JEJU, Korea, Republic Of – Luke List fired a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the CJ Cup on Friday.

List, who is looking to win on the U.S. PGA Tour for the first time, carded five birdies, including one on the par-5 9th, his final hole, to move to 9 under.

Three-time tour winner Lucas Glover compensated for a pair of bogeys with seven birdies in a 67 and was tied for second with Scott Brown, who had a 70.

A day after firing a 63 for the first-round lead, Justin Thomas made a 74 to slip into a share of fourth with Australian golfer Cameron Smith (68) at 7 under.

Thomas took a three-shot lead into the second round, but an opening 3-over-par 39 on the front brought him back to the pack.

The second-round 74 is Thomas’ worst score since an 80 in the second round of the British Open.

Jason Day also struggled en route to a 74 to fall back to 24th at 2 under.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was at 4 under after a round of 72. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., also shot even par and 3-over, and Graham Delaet of Weyburn, Sask., withdrew from the tournament.

Whee Kim (70) was the highest placed of the 16 South Korean players in the field at 6 under overall, tied for sixth with Patrick Reed (72), Chez Reavie (72) and another Australian, Marc Leishman (72).

Seung Yul Noh carded five birdies and closed with an eagle in a bogey-free 65 for the best score of the day, lifting him to even par overall.

JEJU, Korea, Republic Of – Justin Thomas eagled twice in a 9-under-par 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the CJ Cup, the first U.S. PGA Tour regular-season event in South Korea.

Thomas started on Thursday with a bogey at the 10th hole but made amends with eagles on the par-5 12th and 18th holes around four straight birdies from No. 14-17 to turn in 29. He added three more birdies and a bogey to hold his margin.

“It was kind of a weird day,” Thomas said. “It started off with a really, really bad bogey. And then I had a seven-hole stretch there where I basically kind of went unconscious. That was pretty much most of my round.”

Thomas set up a long eagle putt on No. 12 with a driver and a 3-wood.

“That was a weird putt,” Thomas said. “Jimmy and I had a hard time reading it which usually means it’s pretty straight so that’s how we ended up playing it.”

His second eagle on 18 came when he hit a wedge to three feet from the hole.

Thomas won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia in 2015 and 2016 and says he is comfortable playing overseas.

“It’s still golf,” Thomas said. “It doesn’t matter where you are and I know that it is very cliche and easier said than done but you just have to take advantage of the rest and time you have off the course.”

Chez Reavie, Gavin Kyle Green, Scott Brown, Patrick Reed and Marc Leishman all opened with 66s and were in a five-way share of second at 6 under.

Jhonattan Vegas and Charles Howell III were among five players a shot further back at 5 under.

Jason Day and fellow Australian Rod Pampling were at 4 under, one stroke ahead of Pat Perez, who was coming off a victory last week at the CIMB Classic.

Adam Scott had a 72 containing four birdies and four bogeys.

Canadian Nick Taylor sits T12 after opening with a 4-under-par 68.

Tiger Woods is swinging a driver without pain, and his agent says doctors have cleared him to practice without limitations.

Still to be determined is when Woods can play in a tournament.

“We haven’t even addressed when he comes back to play again. We have not addressed one thing,” said Mark Steinberg, his agent at Excel Sports Management. “He wants to play this so conservatively.”

Steinberg said Woods received a “good report” last week from doctors who performed fusion surgery on his lower back in April. Woods posted a video on Twitter on Oct. 7 of him hitting a smooth iron shot . Then on Sunday, Woods posted another video — in a red shirt , no less — hitting a driver.

Making Progress pic.twitter.com/I3MZhJ74kI

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) October 15, 2017

Woods, whose last victory was four years ago at the Bridgestone Invitational for his record 18th World Golf Championships title, has not played since he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 3 because of back spasms.

Two months later, he had a fourth surgery on his back in 19 months.

Woods first posted a video on Aug. 31 hitting pitch shots. Steinberg said doctors last week “allowed him to proceed with no restrictions,” which is when he began posting video of fuller golf shots.

“He has started to hit balls at a more aggressive rate,” Steinberg said. “He feels really good, but he’s going to take it very slowly. I think he’s excited that he’s not feeling pain. That’s what gets him excited, being able to bend down and pick up his kids.

