kang.

The 23-year-old from Perth was unable to emulate her bogey-free 6-under 66 on Thursday but still signed for a respectable 2-under 70 to sit in a four-way tie in fourth at 8-under.

Lee recorded four birdies and two bogeys while compatriot Su Oh was two strokes further back in a share of 10th after adding a 70 to her opening round 68.

Kang shot her second consecutive 5-under 67, to put her in a strong position to win her second tournament in two weeks on the LPGA Tour.

Hee Won Na of South Korea birdied two of her final three holes for a 67 and was tied for second place with Seung Yeon Lee (68).

American Nelly Korda shot 70 and was at 5-under.

American Kristen Gillman aced the 13th hole and will have to make arrangements to collect her BMW car, the prize on that hole, on her way to a 71 and a two-round total of 3-under 141.

Canadian Brooke Henderson shot 68 and was also at 3-under, while England's Charley Hull had a 69 and was 2-under.

Morgan Pressel shot 71 and was 1-over, while fellow American Paula Creamer shot 72 and was 2-over.

Hannah Green rounded out the Australian contingent with back-to-back 73s to leave her battling at 2-over.

Busan is the second stop on the LPGA Tour's Asian swing with tournaments in Taiwan and Japan scheduled over the next two weeks.

Tiger Woods will have to wait a little longer before he can build on an excellent opening 18 holes at the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan after the second round was postponed.

Officials made the decision due to forecasts of heavy rain throughout Friday, with close to three inches expected during the next 24 hours at Narashino Country Club.

Woods is in a share of the lead with US Open champion Gary Woodland on six under and home favourite Hideki Matsuyama a shot off following a 65.

Having started three over par after three holes, Woods played the remaining 15 in nine under par to card an impressive 64.

There will be no play on Friday, though, with the plan to start the second round on Saturday morning between 6.30am and 8.30am local time.

Speaking after Thursday's opening round, Woods told the PGA Tour's official website: "It's going to be sloppy and tough for us.

"It's going to be a grind on the weekend. Hopefully I can keep it going."

There are three Australians competing.

Adam Scott and Jason Day are tied in 58th place on three over after shooting 73 in the first round, while Marc Leishman finished with a six over 76.

The Zozo tournament is part of three tournaments that make up the PGA Tour's Asia Swing, including the CJ Cup in South Korea won last week by Justin Thomas and the HSBC Champions in Shanghai next week.

Australia's Minjee Lee defied changing weather conditions at the Buick Ladies Championship to hold a one-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA tournamen in South Korea.

"Sometime we had sunshine, wind, rain ... we had a little bit of everything today," said Lee after she carded a bogey-free 6-under 66 on the International Busan course on Thursday.

"But whenever I had to make up-and-downs, I was able to get up-and-down."

Danielle Kang, who won last week's tournament at Shanghai, was in a group tied for second with Jin Young Ko, Jeongeun Lee and Seung Yeon Lee.

Shanshan Feng was in a group of seven tied for sixth, including Australia's Su-Hyun Oh, with a 68.

Feng found some of the tough conditions to her liking.

"Somehow when I play in the wind, I'm more focused and more patient," she said.

Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda each shot 69, her sister Jessica Korda 71 and Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer had opening 74s.

This is the second stop on the LPGA Tour's Asian swing. There are also tournaments in Taiwan and Japan over the next two weeks.

Struggling on the US PGA Tour proper, Jason Day says an invitation from his idol Tiger Woods to play the Japan Skins Challenge was his inspiration to win the exhibition match outside Tokyo.

Now he wants to repay 15-time major winner Woods by lifting himself out of a stagnant patch of form.

Former world No.1 Day has plummeted to 28th on the rankings after a lean year, but outlasted Woods, Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama in a one-day skins game at Tokyo's Accordia golf course.

With the value of skins increasing as the round progressed, Day won $US210,000 (eight skins), while Woods (five skins) and McIlroy (four skins) each won $US60,000.

Home favourite Matsuyama struggled with $US20,000 (one skin).

