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Golfer Nelly Korda is on the cusp of extending her family's remarkable sporting love affair with Australia.

The American holds a three-stroke lead at the Australian Open after Saturday's third round in Adelaide.

As hopes of a local winner fade, Korda is 11-under after landing four birdies in her last six holes before signing for a five-under 67 at the Grange Golf Club.

The 20-year-old is three shots clear of Japan's Haru Nomura, who won the title three years ago.

Korda's father Petr is an Australian Open men's tennis champion, triumphing in 1998.

Her golfing sister Jessica won the Australian Open seven years ago.

And her tennis playing brother Sebastian won the Australian Open boys' singles title last year.

But Nelly is deliberately blocking out the family's stretch of success on Australian soil.

"I'm not even going to think about it," Korda said.

"If it happens, great. But there's still so much golf to be played.

"I know everyone is going to try and catch up so I'm just going to try and play my game and try to stay consistent."

Korda remained wary of a chasing pack headed by Nomura at nine-under.

A trio lurk at eight-under: England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Taiwan's Wei-Ling Hsu and South Korean Jeongeun Lee6 - the numeral an addition when she became the sixth golfer with that name on the Korean tour.

And last year's champion, South Korea's Jin Young Ko, is among a batch at seven-under.

Australia's chances of producing a winner are remote.

Perth's Hannah Green remains the best-placed local at six-under after a rollercoaster one-over round pockmarked by four bogeys.

"With how I was playing, I probably should be happy with one-over, it could have been a hell of a lot worse," Green said.

"I did hole a lot of clutch putts when I needed to so 73 wasn't too bad, but then it was kind of frustrating as well."

Fellow Australian Sarah Kemp is five-under after launching up the leaderboard - four birdies in a six hole stretch helped her bank a four-under 68.

Five-time winner Karrie Webb managed a one-under 71 to be four-under, the same score as Australia's top-ranked golfer, world No.7 Minjee Lee.

Adam Scott held up a pair of socks in the locker-room after firing his way into a share of the Genesis Open lead during a rain-soaked and incomplete second round at Riviera Country Club.

"See this? This is a veteran move," Scott said about bringing an extra pair of socks on Friday.

With Los Angeles lashed by torrential rain, Scott was unable to tee off at all on Thursday and instead had to play 29 holes on Friday.

The former world No.1 opened with a five-under-par 66 but only had 30 minutes before having to tee off on the 10th hole for his second loop.

In that half hour Scott, the 2005 winner at Riviera, quickly changed into a fresh pair of socks - one of the veteran moves he says helped maintain his momentum.

It worked as Scott birdied the 10th hole, then picked up another three to race up the leaderboard.

A three-putt bogey at the par-5 17th was amended by birdies at the par-5 first and the difficult second, before PGA Tour officials ended play due to darkness.

At 10-under-par, Scott shares the lead alongside Justin Thomas, who managed 12 holes, while American JB Holmes sits in third a shot back.

"Simple things like changing your socks; it's just nice to feel dry in your feet when you have another long walk ahead of you," Scott said.

"At some point, experience can play into your favour."

However, Scott said this week did not compare to his victory at Riviera, 14 years ago, when extreme rain forced the event to be shortened to 54 holes.

"This is way better. (2005) was a joke," Scott said.

"I must have spent 20 hours in the locker-room, that week. We just sat here, every day."

Aaron Baddeley was next best of the Australians at three under, while Marc Leishman is a shot further back.

Leishman was among Thursday's scheduled morning wave who completed their first round early on Friday, but didn't return to the course and will begin their second round on Saturday morning.

John Senden sits even par, one shot ahead of countrymen Cameron Smith and Cameron Davis.

Rod Pampling (two over) and Curtis Luck (four over) round out the Australian contingent.

Meanwhile, event host Tiger Woods posted a 70 but struggled during the 12 holes he played of the second round to remain at one under.