“He’s taking it from wedges and short irons to the longer clubs. But he’s still doing it in a really cautious manner.”

Woods was an assistant captain at the Presidents Cup two weeks ago, and he said then his priorities were to get his health in order, make sure he is pain-free and then wait on word from his doctors.

“I’m still training. I’m getting stronger,” he said on Sept. 27. “But I certainly don’t have my golf muscles trained.”

Woods last year returned after 15 months to play in his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where he finished 15th against an 18-man field. The tournament is a week after Thanksgiving. Two spots are still available for sponsor exemptions to players in the top 50 in the world, or to the tournament host, which is Woods.

Fred Ridley recalls soaking up the ambience of Augusta National a week before his debut in the 1976 Masters as the U.S. Amateur champion. He was alone under the massive oak tree next to the clubhouse when he turned around and realized he had company.

Clifford Roberts, co-founder of the club and the first chairman of the Masters, was standing behind him.

“I kind of jumped and thought, ‘Oh God, what have I done?'” Ridley said. “We had a nice conversation. The interesting thing was, we were leaving and he says, ‘Now young man, you’re going to be playing in the Par 3 next Wednesday. You make sure you get some practice over there.’ He loved the Par 3. That was my recollection of the only conversation I had with him.”

Forty-one years later, Ridley is the seventh chairman in the 85-year history of Augusta National.

He took over Monday when the club re-opened for a new season.

The culmination of a lifetime's passion. Get to know Augusta National’s seventh Chairman, Fred Ridley. pic.twitter.com/764RwUKWnu

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) October 16, 2017

Ridley, a 65-year-old business lawyer from Tampa, Florida, succeeds Billy Payne, who is retiring after 11 years. Payne’s tenure was marked by the club inviting female members for the first time, and for creating events geared toward American youth (Drive, Chip and Putt) and two amateur events in Asia and Latin America that offer the winners a spot in the Masters.

Payne, who chose Ridley as his successor, becomes chairman emeritus.

Starting with that chance meeting with Roberts under the oak tree, Ridley says he has met every chairman who preceded him and knew most of them well. What he took from Payne was the value of relationships and the willingness to share credit.

“The worst thing I can do is try to be Billy Payne, other than his accomplishments and his drive to be the best,” he said.

Ridley was not specific on any changes or initiatives he had in mind for the club, saying only that he would lean on the principle established by Roberts and Bobby Jones.

“That principle here is constant improvement,” Ridley said. “That permeates the culture here, whether it’s the Masters Tournament, whether it’s the member experience, whether it’s growing the game or whatever we do.”

Augusta National recently acquired land from adjacent Augusta Country Club that would allow it to expand the par-5 13th hole, which now is 510 yards.

“We are looking at whether we’re going to do anything,” Ridley said. “We just haven’t made any decisions.”

He also was reserved about how the club felt about the distance the modern professional is hitting the golf ball, referring only to a good relationship with golf’s two governing bodies, the USGA and the Royal & Ancient.

“We’re interested in that issue,” he said. “It’s not my place to talk about what’s good and not good for the game. I might have opinions, but I’m not the person to talk about it. What I can talk about is what’s good for Augusta National and our golf course. Going back to the guiding principles, again, I believe that the philosophies that Jones and (Alister) MacKenzie established here are timeless.”

Ridley is the second Augusta National chairman, along with Hord Hardin, to have served as USGA president. He has not stayed active with the USGA, where executives are known for their blue blazers, saying that “my jacket has been green for quite some time.”

Ridley was USGA president in 2004 when the final round of the U.S. Open was marred by the overly baked condition of the greens at Shinnecock Hills and a pin position at the par-3 seventh that made it impossible for anyone to hold the green without putting water on it.

He was not directly in charge of the golf course, but “I was the president, so the buck stops there.”

He was chairman of the competition committees at the Masters for the last 10 years, making him responsible for a rules controversy involving Tiger Woods in 2013.

Woods hit a wedge off the pin and into the water on the par-5 15th. He dropped from an incorrect spot, which was spotted by a television viewer, David Eger, a former USGA and PGA Tour rules official. When word got to Ridley, he said he viewed the drop and did not see a violation.

