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Jason Day's Players Championship campaign is in serious doubt after withdrawing mid-round on day one at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida.

The former world No.1 lasted just six holes on Thursday before withdrawing, citing a back injury, on the par-5 16th hole (his seventh) having pulled his second shot into a water hazard.

Day was two-over-par at the time and visibly struggling with his swing.

Day, who won the 2016 Palmer event, arrived at the Orlando course under an injury cloud having aggravated his back during intense practise last week at TPC Sawgrass - site of the Players Championship.

On Monday, the 2015 US PGA Championship winner had an MRI which revealed an an annular tear in the L4/L5 disc.

"I (aggravated) it last Sunday, and then got an MRI Monday which came back that I had an annular tear in my disc and then I've got set problems as well," Day said.

"My back was sore when I was practising from Tuesday to Saturday and I was going to practise on Sunday, but I woke up and couldn't really walk or sit in the car.

"I was on a dose pack to try get the inflammation out of it and that didn't get any better. I saw a physio here (in Orlando) and tried to do as much work as I possibly could to get ready for this week.

"I couldn't play at 100 per cent today, so I just wanted to see if I could get out here and may have loosened up.

"But unfortunately it didn't, so I had to pull out."

Day was on the confident side that he will be able to play the elite Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass next week, which is regarded as golf's unofficial fifth major.

The 31-year-old equalled the course record 63 at Sawgrass during his four-shot win there in 2016.

"I think it's just rest, to be honest, and hopefully I'll be ready next week," Day said.

Iceland's Valdis Johnsdottir has carded a career-best eight-under-par 63 to claim a three-shot lead after round one of the Women's NSW Open golf championship.

The Nordic tyro stormed around the Queanbeyan layout on Thursday with a performance that included seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 third hole.

The 29-year-old described the effort as '"quite easy", adding the key was just to try to swing it a little easier.

"My back has been hurting a lot for the last five weeks, so I decided this week I am going to try and swing it quite slow," Johnsdottir said.

"I kept the ball in play, I hit a lot of good iron shots into the greens and made a lot of good putts."

Three shots behind Johnsdottir is France's Astrid Vayson De Pradenne, who carded a five-under 66.

NSW's Rebecca Artis is the best-placed Australian in a tie for third after signing off on a 67 in relatively calm afternoon conditions.

Artis was pleased with her effort after the round, saying her recent form had been below average.

"I played solid out there today," she said.

"It's been a rough couple of weeks for me so, I was just trying to do the basics right; hit the fairway, hit the middle of the greens and take the opportunities as they come.

"The putter has been cold the last few weeks, so it was nice to see a few drop today."

Ernie Els has encouraged "Australian icon" Jason Day to have another huge year on the US PGA Tour and ensure a rock star reception when he arrives at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne in December.

Els will captain the International team against rival skipper Tiger Woods when the biennial teams event is staged at Royal Melbourne Golf Club from December 12-15.

Day will make his fifth appearance for the International side and is sure to be a crowd favourite when the former major winner and world No.1 tees up at the venue where he won the 2013 World Cup of Golf title.

Day is currently world No.11 and a good chance to remain the International side's highest-ranked eligible player through the end of the year.

The 31-year-old won twice on the PGA Tour last year and earned a legion of fans between 2015 and 2016 when he won seven titles in 17 starts.

Four-time major winner Els said the Queenslander could lift the Presidents Cup atmosphere in Melbourne if he compiles another hot season in the US.

"If he can really perform, (come down) to Australia and people get behind him as an Australian icon, which he has already become, man it would be great for himself and for the country and for the team," Els told AAP at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

"I'd love for him to have a good week at Royal Melbourne for him and his family."

However, Els acknowledged the top-ranked player on the struggling International team was usually burdened by huge expectations.

The International side has won just once, at Royal Melbourne in 1998, in Presidents Cup history.

Day was world No.2 at the 2015 Presidents Cup and was the International side's biggest star alongside Japan's Hideki Matsuyama at the 2017 edition in New York.

But Day has not lived up to his billing, winning just seven points from 20 total matches in his four Presidents Cup appearances.

"I understand the pressure; I was the top dog in the team a few times and there are a lot of expectations on you, not only from the team but outside influences," Els said.

"But I know how much having a good Presidents Cup can really benefit a player going forward and I'd love to see that from Jason in Melbourne."

Day will tee it up at this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida looking to repeat his 2016 victory at the event.

Day will be joined in the field by 2017 Bay Hill champion and fellow Australian Marc Leishman, as well as Victorian Aaron Baddeley.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour, offering winners a three-year exemption on tour and a $US9.1 million purse.