An on-air roasting from Australian golf commentator Wayne Riley was proof Matt Kuchar's PGA Tour caddie payment saga won't dissolve soon, despite the American doubling down on his apology on Saturday.

"You don't leave coins on the green, especially with Matt Kuchar around ... they might disappear," Riley joked on Sky Sports' broadcast of the Genesis Open.

"That won't go away; I don't care how much he gives him."

Popular commentator Riley was referring to the fact Kuchar, on Friday, agreed to give local Mexican caddie David Giral Ortiz $50,000 ($A70,000) for his role in Kuchar's Mayakoba Classic victory in November.

Kuchar won $1.3 million ($A1.8m) for his eighth PGA Tour victory and paid Ortiz just $5,000(A7,000).

Regular PGA Tour caddies can receive up to 10 per cent of a golfer's prize money, however Kuchar's regular caddie, John Wood, was not available that week.

On Saturday in Los Angeles, Kuchar told reporters he regretted defending his frugality on the eve of the Genesis Open.

Kuchar faced backlash for saying on Wednesday, "for a (caddie) who makes $200 a day, $5,000 is a really big week".

"Listen, I was stubborn, hard-headed," Kuchar said, after an apology via a statement he released on Friday.

"In my mind, I had it as a deal is a deal but after I won the tournamenta deal wasn't a deal; not a good deal.

"Any transaction, all parties should come out feeling like they've won and, certainly in David's case, he did not feel like he won in that situation."

Along with the apologetic statement and agreement to give Ortiz the $50,000 he requested, Kuchar said he would make a charitable donation to the Mayakoba Classic to be spread among philanthropic causes in Mexico's Playa del Carmen area.

Kuchar is 10th on the PGA Tour's all-time career money list with on-course earnings of $US46.6m ($A65.2m).

Earlier this week, Kuchar confirmed reports he originally agreed to pay Ortiz $4,000 ($A5,600) for any top-10 result.

He then reportedly chipped in an extra $1,000 (A1,400) for a $5,000 total, which he handed Ortiz in an envelope after the Mayakoba Classic finished.

About 10 weeks after the event, Ortiz was offered an additional $15,000 ($A21,000) bonus by Kuchar's agent Mark Steinberg, which Ortiz refused.

Steinberg also represents 14-time major winner Tiger Woods.

He's still feeling a bit clogged up, but drawcard Thomas Pieters looms as the man to beat at the World Super 6 Perth golf tournament at Lake Karrinyup.

Pieters arrived in Perth battling a virus, and on the eve of the tournament said it would be a mini feat in itself just to make it to the first tee in his opening round.

The world No.79 sat at two-over after 12 holes on Thursday after posting consecutive bogeys.

But after a good night's sleep, Pieters produced the goods in his second round on Friday, posting a six-under 66 to move to eight-under overall.

The World Cup of golf winner shares the lead with Australian Matthew Griffin, Kiwi Ryan Fox, and Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat.

The quartet are well placed to make the third-round cut of the top 24.

Those 24 players will then battle it out in a series of head-to-head six-hole shootouts on Sunday, with the last man standing crowned the winner of the $1.6 million tournament.

Pieters says he will do his best to keep his momentum going on Saturday.

"I felt better today and it showed in my game and my patience," Pieters said.

"I putted really well, and that was a key today.

"That was tough to take (when I posted consecutive bogeys yesterday). So to be at eight under now is a bonus."

Victorian Griffin shot a five-under 67 in his second round to move to a share of the lead.

Only six of Lake Karrinyup's 18 holes will be used in the match play round on Sunday, and Griffin says he will pay extra attention to them during his third round on Saturday.

"The leaderboard's really tight, so you're going to have to play good golf tomorrow to make sure you get through it," Griffin said.

"It's not going to be a walk in the park. But you do, given the circumstances, you do take a little bit more notice of those holes that will be there on Sunday."

Former US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy missed the cut after shooting a five-over 77 on Friday, taking his overall tally to nine-over.