Only after more questions were raised did the rules committee realize Woods should been penalized. Woods was given a two-shot penalty but spared disqualification for signing an incorrect card because Ridley said officials made a mistake by not speaking to Woods.

“I think anytime you get involved in a complicated situation you learn,” Ridley said. “I think we were pretty transparent when we told the media what happened, what we did, how we resolved it. But yeah, we learn things all the time. I try not to look backward other than to learn.”

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – American Pat Perez won the PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic, claiming a four-shot victory over compatriot Keegan Bradley on Sunday at TPC Kuala Lumpur.

He sealed his first title in almost a year despite carding a modest three-under 69 in the final round, courtesy of a strong start with three birdies in the first four holes.

The 41-year-old only managed to make par on the back nine, but did enough to finish the tournament with a 24-under 264 to take home the $1.26 million prize purse and 500 FedEX Cup points.

Victory also earned him an automatic entry for next year’s Masters in April.

Perez’s feat comes after a long recovery from a shoulder injury last year that threatened to derail his career.

The bulky golfer admitted he never expected to reign supreme in the sweltering conditions in Kuala Lumpur.

“Unreal. I think I’m the last guy that expected to win this week, to be honest with you. I did not think I was going to win this week,” Perez said. “I really can’t explain it, it’s been an amazing 12 months. I can’t explain it, but I hope it continues.”

Perez also confirmed he’ll be back to defend his title next year.

“I’ll be here every year. Every year of the tournament, I’ll be here. It’s been very good to me. The tournament’s been fantastic,” he said.

Bradley took home the runner-up spot after he carded an unblemished five-under 67 to finish at 20-under 268.

Xander Schauffele, who started the round in second place, faltered with four bogeys to finish tied-third alongside South Korea’s Kang Sunghoon at 17 under.

Defending champion American Justin Thomas finished tied for 17th place.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was the low Canadian at 12 under. Richard T. Lee and Adam Hadwin finished in a tie for 51st place at 3 under while Graham DeLaet was 2 under.

Thomas had been in terrific form coming into the event, but failed to lift his game in his mission for a “three-peat.”

“I was definitely low on gas. It’s been a great but long year, for sure,” Thomas said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Pat Perez turned in an 8-under 64 at the third round of the PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic to open up a four-shot lead over closest rival Xander Schauffele.

The American, who led by a single stroke coming into Saturday, turned on the style on the back nine with six birdies, giving him nine for the day against just one bogey. After three rounds, Perez is on 21-under 195.

“These guys are so good and you can make so many birdies out there so fast and I know that,” said Perez. “So if I can get another six (birdies) tomorrow, I might be tough to catch.”

Schauffele remained within sight of his compatriot after a 5-under 67 – including an eagle on the 10th – while South Korea’s Sung Kanghoon is a further shot away after a 7-under 65.

Defending champion Justin Thomas’ chances appear over after he finished the day tied 24th at 6 under, despite posting his best round with a 69.

The American had a double bogey on the par-5 fifth hole but recovered with a flurry of birdies and an eagle on No. 16.

Clear skies at TPC Kuala Lumpur brought out the best from Whee Kim with a hole-in-one on the 199-yard, par-3 15th. The South Korean won a BMW hybrid vehicle.

“(I) landed perfect and thought ‘Oh made it, it’s going to go in,”’ Kim said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Pat Perez led by one stroke halfway through the CIMB Classic after carding a 7-under-par 65 around a four-hour delay for rain on Friday.

Fellow American golfer Xander Schauffele was on Perez’s tail after a long-range eagle on the third hole set up his 5-under 67.

Defending champion Justin Thomas had another poor round by his high standards, a 71. A three-peat on the TPC Kuala Lumpur where he clinched his maiden U.S. PGA Tour title in 2015 seems a tall order.

Two bogeys compounded by a double bogey on the 12th meant Thomas was 10 shots behind Perez, at 3 under for the tournament.

Perez, meanwhile, was hoping for more gusty winds and rain after making eight birdies, including four in a row. He’s at 13-under 131 overall.

“I don’t want sunshine at all. It’s too hot, way too hot,” Perez said. “I like it just the way it is right now, perfect. Cloudy, no wind.

“I didn’t think I really played that well. I got off to a slow start, I was 1 over through four. We had the break, and … I like the front (nine), I play better on the front.”

