MICKELSON’S AUSTIN POWER
PHIL MICKELSON remains firmly in contention for his first victory since the 2013 Open after storming into the last 16 of the WGC-DELL Technologies Match Play. Mickelson, 46, thrashed Ryder Cup team-mate JB Holmes 6&5 at Austin Country Club in Texas to join Soren Kjeldsen and Alex Noren in the knockout stages of the £7.8million event. The five-time Major winner had beaten Si Woo Kim 5&3 and Daniel Berger 5&4 in Group 14, meaning he has yet to play any of the last three holes in competition this week. Tyrrell Hatton crashed out in a sudden-death playoff with Rafa Cabrera Bello and Charles Howell after suffering a two-shot penalty. After missing a birdie putt on the opening hole, Hatton accidentally touched his ball as he prepared to tap in for par and failed to replace it before holing out. “It’s the worse way it could have ended,” said the Englishman.