Rory McIlroy believes countries such as Australia and his native Northern Ireland show legalised sports betting will have no effect on the US PGA Tour, despite gambling companies increasing their links to American golf.

The PGA Tour last week relaxed its policy on allowing players to accept sponsorship deals with gambling companies.

It followed the US Supreme Court last year overturning a 1992 federal law that prevented commercial sports betting in most states.

It is now legal in eight US states, with 22 others considering bills on betting.

Tour players can now be endorsed by casinos and legal US-based gambling companies, as long as that company's primary purpose is not sports betting.

Eligible companies include fantasy sports websites such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

However Ireland-based betting company Paddy Power Betfair purchased a majority stake in FanDuel and will rename itself Flutter Entertainment as it looks to become the largest online US sports betting provider.

McIlroy agreed Northern Ireland and Australia - where sports betting is prevalent - were evidence golf could co-exist with gambling, but did have concerns about golf expanding its reach to other US markets.

"I always think golf should hold itself to the highest standard possible ... I don't want to feel like we're going away from that to try to attract a new audience," McIlroy told AAP at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida.

"Where I'm from, (betting) is a way of life as long as we keep the integrity of the game, and that would be my only reservation."

Four-time major winner McIlroy ($12) sits just behind world No.1 Dustin Johnson ($10) in betting favouritism for the Masters.

However, golf great Ernie Els is not as confident as McIlroy.

In fact, the 49-year-old is worried golf could inherit match fixing issues which have rocked international cricket including in Els' native South Africa.

"It can become problematic; it became a huge problem within cricket with guys fixing matches," Els said.

"They're opening it up (to danger); there will have to be a lot of meetings."

Four-time major winner Els joked that he would have appeared to be fixing his score when he infamously six-putted from within six feet on the first hole at Augusta National during the 2016 Masters.

It happened during the first round and Els recorded a 9 on the par-4, equalling the worst ever score on Augusta's opening hole.

"They have to watch (gambling) very carefully in golf ... if you watched me at that Masters you would have though I was (match-fixing)," Els laughed.

"You'd have thought, 'what's this guy doing? He's getting paid! These things will probably happen; that's the world we live in."

The Arnold Palmer Invitational will boast its strongest field in years but big-name golfers at the Florida event admit they already have one eye fixed on the Masters in April.

The prestigious US PGA Tour event at Bay Hill will field six of the world's top 10 golfers and 13 of the top 20, despite eight-time event winner Tiger Woods withdrawing on tournament eve.

World No.2 Justin Rose returns to competitive golf after taking a month off to rest before a busy five months, beginning this week.

Rose said the PGA Tour's revamped schedule - which includes the elite Players Championship being held next week instead of May and the PGA Championship moving to May - was the reason behind his rest.

"I've had four weeks off at home putting some gas back in the tank," the Englishman said at the Orlando course on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Rose will this year ditch his usual playing of the event prior to the four majors and admits he is already thinking about Augusta National.

"(The Masters) is on the mind for sure. It's about (trying) to keep your game fresh and sharp to peak there," Rose said.

"It's really important to be in contention once or twice heading into the Masters."

Rose is hoping to finally taste victory at Bay Hill, having earned six top-15 results in his past seven starts, including a third placing behind winner Rory McIlroy last year.

McIlroy is in a rich vein of form, earning top-five results in all four PGA Tour starts this year. But he has not hoisted a trophy worldwide since winning by three shots at Bay Hill last year.

The 29-year-old has risen to world No.6, helped by a second placing behind No.1 Dustin Johnson at the recent WGC-Mexico Championship, and is adamant his 15th PGA Tour victory is close.

"Whether it was Mexico, Riviera or Torrey Pines, I left happy with where my game was even though I didn't win," McIlroy said.

Four-time major winner McIlroy admits, like Rose, he is already preparing for the Masters in April - where he has a chance to become just the sixth golfer to complete golf's career Grand Slam.

"I've been messing around with a 64-degree lob wedge as I think that could be beneficial around (Augusta)," McIlroy, a winner of the US and British Opens and the PGA Championship, said.

"I've been making sure I get my driver turning over (right-to-left) as that's something I've struggled with the last couple of years at the Masters."

Former Bay Hill champions Jason Day and Marc Leishman, as well as Aaron Baddeley, are the only Australians in the field.

The US PGA Tour's announcement that its rookie of the year award has been renamed in Arnold Palmer's honour has stirred up memories of one of Greg Norman's most memorable defeats outside golf's majors.

On Monday, the PGA Tour revealed rookie of the year winners will now receive the Arnold Palmer Award.

The rookie gong has been awarded since 1990, when American golfer Robert Gamez earned two victories in his debut season.