Woods, who won the Masters in April, is a playing ambassador for Golf TV - the host broadcaster of the skins match.

Day said he was grateful Woods included him in the exhibition despite his freefall down the rankings.

Day managed six top-10s last season but failed to make the season-ending Tour Championship and is winless since May 2018.

"I'm very thankful and very blessed to be able to know Tiger, so for him to give me the invite was pretty special," Day told AAP.

"To play against Hideki and Rory was nice, too because Rory is coming off the FedEx Cup win.

"I was the (odd one out) because I haven't played great this year, so it was nice to be able to come in and win."

With Woods coming off a knee surgery in August and McIlroy an off-season break, the overall standard of golf was poor on Monday.

But Day says he felt his world-class short game returning after admitting it deserted him this year while he focussed on ball-striking.

"My short game is starting to come around; it was nice to be able to hole some putts coming down the stretch," Day said when asked what he could take out of a victory that has little relevance to his career.

The star quartet will now play the 78-man Zozo Championship at the same Accordia golf course starting Thursday.

It will be the first official US PGA Tour event held in Japan.

Tiger Woods says a successful recovery from recent knee surgery has raised his hopes of playing in December's Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

Woods, the United States team captain, underwent arthroscopic surgery in late August, his fifth procedure on his left knee.

It cast doubts over whether Woods, who failed to make the eight automatic qualifiers for the US side, would be able to select himself as one of four captain's picks for the biennial teams event being held in Australia for the third time.

But the 15-time major winner, who captured his fifth Masters title at Augusta in April, is buoyant about his chances, having resumed practice in late September.

"I'm right on schedule," Woods said in a press conference before contesting an exhibition skins match in Tokyo on Monday.

"I think (the recovery) made me more hopeful that I can play this week, play the Hero (Challenge in the Bahamas) and play in Australia."

Woods experienced a significant dip in form after his victory at Augusta - which secured a first major title since 2008.

He missed majors cuts at the PGA Championship in May and the British Open in July, while he played just three other tournaments for the rest of the US season.

"The way I was feeling toward the middle part of the year, (picking myself for the Presidents Cup) was going to be a tall order; I was struggling walking and it affected my back," Woods said.

"I'm excited about having this end of the year run.

"I'm feeling much more fit. I don't have the aches I had the last couple of years.''

Woods was in Tokyo to play the Japan Skins Challenge against Australia's Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club course.

It's Woods' first competitive appearance since his August surgery, while he will also play the US PGA Tour's inaugural Zozo Championship starting Thursday at the same course.

Woods is only otherwise slated to play his foundation's charity event in the Bahamas in December the week prior to the Presidents Cup.

Danielle Kang shot a bogey-free 2 under 70 to win the Buick LPGA Shanghai for the second consecutive year on Sunday with a tournament record 16-under par 272.

The 27-year-old American began the day one stroke behind compatriot Jessica Korda, who shot a final-round 72 to finish second at 15 under.

Australia's Su Oh finished tied 38th on two over after a 78, with compatriot Minjee Lee ending up two shots further back.

Kang birdied the 15th to pull two strokes ahead, but Korda responded with a birdie of her own on 17. Kang then holed a 3-foot par putt on the 18th to win her third career title.

"There were a lot of birdie opportunities. I made some really great up and downs. I've never been more nervous than the last putt for some reason, but I made it," Kang said.

Korda had three birdies and three bogeys for even par on the day.

China's Liu Yu shot a seven-under 65 to surge into a three-way tie for third with Japan's Nasa Hataoka and LPGA rookie Kristen Gillman at 13 under and the best finish of Gillman's career.

American Megan Khang tied the 18-hole scoring record with an 8-under 64, including a hole-in-one on the par-3 11th to finish tied for seventh.

Brooke Henderson, of Canada, carded a 1-over 73 to drop from third place into a tie for ninth with top-ranked Jin Young Ko and Nelly Korda at nine under.

The Buick LPGA Shanghai was the first of four straight events in Asia. The tour moves to Busan, South Korea next week for the BMW Ladies Championship.