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MEXICO CITY — Max Verstappen was given a three-place grid penalty and stripped of pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix late Saturday after race stewards ruled he failed to slow for a yellow flag following a dramatic crash which saw Valtteri Bottas bury his Mercedes into a trackside barrier.

The Red Bull driver’s penalty means that Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was promoted to pole position ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel with world champion-elect Lewis Hamilton moved up to third from fourth.

The Dutchman, who will start on the second row alongside Hamilton, was also handed two penalty points on his licence after dismissing concerns for the sport’s regulations during a news conference. 

Verstappen, the winner in Mexico in 2017 and 2018, was on provisional pole when Bottas crashed heavily in his Mercedes at the final corner of his last run in Q3. 

He had no need to improve his lap time, as his rivals had failed to beat his first attempt, but sped on. 

He told reporters that he saw Bottas’s crashed car at the final corner and did not back off, thus setting a new record fastest lap as he improved.

Verstappen, the author of his own downfall, said: “I think we know what we are doing otherwise we wouldn’t be driving an F1 car.

“It’s qualifying and you go for it. If they want to delete the lap, then delete the lap.....”

The stewards said Verstappen had “admitted that he was aware that car 77 [Bottas] crashed and did see the car on the left hand side of the track, but was not aware of the waved yellow flag”.

“He admitted not reducing his speed in the yellow sector,” the stewards added.

“Taking into account all the available evidence and the statement from the driver the stewards impose a drop of three grid positions and two penalty points.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said it was “a great shame” that the flamboyant Verstappen had been penalised.

“Max put in a phenomenal performance throughout qualifying. He was quickest in Q1, second quickest in Q2 and quickest in Q3 to achieve his second pole position of the season,” said Horner.

“It is a great shame that Max has lost pole position.”

Verstappen’s demotion and Bottas’s crash boosted Hamilton’s hopes of clinching his sixth drivers’ world title in Sunday’s race by outscoring his Mercedes teammate by 14 points.

“I knew that I had to risk it in the last run to gain positions, so I tried to squeeze everything out of the car,” said Bottas.

“The lap was good until the last corner where I went a bit wide on the exit on the dusty part of the track and that’s where I lost it and hit the wall. 

“I’m all okay, but I’ve unfortunately given the boys in the garage some extra work to do tonight. Hopefully we can avoid taking any penalties for tomorrow. It’s annoying because looking at the times, I think I had a chance at qualifying third.”

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff said he feared for the implications of the crash in Sunday’s shake-up.

“The car took a bit of a beating,” said Woolf. 

“We’re assessing the damage at the moment and hope that we don’t have to change any parts that would result in a grid penalty.”

Hamilton had earlier admitted he thought third place on the grid was possible before Bottas’s accident.

“The last sector went to pot [when it was controlled by double yellow flags] so that was it,” said the five-time champion.

“Generally, I was quite happy with today. I knew it would be difficult, but I have a fighting position and I am going to give it everything.”

LIVERPOOL — The comprehensive midweek defeat of Red Star Belgrade raised hopes Tottenham Hotspur have turned the corner after a dismal start to the season, but their revival will face a stiff test when they face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

It will be the first meeting between the two sides since their confrontation in the Champions League final in Madrid in June, since which Jurgen Klopp’s side have pushed on from their victory and took control of the early Premier League running.

Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino admitted on Friday that defeat has weighed heavily on his players and has bled into their miserable early season form that suggests June’s final was a high-water mark.

“It means a lot for the club to reach the final of the Champions League but for the players or the coaching staff we felt empty after the game,” Pochettino said ahead of the trip to Merseyside.

“Now we have full energy and we have recovered from that situation and now it’s the moment to build again our confidence and trust and start to show our real talent and potential.”

A return of just three Premier League wins this season and a run that included the humiliating 7-2 defeat to Bayern Munich, a 3-0 loss at Brighton and a fortunate home draw with bottom club Watford meant Tuesday’s meeting with Red Star was always going to be significant.

The eventual 5-0 victory provided a much-needed lift, and a fourth win in 13 games in all competitions allowed Pochettino to talk of a renewed confidence within a squad whose unity has been questioned.

Tottenham togetherness

After five years in charge, the Argentine’s ability to motivate his squad has come under scrutiny but the togetherness shown before and after the Red Star win will be needed if they are to end the nine-game unbeaten start that has allowed Liverpool to open up a five-point lead on Leicester and six over Manchester City.

