How Phil Mickelson used Tony Romo to get under Tiger’s skin

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Jimmy Walker missed his tee time Friday at the Valspar Championship, but he is still expected to make the cut. Walker was penalized two shots for being late for his 7:39 a.m. starting time off Innisbrook’s first tee. He was paired with fellow major winners Justin Rose and Danny Willett in the day’s fifth group. An official located Walker in the practice area a minute before he was scheduled to tee off, but Walker was unable to arrive at the tee in time. Walker’s par on the first hole became a double-bogey after the penalty was applied. He bogeyed the fourth hole to fall to 4 over for the tournament but made five birdies and no bogeys the rest of the way. He shot 1-under 141 (72-69) and is expected to make the cut on the number. “Pro tip…. don’t be late for your tee time,” Walker wrote on Instagram. “Thirty years in (tournament) golf and that’s a first. I hope we get to play the weekend.” Walker, a six-time TOUR winner, is 211th in this season’s FedExCup, having made the cut in five of 15 starts.

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The World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play is back. Thursday’s second round is the second of three days of group play. After Friday, the player with the best record in each of the 16 four-man pools will advance to knockout play (ties will be broken via sudden-death playoff). Two rounds apiece will be played Saturday and Sunday to crown a champion. This is the only PGA TOUR event where players go mano-a-mano, and Austin Country Club is a perfect site for this format thanks to its offering of risk-reward holes. There will be 32 matches conducted on Thursday, and this file will be updated live at the conclusion of each match to keep you apprised of the action from the TOUR’s only match-play event. Return here often to learn about the latest upsets, comebacks and nail-biting finishes. THURSDAY RECAPS (Click here for live scores) GROUP 10 COREY CONNERS (2-0-0) def. LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN (0-2-0), 2 and 1 When people talk about the vagaries of match play, Oosthuizen should be presented as Exhibit A this week. He has made 11 birdies in the last two days and is winless. Oosthuizen hit a silky approach to 10 feet on the second hole to make birdie and take the lead, then matched birdies with Conners on the fifth hole. But Conners won the sixth, eighth and ninth holes to turn at 2 up and although Oosthuizen tied the match again on 13, an untimely tee shot on 16 coupled with a birdie from 8 feet by Conners on the par-3 17th hole closed the match quickly. “It was a hard-fought battle,” Conners said. “I felt like I played really well on the front nine. Got myself into the lead making the turn, kind of struggled in the first few holes on the back nine and was able to escape not losing too many holes and then won a couple at the end.” Oosthuizen is scheduled to play Paul Casey on Friday, although Casey has conceded both of his previous two matches. Conners will play Noren. Both are 2-0, with one win coming against Oosthuizen and the other via concession from Casey, meaning the winner of the match will advance to the Round of 16. ALEX NOREN (2-0-0) def. PAUL CASEY (0-2-0), concession Casey conceded his match for the second consecutive day, this time against Noren. Again, Casey said that his back was continuing to spasm, just as it was on Wednesday when he stopped his match on the second hole against Corey Conners. Casey told reporters that he has not decided if he will play in his Friday match against Louis Oosthuizen, but at 0-2 with two concessions, he has no chance to advance into Saturday’s Sweet 16. Meanwhile, Noren has the day off and is 2-0. He outlasted Oosthuizen, 1 up, on Wednesday in a match where Oosthuizen made seven birdies and never led at any point.

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