Ogilvy endured a disastrous year in American in 2018 and moved back to Victoria last month to spend more time with his family.

Rising star Min Woo Lee is lurking dangerously at five-under, while the highest-ranked man in the field - world No.55 Tom Lewis - survived the cut after moving to one-under.

Hannah Green wants jingoism to settle any jangling nerves in her bid to become the youngest local golfer to win the women's Australian Open.

The 22-year-old is three shots adrift of joint leaders Wei-Ling Hsu from Taiwan and Swede Madelene Sagstrom, who are 10-under after Friday's second round in Adelaide.

Green is tied for third and the highest-placed Australian at the Grange Golf Club after five-time winner Karrie Webb shot two-over, slipping to three-under overall.

"I paid the penalty for a lot of my missed shots ... I'm disappointed not to play better and be close to the lead," Webb said.

Webb is joined at three-under by compatriots Karis Davidson and the top-ranked local, world No.7 Minjee Lee.

Which leaves Green carrying parochial hopes for a local winner, a year after she finished third when riding waves of home-nation support.

"I had a mob screaming 'Greeny' (last year) and that actually settled my nerves surprisingly, so hopefully they can come out again," she said.

"Hopefully on Sunday I can be in that position again.

"Some people, it might make them more nervous but it settles me to know that everyone is rooting for me."

If Green captures the crown, she will be four years younger than countrywomen Webb and Jan Stephenson when they first won the national title.

The only other Australian to win the women's open is Jane Crafter.

The second round's big mover was American Nelly Korda, the daughter of former Australian Open tennis champion Petr Korda and sister of golfer Jessica Korda, who won the 2012 Australian Open.

Nelly Korda shot a six-under 66 to join Green and 2017 champion Haru Nomura from Japan in third spot.

They're all following the leaders Sagstrom and Hsu, who shot 69 on Friday to complement her opening round 65.

Hsu has set her sights on reaching a tournament total of 18-under - a score she believes will take the title.

Former world No.1 Lydia Ko missed the cut, finishing four over after a scrappy second round of 77.

But world No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn rallied after shooting four-over on Thursday to post a three-under second round.

Jordan Spieth chipping in for birdie to take a share of the Genesis Open lead was the highlight of a rain-soaked and incomplete first round in Los Angeles.

After significant delays due to heavy rain on Thursday, no golfer in the 144-player field was able to complete the first round before US PGA Tour officials called play for the day just after 5.30pm due to darkness.

Host course Riviera Country Club was so waterlogged the entire afternoon wave was unable to tee off, with the first round scheduled to resume at 7am Friday.

Playing in the intended morning wave alongside last week's Pebble Beach winner Phil Mickelson and Xander Schauffele, Spieth chipped in from off the green at the difficult par-4 second (his 11th hole) for a birdie to take the lead at five-under-par.

But he was joined moments later by South Korea's Sung Kang.

A shot adrift of three-time major winner Spieth and Kang are Americans Patrick Rodgers and Jimmy Walker, while Tony Finau and JT Poston share fifth at three under.

Marc Leishman is the leading Australian at two under having completed 10 holes, while Sydney's Cameron Davis is even par through seven holes.

World No.27 Cameron Smith, from Brisbane, is a shot back while fellow Queenslander and playing partner on Thursday, Rod Pampling, sits two-over the card.

Among the Australians unable to tee off on Thursday were John Senden, 2005 winner Adam Scott, 2011 champion Aaron Baddeley and Curtis Luck.

Event host Tiger Woods was also prevented from getting his first round underway.

If it wasn't for a bout of stage fright, world No.218 Miguel Tabuena would have torn up the record books at the World Super 6 Perth golf tournament on Thursday.

Tabuena produced the hottest of starts at the hybrid event, posting birdies on nine of his first 10 holes to open up a huge lead.

At that stage he looked certain to break the Lake Karrinyup course record of 63 set by James Morrison during the 2014 Perth International.

