Defending champion Rory McIlroy continued his winning streak at the WGC-Dell Match Play by defeating Smylie Kaufman 3&1 at Austin Country Club.
The Irish golfer has now won his last nine matches in the competition and 15 of his last 18 as he bids to retain his crown in Texas.
"There were still a couple of mistakes in there but for the most part I hit better shots"
McIlroy was one up after 14 holes and a par on the 15th was enough for McIlroy to double his advantage and, when Kaufman found more trouble on the 17th, he conceded the hole to give McIlroy a 3&1 win which sets up a group-three decider against Kevin Na on Friday, the American beating Thorbjorn Olesen 3&2.
McIlroy admitted he felt fortunate to beat Olesen after the Dane squandered a two-hole lead with five to play, but told Sky Sports: "I played much better today.
"There were still a couple of mistakes in there but for the most part I hit better shots. I think I made four birdies in the first six holes and a couple on the back nine as well so the quality of golf was much better and I needed it to be because Smylie played quite solidly,” he added.
World number two Jason Day erased concerns about his fitness in remarkable fashion as Daniel Berger's Match Play came to an end in bizarre circumstances.
Day injured his back in the closing stages of his 3&2 victory over Graeme McDowell in their group match at Austin Country Club and received treatment before leaving the course.
The 28-year-old's agent later issued a statement saying the US PGA champion had "tweaked" his back on the 15th tee but was preparing for his second group-two contest against Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, who had beaten England's Paul Casey on Wednesday.
And despite appearing to rub his back before hitting his tee shot on the first, Day promptly drove the green on the 381-yard par four and holed from 12 feet for an eagle to win the hole.
Day moved two up with a conceded birdie on the second and quickly regained that advantage after losing the fifth, but a par was good enough for Jaidee to win the eighth and halve his deficit.
Berger's match with Phil Mickelson had reached the 18th all square, only for the 2015 PGA Tour rookie of the year to pull his tee shot towards the rocks which form the basis of the first tee.
The 22-year-old looked to be able to make clean contact with the ball, but caught one of the rocks on his downswing and missed the ball entirely, damaging his wrist in the process.
After being forced to concede the hole and the match, Berger told reporters: "I don't even know what happened. I took a couple of practice swings and thought I had a clear swing.
"I guess it was on the downswing. I made a full swing and the club came out of my hands. It was kind of a shock. I have a good physio team so I will go to see them and hopefully I am good to go tomorrow. If not I will try to get ready for the Masters."
A second win of the week for Mickelson set up a clash with Ryder Cup team-mate Patrick Reed to decide who would win the group, Reed having beaten Matt Fitzpatrick 4&3.
Earlier in the day, Lee Westwood kept his hopes of advancing to the last 16 alive by beating Australia's Marc Leishman on the 18th, a defeat which saw the Nedbank Challenge winner become the first player eliminated.
World number one and Texas native Jordan Spieth eased to his second victory of the week against France's Victor Dubuisson, the 22-year-old racing into an early three-hole lead and eventually completing a 5&4 win.
Spieth's fellow Texan and Ryder Cup team-mate Jimmy Walker had eased past compatriot Robert Streb 4&3, while Dustin Johnson had bounced back from an opening-day defeat to beat Kiradech Aphibarnrat 5&4.
