Rory McIlroy has ruled out playing in Saudi Arabia next month, saying he has no interest in contesting the tournament that has offered lavish appearance fees to attract many of the world's top players.

Leishman and Ancer staged a remarkable rally Saturday in foursomes, going from five down with eight holes to play to earn a most unlikely halve against Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler .

Tiger Woods has accused Australian golf fans of crossing a line after Patrick Reed's caddie was thrown out of the Presidents Cup in disgrace.

The International team had held the edge going into the final day at Royal Melbourne with a 10-8 lead, but victory in the singles for Patrick Reed 4&2 over Pan Cheng-tsung put the US in front.

In the second of our series looking at the greatest moments of a memorable sporting year, we go back to that magical April day at Augusta, and one of the most incredible major victories in history.

OLIVER HOLT - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Five years ago, when I was already plenty old enough to know better, I went to Orlando to chronicle the end of Tiger Woods' career.

Patrick Reed still hasn't shaken off the stigma that followed his cheating storm at last month's Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. His latest heckle has come in Hawaii.

Tiger Woods will have his first crack at securing a record-setting 83rd PGA Tour victory in two weeks in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, the former world number one confirmed this week.

Parents were left absolutely stunned when Tiger Woods caddied for his 10-year-old son, Charlie, in a junior golf tournament in Florida on the weekend.

DEREK LAWRENSON - WORLD OF GOLF: Next week the game's big guns return and another campaign gets under way. Here are eight talking points sure to fill the season with intrigue…

DEREK LAWRENSON IN ABU DHABI: What were you doing at the age of 15? Josh Hill, taking a break from his GCSE studies, warmed up for his European Tour debut by taking on Brooks Koepka.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN ABU DHABI: Twelve months ago, a struggling Shane Lowry turned up here and spoke about rebuilding his career in some of the far-flung spots on the European Tour.

Brooks Koepka gathered all his crew around him on the practice ground here on Monday for a rallying cry at the end of his three-month break following knee surgery.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN ABU DHABI: Matt Fitzpatrick is the 11-stone sapling punching well above his weight in a sport increasingly populated by the muscle-bound.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN ABU DHABI: What an amazing feat of sporting longevity to be starting your 27th season on the European Tour and be leading going into the final round of an event.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN ABU DHABI: It is still more than two months until the clocks go forward, and Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have yet to hit a shot.

DEREK LAWRENSON - WORLD OF GOLF: Naturally, when the time came to put an 80 next to the name of Jack Nicklaus, it had nothing to do with golf.

The 46-year-old's chances have soared after his stirring success in the big-money Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday.

McIlroy could hardly ask for a more alluring target in his first tournament for seven weeks. A win at the Farmers Insurance Open will take him back to world No 1 for the first time in more than four years.

In the confines of the players' lounge and in off the record conversations on the practice ground, a litany of torment came to characterize a brutal first day at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

It's Hot or Not time again as Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai reveals what's been making him feel warm and what's been leaving him cold this week.

Eddie Pepperell, the Englishman who walked out of a tournament mid-round in November because he had run out of golf balls, has a simple, avowed goal for the new season.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN DUBAI: Eddie Pepperell and Bryson DeChambeau engaged in a war of words after Pepperell criticised DeChambeau for his slow style of play by labelling him a 'single-minded twit'.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN DUBAI: Remember all those US Opens where they set the course up so hard it became a lottery, and they ended up with a funky winner?

DEREK LAWRENSON - WORLD OF GOLF: When the idea of a world golf tour surfaced once more last week, the mind wandered back to Greg Norman's original concept 25 years ago.

The mystery backers behind proposals for a new Premier Golf League broke cover yesterday in a bid to convince Phil Mickelson to join their golfing revolution with the new competition.

The hole on the par-3 16th will be cut 24 paces on and eight from the left edge of the green to honour Bryant's two most iconic shirt numbers during his remarkable 20-year career within NBA.

Graeme McDowell succeeding in proving to his children he is not just a 'YouTube golfer', but their Easter holiday plans may have to change following his battling victory in the Saudi International.

DEREK LAWRENSON - WORLD OF GOLF: Six weeks into the new year, McIlroy has already achieved his first goal for this season. On Monday, he will be on top of the world.

WORLD OF GOLF - DEREK LAWRENSON: You have to go all the way back to August last year to find the last time Woods, Koepka and McIlroy were all in the same place at the same time.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN LOS ANGELES: Here in Tinseltown, therefore, there are some tantalising possibilities in play this week as Woods plays the host trying to gatecrash his own party.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN LOS ANGELES: Imagine having a local rapper chanting rhymes to a sizeable crowd as you prepare to play to the par three 16th at the Genesis Invitational pro-am. 

DEREK LAWRENSON IN LOS ANGELES: A couple of firecrackers from Rory McIlroy in his first round back as world number one, and an opening statement from Tiger Woods.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN LOS ANGELES: Mark it down as another day at Riviera when the mysteries of this majestic course proved once more beyond even the great Tiger Woods.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN LOS ANGELES: On a day when Tiger showed once more that no venue causes him fits quite like the wiles and mysteries of Riviera, McIlroy answered the riddles with a fine 67

On Friday afternoon, a rumour spread like wildfire at the Genesis Invitational that Phil Mickelson was about to be announced as the first face of the proposed Premier Golf League.

DEREK LAWRENSON - WORLD OF GOLF: The walk from the 18th to the Riviera clubhouse involves negotiating a formidable incline for a man in good health, let alone one just back from heart surgery.

Rory McIlroy has delivered a potentially fatal blow to the proposed Premier Golf League by ruling himself out of joining a breakaway circuit.

Spain's Jon Rahm fired a career-best 61 - which included a hole-in-one - to charge up the leaderboard at the WGC-Mexico Championship, where Justin Thomas has a one-shot lead.

DEREK LAWRENSON - WORLD OF GOLF: At what point do we officially start to worry about the form of Justin Rose? In a year he has dropped from world No 1 to 13th, his worst position since 2017.

Former Ryder Cup player Edoardo Molinari spoke of his shock and relief after coming through a coronavirus scare to post a strong score on the first day of the Oman Open.

It would be hard to conceive of a more perfect warm-up tournament for the Masters for Tiger Woods than the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida this week.

Tommy Fleetwood will have a golden opportunity on Sunday to claim his first victory on the PGA Tour - and banish an unwanted label.

Tommy Fleetwood's wait for his first victory in America goes on after a final-hole calamity on a wild, compelling Sunday in South Florida that ended in a victory for Sunjae Im.

Ian Poulter has slammed Paul Azinger as 'embarrassing' and accused the American TV commentator of showing 'disrespect' over comments he made about the European Tour.

DEREK LAWRENSON - WORLD OF GOLF: Perhaps no American golfer in the past 35 years has had the ability to rub Europeans up the wrong way quite like Paul Azinger.

EXCLUSIVE BY DEREK LAWRENSON: As ever with Fleetwood, the tone was measured and the words considered - but he made no secret of his displeasure at being in the middle of a media storm.

DEREK LAWRENSON IN ORLANDO: Another masterclass from Rory McIlroy but a nightmare first round for Tommy Fleetwood at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

DEREK LAWRENSON IN ORLANDO: Rather like Liverpool at Watford last week, Tommy Fleetwood did not do things by halves when it came to the end of his run of 47 tournaments without a missed cut.

Tiger Woods' Masters preparation has suffered a setback as he is unable to return to action at next week's Players Championship in Florida due to a back issue, ESPN reported on Friday.