World number two Jon Rahm beat Keith Mitchell to keep alive his hopes of winning the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship.
The Spaniard, winner of three PGA Tour strokeplay events this season, lost to Rickie Fowler on Wednesday, but responded with a 4&3 win over Mitchell.
He will play Billy Horschel in the final round of group matches on Friday as he bids to top group two in Austin.
Meanwhile, former Open champion Shane Lowry suffered an early exit.
Lowry’s 4&3 defeat to Mackenzie Hughes ensured he cannot qualify as one of the 16 group winners for the weekend’s knockout stages.
Former US Open champion Rahm effectively ended American Mitchell’s challenge with a fine run of three birdies and an eagle between the ninth and 13th holes.
On facing Horschel, who beat Fowler 3&2, Rahm told the Golf Channel: “Not many pairings are going to have more electricity on the course than me and Billy combined, so it should be a good one.”
Lowry could not recover as two bogeys in the first four holes contributed to him trailing Canadian Hughes by five after seven holes.
The Irishman will play Jordan Spieth on Friday, but it is Taylor Montgomery who is in control of group 12 after he beat fellow American Spieth 2&1 and now takes on Hughes in his final match.