But as the cameras started scrambling to focus on Tabuena, his game started to wobble.

The birdies dried up, and two bogeys in his final eight holes meant he was forced to settle for a seven-under 65.

It was still enough to give him a share of the first round lead with Norway's Kristoffer Reitan, who posted eight birdies and a bogey in a strong opening round.

But Tabuena couldn't help but wonder what could have been if his hot early form had kept going.

"I started to force shots that I wasn't comfy with," Tabuena said.

"I started to go at pins when I shouldn't have, and the bogey on the par-three (fifth) cost me."

Kiwi Ben Campbell and Englishman Richard McEvoy were equal third at five-under.

Australians Nick Flanagan and Brad Kennedy were among a big group of players at four-under.

Rising star Min Woo Lee and fellow local Jason Scrivener settled for two-under 70s alongside tournament favourite Thomas Pieters.

2006 US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy faces a fight to make the weekend cut after shooting a 76.

World No.55 Tom Lewis - the highest ranked player in the field - finished at one-over.

Flanagan tweaked his back before the recent Vic Open, and the New South Welshman is still managing the injury.

"It got pretty average again the last couple of days," Flanagan said.

"I had some work done here, and just (been) keeping up with the stretches I've been doing.

"Like first thing in the morning it gets really, really tight and I've kind of got to nurse it for 20, 30 minutes.

"I've got to take some anti-inflammatories and then do all these pretzel stretches slowly, because usually when it goes it's from quick movements of rotation."

The first three rounds of the World Super 6 Perth are traditional stroke play.

The top 24 players will then qualify for the last round match-play, which consists of a series of elimination six-hole shootouts.

Karrie Webb is relishing being the hunted again after a stunning start to her quest for a sixth Australian Open crown.

The Australian great has carded a superb five-under 67 in Thursday's opening round at the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide.

The sentimental favourite is tied for second, two shots shy of the leaders, England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Taiwan's Wei-Ling Hsu.

Webb cashed in during calm morning conditions, landing five birdies in a hot seven-hole stretch.

The 44-year-old has scaled back her LPGA Tour commitments, playing just eight tournaments last year and missing the cut in three big'uns - the Australian Open, US Open and British Open.

But she's rapt to be again among the pacesetters.

"It's not easy to get off to a good start and be in position from day one and not feel like you're catching up on Friday," Webb said.

"I hit some good shots and saw some putts go in so I felt really comfortable there for about 11 holes.

"Then it got a little scratchy there through the middle ... (but) I made the most of the opportunities I had."

Webb shares second spot with Swede Madelene Sagstrom and England's Bronte Law.

A batch of golfers including South Korea's defending champion Jin Young Ko and Australian Hannah Green are four-under.

"Every Australian wants to win their home open ... I definitely want to set myself up to be in contention on Sunday," Green said.

World No.1 Ariya Jutanugaran battled in afternoon breezes with two double-bogeys and two bogeys in her four-over 76.

Australia's top-ranked golfer, world No.7 Minjee Lee, finished one-under 71 and lamented some errors.

"I probably made a couple of soft bogeys but it's something to build on for tomorrow," Lee said.

New Zealand's former world No.1 Lydia Ko had four bogeys in rollercoaster one-under round to be well adrift of leaders Hsu, who shot five back-nine birdies, and Ewart Shadoff, who made seven birdies in a blemish-free morning round.

"It was perfect conditions ... I hit some really close shots and holed some good putts," Ewart Shadoff said.

"I shot four birdies in a row right in the middle of my round and overall I just hit the ball well."

PGA Tour star Cameron Smith says his relaxed nature disguises a deep-rooted desire to be ranked among golf's elite players.

Smith is determined to break into the world's top 20 this year and wants to start the mission this week at the elite Genesis Open in Los Angeles.

Smith entered last year's event ranked world No.57 and played in the final group on Sunday at Riviera Country Club, alongside eventual winner Bubba Watson - finishing in a share of sixth.