Kang Sunghoon of South Korea (68), Thomas Pieters of Germany (67) and overnight leader Cameron Smith of Australia (71) were tied for third, four shots off the pace at 9 under.

Tour rookie of the year Schauffele said he was comfortable.

“Everything’s kind of coming easy,” Schauffele said. “Today was one of those weird days where (I had) all the breaks. I had some squirrely tee shots and a couple of weird drops. But they all kind of went my way.”

Canadian Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., carded an eagle on the par-5 3rd hole en route to posting a bogey-free 5-under-par 67, lifting him into a tie for 8th place. Fellow countryman Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., also registered a 67 on Saturday to sit T55.

More unsettled weather is expected over the weekend.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Justin Thomas collected the Jack Nicklaus Award as the U.S. PGA Tour player of the year a couple of days before heading to Malaysia in a bid to win his third successive CIMB Classic.

Little wonder then the two-time defending champion was slightly off his game in the first round on Thursday, managing only a 2-under-par 70 to sit six strokes behind leader CameronSmith of Australia.

Smith opened with a blemish-free 8-under 64 and leads a U.S. PGA Tour event after the first round for the first time in 64 starts.

Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele and Poom Saksansin of Thailand were tied for second at 7 under.

Brendan Steele, coming off a victory last week at the Safeway Open, had an opening 67 to be three shots off the lead.

Thomas has barely had time to catch his breath after winning the FedEx Cup and playing in the Presidents Cup. He won his first tour title here two years ago. He successfully defended it last year, and has had a transformative 2017 in which he’s won five titles and his first major, the U.S. Open.

He’s aiming to be the first player to win the same tournament three years in a row since Steve Stricker at the John Deer Classic from 2009-11.

Schauffele, the U.S. tour rookie of the year, said he was taking plenty of notice of how Thomas approaches this course and is trying to keep it simple.

“The rough has been up apparently compared to last year, that’s what Justin told me,” he said. “I pretty much tried to copy everything that he did because I figured he’s a good guy to imitate out here.”

Thomas mixed five birdies with three bogeys. Schauffele and Poom made seven birdies to go into early contention, while Bradley eagled the 12th hole to make amends for his sole bogey.

Smith, an Australian, posted a blemish-free round of eight birdies, including five on the front nine for a 64.

“The putting was easy actually,” Smith said.

He’s chasing his second title of the year after winning the Zurich Classic in April.

The American trio of Kevin Na, Gary Woodland, and Pat Perez were also in contention in the Asian Tour event after carding 66s.

Hideki Matsuyama, the 2016 runner-up, faltered with two bogeys to sit with Thomas in a tie for 23rd place.

NAPA, Calif. – Brendan Steele is getting accustomed to fast starts and he likes it.

Steele won the PGA Tour’s season-opening Safeway Open for the second straight year, closing with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for a two-stroke victory over Tony Finau.

“I’m getting pretty spoiled winning the first event of the year twice,” said Steele, the 34-year-old from the Southern California mountain town of Idyllwild. “This place is so great to me. I feel so comfortable here and it’s been a great run.”

Phil Mickelson and Chesson Hadley finished three shots behind.

Steele finished at 14-under 273 for his third PGA Tour title. He’s 33 under in his past eight rounds at the event. Steele also won the 2011 Valero Texas Open.

It was an exciting week in Napa to start the season @SafewayOpen! Miss anything? We’ve got you covered.

?? pic.twitter.com/pb3zQzFpWL

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 9, 2017

Two strokes behind surprising leader Tyler Duncan entering the day at Silverado Resort and Spa, Steele birdied the par-5 16th and 18th holes – holing a 3-footer on 18.

“The greens were firming up in the afternoon,” Steele said. “I knew the weather was going to be windy and it seems Sunday is always the hardest day on the PGA Tour for whatever reason. That was about as hard as it can play out there.”

Finau, whose lone PGA Tour victory came in the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, moved into a tie for the lead with Steele at 14 under with a birdie on the par-4 13th. But he double-bogeyed the par-4 14th. After pars on 16 and 17, Finau had a 40-foot eagle putt on the 18th and settled for birdie and a 69.

“I was happy the way I hung in there; I didn’t hot a lot of quality shots off the tee coming in like I needed to,” Finau said. “But I put myself in a situation where a playoff or a win with that eagle putt. It was still pretty cool.”