The second was a stunning victory to deny then world No.1 Norman at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

Gamez needed to make birdie from the fairway on his 72nd hole to join Norman in a playoff.

Instead he holed his 7-iron approach from 176 yards for an eagle and a one-stroke victory over the Australian star.

The 1990 Bay Hill event followed several occasions in the 1980s when Norman was on the receiving end of a cruel break when in contention at the majors.

Most notably when American Larry Mize chipped in for birdie from off the 11th green during a sudden-death playoff against Norman at the 1987 Masters.

Now 50 years old and competing on the Champions Tour, Gamez is in the field this week courtesy of winning the event before 2000 - a new eligibility category introduced at the elite tournament.

"To hole a shot on the last hole was unbelievable; it was crazy," Gamez told AAP when recalling his 1990 win.

"When Greg finished, he congratulated me on a good shot.

"I always admired his game; he was really aggressive and went for a lot of shots.

"Playing in the tournaments Greg was in (in the 1980s and '90s), you were just hoping to have a chance.

"Greg was so dominant, similar to the way Tiger Woods was (in the 2000s)."

Marc Leishman is the only Australian to have won the rookie of the year award, taking out the honour in 2009 after a runner-up, two other top-10s and eight top-25s.

Leishman won the 2017 Bay Hills event, the first edition after seven-times major winner and golf great Palmer's 2016 death.

World No.18 Leishman applauded the rookie award's renaming.

"It's fantastic; there are all sorts of awards named after great players and to have one named after Arnold Palmer is pretty fitting," he said.

"Arnie always made people feel comfortable and, as a rookie, you need to get comfortable on tour as quick as you can."

Joining Leishman in the field at Bay Hill is 2016 winner Jason Day and Aaron Baddeley.

Rory McIlroy says Tiger Woods' 11th-hour withdrawal from the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational is not cause for long-term injury concern.

Woods, a record eight-time winner at Bay Hill, announced his withdrawal on Monday from the event in the Orlando area - citing a "neck strain that I've had for a few weeks".

Considering 14-time major winner Woods underwent spinal fusion surgery in 2017, the latest ailment in a long list of injuries and procedures, many feared the neck strain could be serious.

But defending champion McIlroy said he held no fears another injury could push Woods closer to retirement.

"Nope," McIlroy told reporters at Bay Hill on Tuesday.

Woods walked gingerly during his past two starts at the World Golf Championship event in Mexico and the Genesis Open in Los Angeles.

Although he tied 15th in LA and earned a top-10 result in Mexico, several players saw him undergo extra physiotherapy after rounds.

But four-time major winner McIlroy insisted that was par for the course for the 43-year-old Woods, who has had four back surgeries.

"I hope he's OK," McIlroy said.

"I saw him in Mexico getting treatment before and after he played; he did have some tape on his upper back."

Woods's withdrawal also raised the concern he may not play at next week's elite Players Championship, given he conceded in his Twitter announcement that he "hopes to be ready for the Players".

Australian world No.18 Marc Leishman, the 2017 winner at Bay Hill, admitted the absence of Woods would be noticeable.

"Tiger adds to any tournament; it wouldn't be fair to Tiger to say it won't affect the event because I think the crowds might be a little smaller," Leishman said.

"I know if he could be here, he would ... but the field is strong enough to be alright."

Leishman is referring to the fact that six of the world's top 10 players and 13 of the top 20 will tee up this week.

That includes Australia's 2016 winner Jason Day, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and McIlroy.

The Palmer Invitational is an elite event which awards a three-year PGA Tour exemption to the winner, an extra year compared to regular wins.

BIG NAMES AT THE ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

Rory McIlroy - world No.6; won the 2018 event by three shots

Jason Day - world No.11 and 2016 winner at Bay Hill

Justin Rose - world No.2 who has six top-15 results in his past seven starts at Bay Hill

Henrik Stenson - 2016 British Open champion who has four top-fives in his past five starts at Bay Hill

Marc Leishman - the 2017 champion has posted four top-five results on the PGA Tour this season, including a win at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia

Phil Mickelson - has a win (Pebble Beach Pro-Am) and a runner-up (Desert Classic) on the PGA Tour this season

Eight-times champion Tiger Woods has withdrawn from this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill due to a neck strain, the former world No.1 announced on Monday.

Woods, who returned to competition last season after a lengthy recovery from spinal fusion surgery, said he had been dealing with the strain for a few weeks and that he hoped to play in The Players Championship next week.

"I've been receiving treatment, but it hasn't improved enough to play," Woods said in a post on Twitter.

"My lower back is fine, and I have no long-term concerns, and I hope to be ready for The Players."