Spurs’ performance midweek recalled their vibrant displays of last season with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min both scoring twice, albeit against a much weaker defence than the one they will face on Sunday.

It was also achieved without Christian Eriksen — out of contract at the end of this season, along with Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld — who remained an unused substitute and is unlikely to return to the starting line-up this weekend.

“It was not that they forget how to play football, that Harry Kane doesn’t know anymore — he showed in that game [against Red Star] how good he can be,” said Klopp on Friday.

“They are a top side in the Premier League and they will be a top side in the whole season in the Premier League — and we have to respect that and play the best football we can play against them.”

Tottenham can draw inspiration from how Manchester United became the first team to take points off Liverpool last weekend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side successfully negating the attacking threat of Klopp’s side in a 1-1 draw.

Pochettino’s side will need to be similarly resolute to avoid a repeat of the defensive lapses that have been a feature of their campaign so far against a team that have won all four of their home games, scoring 12 times.

A positive result at Anfield would provide evidence that the hangover from last season’s European exertions is finally lifting and that a void is finally being filled.

GENK, Belgium — Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made the most of a rare start by scoring twice while Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah also netted as holders Liverpool eased to a 4-1 win over Genk in their Champions League clash in Belgium on Wednesday.

The England international, who missed almost all of last season due to injury, opened the scoring in the second minute at the Luminus Arena and scored the visitors’ second — a sumptuous finish also from outside the box — just before the hour mark.

Mane and Salah then set up each other for late goals to wrap up the victory before substitute Stephen Odey pulled one back for Genk.

This was Liverpool’s second consecutive victory in Group E since they began their defence of the trophy with a 2-0 loss at Napoli last month. They remain a point behind group leaders Napoli, who won 3-2 at Salzburg on Wednesday.

Perhaps most importantly, this was an overdue away win in the group stage of the competition for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who had won just once in seven away group matches before this trip.

They went all the way last season despite losing all three away group games.

Klopp used this game to give starts to several players who have been on the fringes of his squad recently, with Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dejan Lovren coming into a team deprived of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip in defence.

Naby Keita made his first start since a League Cup win at lower-league side MK Dons a month ago, and Salah also returned after missing the weekend draw at Manchester United because of an ankle injury.

However, it was Oxlade-Chamberlain who got the visitors off to the perfect start with a goal from their first attempt, his right-foot strike from 25 yards finding the bottom-left corner with the aid of a slight deflection.

It was difficult not to fear for Genk after that, but the Belgian champions were defending a decent record at home in the Champions League group stage.

They had drawn their last five home matches taking in appearances in 2011-12 and back in 2002-03.

Among the teams unable to win here in that time were Real Madrid, Valencia and Chelsea, while Napoli were held 0-0 here recently.

Genk were encouraged by an extremely high Liverpool defensive line which almost allowed their skipper Mbwana Ally Samatta to grab a quick-fire equaliser.

The Tanzanian ran from halfway all the way to the penalty area only to fire wide of Alisson Becker’s far post. His strike partner, Paul Onuachu, and Japanese international Junya Ito both squandered decent chances soon after.

Genk were also unlucky though — they thought they had drawn level before the half-hour when Samatta rose above James Milner to head in an Ito cross.

However, the Slovenian referee disallowed the goal and a VAR review confirmed Ito was marginally offside in the build-up.

Still, Liverpool looked like scoring almost every time they attacked, with an outrageous Roberto Firmino touch setting up Mane for a shot that was saved by Gaetan Coucke.

Firmino was the provider of the second goal in the 57th minute, as he laid the ball back for Oxlade-Chamberlain to send a first-time effort on the outside of his right boot off the underside of the bar and in from 20 metres.

That was Liverpool’s 200th Champions League goal, but it was not their last of the night, as Salah slipped in Mane for a dinked finish to make it 3-0 in the 77th minute.

Mane then returned the favour by supplying Salah with his back to goal just inside the box three minutes from time. The Egyptian turned away superbly from Carlos Cuesta and slotted in.

Another Liverpool win when these teams meet again at Anfield next month will leave Klopp’s men on the brink of the last 16.

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Pep Guardiola saluted the “extraordinary” Raheem Sterling after Manchester City’s majestic winger hit a brilliant 11-minute hat-trick in Tuesday’s 5-1 thrashing of Atalanta.

Guardiola’s side were rocked by Ruslan Malinovsky’s first half penalty in the Champions League clash at the Etihad Stadium.