A superb 12 months - highlighted by a top-five at the Masters at Augusta and victory at the Australian PGA Championship - have catapulted Smith to a career-high ranking of 27th.

With a top-10 result and two other top-25s in three PGA Tour starts this year, the Brisbane native believes a debut stint in the top 20 is within reach.

"One of my big goals for this year is to crack that top 20 and keep working my way up the rankings," Smith told AAP at Riviera.

The softly-spoken Smith projects an easy-going image but said he isn't that carefree away from television cameras.

To his team, the 25-year-old is regarded as a perfectionist who works on his game for hours after competitive rounds.

Smith has improved his work ethic since winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2017 - a teams event - because he wants to earn a maiden individual victory on the PGA Tour.

That includes extra hours of practise, gym sessions and regular US visits from his Australia-based coach Grant Field.

"I'm definitely a pretty laid-back guy but what people don't really see is the hours I put in on the driving range, in the gym, and eating the right foods," Smith said.

"I know what I'm capable of but I know it's not going to come without hard work."

Smith is eager to become the fourth Australian winner at Riviera after Aaron Baddeley (2011), Adam Scott (2005) and Robert Allenby (2001).

"This tournament always has a high-quality field; it's one of the most prestigious events on tour and it'd be special to put my name on the trophy," Smith said.

Smith is referring to a star-studded line-up this week that includes event host Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, defending champion Watson, 2017 winner Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.

Smith's countryman Marc Leishman said the high-calibre field is good preparation for the major championships.

"I'm aiming for big things this year with the majors, and to win a major you have to beat the big names there too," Leishman said.

Other Australians in the field are Baddeley, Scott, John Senden, Curtis Luck, Cameron Davis and Rod Pampling.

Tiger Woods has joined Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in receiving icon status by the US PGA Tour, with his Genesis Open elevated to an invitational starting next year.

On Wednesday, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan revealed the Woods-hosted tournament in Los Angeles would be given the same treatment as Palmer's Memorial Tournament in Ohio and Palmer's event at Bay Hill, Florida.

Held at the iconic Riviera Country Club, the Genesis will lose its open status and become an invite-only field, which will be reduced from 144 golfers to 120.

The winner will receive a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour, matching the Palmer and Nicklaus events in offering one extra year than regular victories.

Perhaps most significantly, its prize money will near that of golf's four majors with a $US1.9 million ($A2.7m) increase to $US9.3m ($A13.1m) - among the largest purses on the American circuit.

The winner's share will be $1.674m ($A2.36) - $300,000 ($A423,000) less than the Masters and PGA Championship.

Woods initially chose to host the tournament given he grew up in nearby Cypress, California, and made his PGA Tour debut as a 16-year-old amateur at the 1992 LA Open at Riviera.

From next year, it is expected the winner will ceremonially shake Woods's hand, a tradition at Nicklaus's Memorial and at Bay Hill before Palmer's death in 2016.

"(I'm) honoured to be included in this category; to do it where I grew up and where my entire career got started, I couldn't ask for a more (symbolic) outcome," Woods said.

"To go alongside Jack and Arnold, two guys I have looked up to my entire playing career, is very special.

"I've been lucky enough to have won those two events and it's been so special to walk off those greens and see those two gentlemen."

Woods is an eight-time winner at Bay Hill and four-time Memorial champion.

Monahan said that for a player to be considered by the PGA Tour to host an invitational, he would have to own at least 60 career victories.

Palmer claimed 62 titles while Nicklaus amassed 73.

Woods has already claimed 80 wins and is just two behind Sam Snead on top of the PGA Tour's all-time list.

"This is about elevating this event into an invitational, an elite position in our schedule; it becomes harder and more desirable to get into," Monahan said.

Ironically, 43-year-old Woods does not have a good record at Riviera.

The 14-time major winner has played the event 12 times with runner-ups in 1998 and 1999 his best result.

Woods did not play the event from 2007 until last year, when he missed the cut.