Woods did not say how he suffered the neck strain but there was nothing about his play at the WGC-Mexico Championship, where he tied for 10th eight days ago, to suggest he was not healthy.

In his only other starts this year, Woods finished in a share of 20th place at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January followed by a T15 at the Genesis Open in mid-February.

The injury is the first setback for Woods since he returned to regularly competing on the PGA Tour in January 2018, which marked the start of a remarkable comeback campaign he capped with a win in the Tour Championship season finale.

While the injury does appear to be anything serious it could garner more attention if he finds himself unable to tee it up at TPC Sawgrass next week for the PGA Tour's flagship event, which is widely regarded as the unofficial fifth major.

Woods, who last won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2013, made a run at Bay Hill last year but finished five shots behind winner Rory McIlroy in a share of fifth place after his late charge fizzled with a pair of bogeys at the 16th and 17th holes.

"I'd like to send my regrets to the Palmer family and the Orlando fans," wrote Woods.

"Its connection to Arnold makes it one of my favourite tournaments and I'm disappointed to miss it."

Justin Thomas and the USGA are taking their Twitter beef over rules changes offline.

USGA senior managing director of championships John Bodenhamer said he hopes to meet with Thomas in the coming days to discuss some of his criticisms of the modernised Rules of Golf that took effect this year.

The world No. 3 player hasn't been shy about airing his displeasure about the changes both verbally and on social media, and the USGA's public-relations arm went back at him to suggest setting up a meeting.

"We're going to talk with Justin, and we're happy we'll have an opportunity to have a conversation in a few days, hopefully," Bodenhamer told Golf Channel.

The USGA said in a tweet that Thomas has cancelled previous meetings but the player said that was incorrect.

"I haven't cancelled anything, especially any meetings. But it is what it is and all I want is the best for the game of golf and the best for the sport."

Thomas is currently playing in the Honda Classic, a tournament that has provided a plethora of rules-related issues and reactions.

The American was upset he wouldn't have been able to replace the 9-iron he bent when his follow-through went into a tree in the opening round.

Alex Cejka's disqualification on Thursday also baffled Thomas and fellow professionals.

Cejka was disqualified for using an oversized greens-reading book while Rickie Fowler made a mockery of the new drop rule, one where players must release the ball from knee-level.

Adam Schenk was told just before the start of his third round that he was being assessed a two-stroke penalty for his caddie being behind him as he prepared for a bunker shot in the second round.

Schenk's issue was the one that had Thomas venting on Twitter, and had the USGA taking notice.

"I just think it needs to be changed," he said.

Rules officials from tours around the world, led by the USGA and R&A, spent five years overhauling the rules to make them simpler and easier to understand for pros and recreational players alike.

The change in the drop received plenty of attention.

Players are also allowed to putt with the flagstick in, a change made largely to speed up recreational play, but some tour pros have started putting routinely with the pin in, saying it gives them an advantage.

South Korea's Park Sung-hyun has come from behind to pip Australia's Minjee Lee, who's had to settle for second in the LPGA Women's World Championship in Singapore.

Park produced a sizzling final round of eight-under-par 64 in windy conditions to clinch a two-stroke victory over Lee.

The Australian, who had started in second place on Sunday behind Thailand's world No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn, had taken a two-stroke lead when she made her third birdie of the round at the par-5 eighth.

The 22-year-old made another birdie on the par-4 12th but Park was continuing her charge and took a share of the lead with her seventh birdie of the round on 13 and took a two-shot lead on 16 with her final birdie while Lee made a bogey on 14.

Lee needed to make an eagle on the final hole to force an unlikely playoff but her second shot landed about 30 feet from the pin.

The 25-year-old Park from Seoul opened her final round with three-successive birdies and made two more at six and seven but a bogey on the par-5 eighth had her turning at four under for the round.

She made a further four birdies on the back nine and tapped in for par from less than three feet to sign for a total of 15-under 273 on the Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club.

"I'm really happy with my play today. I am really happy because I used to have rough starts to my year and I think that I will now feel really comfortable for the rest of the season," Park said through an interpreter.

Lee, who was also the runner-up last week in Thailand, shot 69 to finish on 13-under 275 as she was overtaken by Park, who had started the final round in eighth place.

Spain's Azahara Munoz and Korea's Ko Jin-young both shot closing scores of 69 to finish tied for third, two strokes further back, with Kim Hyo-joo (70) and American Amy Olson (70) tied for fifth on 10-under 278.

Jutanugarn had a one-shot lead heading into the final round but a double bogey at the par-3 fourth dropped her down the leaderboard and she was unable to recover.

She made a double-bogey seven on 13 and another bogey on 14 ended her hopes of winning her first event in Asia as she closed with a 75 to finish in equal eighth with eight-under 280.