Justin Thomas scuffled through an uneven afternoon with a 3-under 69 in his return to the PGA Tour following a lengthy layoff, leaving him six shots off the lead Thursday in the first round of the Fortinet Championship.

Jon Rahm is playing some of his best golf and likes what he sees at the PGA Championship.

Jimmy Walker was so frustrated by ordinary golf and lingering health issues that he quietly walked away from the PGA Tour in April.

Yuka Saso won the U.S. Women's Open.

Rickie Fowler will have to sit out another major this year.

One of the longest days in golf just got a little longer.

Rickie Fowler is having the first big struggle of his career.

The PGA Tour enters its eighth week of its return to golf with another modification to its guidelines for positive coronavirus tests and a gradual broadening of who gets to attend tournaments. Meanwhile, the tour said while there will be no pro-ams or paid spectators the rest of the season that ends Sept. 7 at the Tour Championship. LPGA RETURNSThe PGA Tour had its strongest fields of the year when it ended three months of being shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That isn't the case with the LPGA Tour, which is more about timing and location. Thomas is among those who have leaned on private housing in the two months that the PGA Tour has resumed its schedule.

DUBLIN, Ohio Muirfield Village was supposed to be set up easier for the first of two straight PGA Tour events. Collin Morikawa takes a three-shot lead into the weekend at 13-under 131, one shot away from the 36-hole record at Muirfield Village that Jason Dufner set three years ago at the Memorial. That's the highest score to make the cut since the PGA Tour restarted its season after a three-month shutdown from the COVID-19 pandemic. It's the first time in 63 years the PGA Tour has had consecutive events on the same course. The 31-year-old Daffue is playing only his second PGA Tour event.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)DUBLIN, Ohio Among the lessons Collin Morikawa took away from missing his first cut as a pro was that his reliable cut shot had left him. He found at it Muirfield Village, and suddenly looks as though he'll be tough to catch at the Workday Charity Open. Morikawa ran off four straight birdies after making the turn Friday, finished with another birdie and shot 6-under 66 to build a six-shot lead when thunderstorms arrived in Ohio. I had heard from a lot of people before, this course was going to suit a left-to-right shot, anyway, Morikawa said. I think sometimes when something really doesnt go your way, like missing a cut, it just stands out a little more, he said.

Casey watched plenty on TV, and he was watching more than the golf. PAIRINGS WITH A PURPOSEThe PGA Tour has four groups of featured pairings for its PGA Tour Live," and then the rest of the field is supposed to be relatively random depending on a player's category. Oak Hill last hosted the PGA Championship in 2013 won by Jason Dufner, while Tiger Woods won his fourth PGA Championship at Southern Hills in 2007. DIVOTSHilton Head has some of the smallest greens on the PGA Tour, and Abraham Ancer hit 65 out of 72 of them in his runner-up finish. FINAL REBUTTALFascinating stuff. CBS analyst Nick Faldo, watching Koepka tee off on the 18th hole and telling viewers he would listen to what Koepka had to say.

Players return to a new set of rules, starting with mandatory tests for the coronavirus when they first arrive and having their temperatures taken before they can get to the parking lot. Of equal concern is what they do off the golf course, even with a designated hotel. And I think its an important week because golf can show that we can play in a socially distant manner, he said. But he recognized the importance of getting through this week without incident, so that golf can continue until just short of Christmas. I think its important to make sure that we go through all these things because I want to play, Koepka said.