Mickelson, who began the round four shots off the lead, birdied the 16th from 10 feet to move within one shot of Steele. But Mickelson, winless since the 2013 British Open, bogeyed the 17th before birdieing the 18th for a 70.

“Unfortunately, on the front nine I made a couple of bogeys and made the turn at 1 over,” Mickelson said. “But on the back nine, I played some good solid golf and made a late move.”

It was the 47-year-old Mickelson’s 27th third-place finish in 27 PGA Tour seasons to along with 42 career wins and 34 runner-up finishes.

“It’s just keep playing to keep giving myself chances,” Mickelson said about his winless PGA Tour streak of 91 tournaments. “It will happen.”

Hadley finished with a 73. He had a course-record 61 in the second round,

Duncan, a PGA Tour rookie who began the round with a one-stroke lead over Hadley, had five bogeys on the front nine and finished with a 75 to tie for fifth with Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., at 11 under. DeLaet had a 72.

Nick Taylor (72) of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for ninth at 9 under, while Corey Conners (74) of Listowel, Ont., was in a group at 30th sitting 5 under. Ben Silverman (73) of Thornhill, Ont., tied for 43rd at 3 under and David Hearn (75) of Brantford, Ont., tied for 54th at 1 under.

Andrew Landry (69) and Bud Cauley (74) tied for seventh at 10 under.

John Daly, the two-time major winner who won his first PGA Tour Champions title in May, closed with a 79 to tie for 72nd at 5 over.

NAPA, Calif. – Tyler Duncan may not sleep well and he’ll likely be nervous. But it’s understandable for the PGA Tour rookie and unlikely leader after three rounds of the Safeway Open.

Playing is his first tournament as a PGA Tour member, Duncan parred the 18th hole and scrambled to a 1-under 71 to maintain a one-stroke lead Saturday in the season-opening event.

“I feel OK now, but I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet,” said Duncan, whose only previous PGA Tour event was the 2015 U.S. Open as a sectional qualifier. “But it probably will after dinner when I’m laying in bed. I’m sure I’ll be nervous tomorrow, but I am looking forward to it.”

Duncan had five birdies and four bogeys to reach 14-under 202 at Silverado Resort and Spa. He hit his tee shot in the water on the par-3 15th hole en route to a bogey.

“The shot on 15 was probably the worst shot I’ve hit in a long time,” Duncan said. “But I made a nice bogey and then made a nice par save on 18.”

Chesson Hadley, a one-time PGA Tour winner who had a course-record 61 in the second round, was a stroke back after a 70.

“I was very pleased with my round,” Hadley said. “I thought the course was playing very difficult and I didn’t get off to a very good start. I was two over through four or five holes. But I hung in there and didn’t panic.”

Bud Cauley, winless in five PGA Tour seasons, shot a 66 to join defending champion Brendan Steele (72) at 12 under. Emiliano Grillo, the 2015 tournament winner in his first start as a member of the PGA Tour, shot 68 to match Canadian Graham DeLaet (69) at 11 under.

DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot a 3-under 69. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is 9 under after a 68, Corey Conners (70) of Listowel, Ont., is 7 under while Ben Silverman (71) of Thornhill, Ont., and David Hearn (69) of Brantford, Ont., are 4 under. Conners and Silverman are making their debuts as full PGA Tour members.

Phil Mickelson, seven shots behind Duncan entering the round after consecutive 69s, had a 68 to join Bill Haas (69), Tony Finau (71) and Andrew Putnam (69) at 10 under.

Mickelson has seven consecutive rounds in the 60s in the event. He finished eighth last year and is seeking is first title since the 2013 British Open.

“Well, I am going to win, It’s a matter of time,” Mickelson said. “I don’t know if it’s tomorrow. I don’t know if it’s in China, but it’s going to happen. It’s going to happen soon because I’m starting to play well enough to do it.”

After a bogey on the second hole, the 47-year-old Mickelson birdied five of his last six holes on the front nine to move to 11 under and within two shots of the lead.

But Mickelson, playing in his 91st PGA Tour event since his last victory, missed a short putt for birdie on the 16th and short putt for par on the 17th. He made a short birdie putt on the 18th.