Match Play gets windy and wild
Soren Kjeldsen and Alex Noren won their groups in the Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, one round before group play is even finished. Rory McIlroy took the day off, and he’s already guaranteed the weekend off. Thursday was as wild as it gets in this tournament, even without wind ripping so hard through the edge of Hill Country that Phil Mickelson chipped into the water and still halved the hole.
Brandt Snedeker, showing class, conceded a seven-foot putt when Andy Sullivan’s ball rolled up toward the hole and the wind, which gusted to 30 mph, blew it back.
Gary Woodland pulled out because of a personal family matter. He was scheduled to play McIlroy in the second round, and while McIlroy was conceded a victory, he was eliminated later when Kjeldsen won his second straight match. Kjeldsen was to play Woodland in the third round, so he was assured of winning the group at 3-0.
Noren had an easy time over Bernd Wiesberger for his second victory. He was to face Francesco Molinari on Friday, but Molinari withdrew with a wrist injury, assuring Noren a 3-0 record and a spot in the knockout stage.
Mickelson has never trailed all week and had no trouble against Daniel Berger. Jordan Spieth stayed in the game with a 4-and-2 victory over Yuta Ikeda. They halved the 13th hole with double bogeys when Spieth hit into the water, and then Ikeda hit into the water.
Dustin Johnson had an easy time, but he has one more match to claim his group. Same for Brooks Koepka, who has closed out both his matches on the 13th hole. Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia both won two matches and square off Friday to see which Spaniard wins the group. That also will be the case with Charl Schwartzel and Paul Casey, 2-0 in their groups and facing each other Friday.
Five days after getting married, Trey Mullinax ran off nine birdies and saved par with a 15-foot putt on his last hole for a nine-under 63 to take the lead at the Puerto Rico Open at Rio Grande. The first round was suspended when showers turned into heavy rain at Coco Beach Golf & Country Club. Mullinax has a one-shot lead over D.A. Points.
John Thompson III was fired as Georgetown’s basketball coach after two consecutive losing seasons at the school his father led to a national title.
The NCAA will start deciding on locations for its upcoming championships next week and has indicated it will leave North Carolina out of that process if the state hasn’t changed a law that limits LGBT rights by that time.
In a statement, the sports organization said its committees will begin picking championship sites for 2018-22 and will announce those decisions April 18.
The Chargers have agreed to a deal to re-sign running back Branden Oliver. Safety Adrian Phillips, who started six games last season, signed his exclusive-rights tender. Oliver, who signed with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Buffalo before the 2014 season, missed all of last year with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. — Dan Woike
Recent Bellator addition Lorenz Larkin of Riverside received a substantial bonus for leaving the UFC: a welterweight title shot versus Bellator champion Douglas Lima at Madison Square Garden on June 24. — Lance Pugmire
Riverside boxer Josesito Lopez will headline an April 9 card at L.A. Live’s the Novo that will be loaded with prospects, including 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas, Mexico’s bronze medalist Misael Rodriguez, Lithuania’s Eimantas Stanionis and female boxer Maricela Cornejo.
A deal has been finalized for new World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt of Mexico to make his first title defense against Japan’s former champion Takashi Miura, with a July date at StubHub Center being eyed.
Sergey Kovalev has signed a deal memo and is waiting for three-belt light-heavyweight champion Andre Ward of Oakland to do the same, said an official close to the negotiation, with the pair headed to an apparent June 17 rematch in Las Vegas. — Lance Pugmire