But City responded superbly as Sergio Aguero struck twice before the interval.

Sterling had provided the assists for both of Aguero’s goals, but the England star was just getting warmed up.

After the interval, Sterling struck three times to complete a personal masterclass that underlined his rise in the Guardiola era from enigmatic playmaker to lethal finisher.

Sterling has emerged as City’s driving force over the last 18 months and his second hat-trick of the season confirmed his place among the world’s best players.

“All the credit is for him. He’s a guy whose physicality is incredible. He is so strong,” Guardiola said.

“A day after a game, he could play another. His regeneration is incredible and he can play both sides. He is an extraordinary player.”

Asked if the 24-year-old could get even better, Guardiola added: “It depends on him, his desire, and I think he has that.”

The only frustration for Guardiola was a late red card for young midfielder Phil Foden.

“He will learn. He will know after one yellow card the need to be more careful,” Guardiola said.

City’s third successive Group C victory leaves them top of the table, five points clear of second placed Dinamo Zagreb with three games left.

“It was an incredible effort because they have a lot of quality. That is why I am so satisfied with the result,” Guardiola added.

“Three more points in the next game and we will be in the next stage.”

Atalanta, making their Champions League debut this season, are still searching for their first point after a third consecutive defeat.

Guardiola had called on City to show they have the mentality to conquer the “little margins” needed to win the Champions League for the first time.

This was the perfect response as they recovered from falling behind in the 28th minute.

For the second successive game, Guardiola had responded to City’s defensive injury problems by deploying midfielders Fernandinho and Rodri as his two centre-backs.

It was an uncomfortable arrangement and when Josip Ilicic advanced into the City area, Fernandinho rashly stuck out a leg to trip the Atalanta winger and concede a penalty.

Malinovsky sent Ederson the wrong way with the spot-kick as City conceded their first goal in this season’s tournament.

That blow woke City from their slumber and Aguero made up for his earlier miss with the 34th minute equaliser.

Sterling deserved much of the credit for a penetrating run and delicate cross that allowed Aguero to peel off his marker for a clinical close-range finish.

City had their rhythm back and Sterling was the catalyst again when they took the lead in the 38th minute.

Surging into the Atalanta area at pace, Sterling was clearly tripped by Andrea Masiello and Aguero stepped up to score the penalty.

It was Aguero’s 10th goal in all competitions this season, ending a three-game drought for City’s record scorer.

Rodri limped off before half-time, prompting John Stones’ introduction after missing six games with injury, but not before Guardiola, pounding the dug-out seat in frustration, appeared to chastise the City defender for his slow rise from the bench.

“I think it will be 10 days but if it’s broken [torn], it will be three weeks,” Guardiola said of Rodri’s injury.

Sterling made it three in the 58th minute as he drilled into the roof of the net.

He wasn’t finished yet and raced onto Ilkay Gundogan’s pass before deftly cutting back onto his right foot for a fine finish in the 64th minute.

Capping a memorable evening for Sterling, five minutes later he scored his 11th goal of the season with a close-range strike from Riyad Mahrez’s cross.

MILAN — Italian coach Antonio Conte has made his “gentle giant” Romelu Lukaku the focus of Inter Milan’s attack this season where the striker has found his scoring touch again after leaving Manchester United.

The Belgian got off the mark in his first league match against Lecce and has since scored five goals in eight Serie A games since departing Old Trafford under a cloud last summer.

The 26-year-old scored a brace last weekend against Sassuolo to keep Inter second in Serie A, one point behind defending champions Juventus, after eight games. 

It followed his double as Belgium sealed its Euro 2020 ticket, extending his national all-time record to 51 goals in 83 appearances.

Conte’s side host Group F leaders Borussia Dortmund in their third Champions League game on Wednesday having been held 1-1 to Slavia Prague and losing 2-1 to Barcelona, with Lukaku missing the trip to Spain with a thigh injury.

Inter gambled big by investing around 80 million euros ($89 million) in Lukaku to restore the pairing he composed under the Red Devils’ jersey with Alexis Sanchez.

Chilean Sanchez made just four appearances for Inter before being ruled out for three months with an ankle injury.

But Lukaku has still impressed with a rich vein of form alongside Argentine Lautaro Martinez, who also scored a double at the weekend against Sassuolo.

“We’re working with Romelu to get to know one another better,” said Martinez. “We’re looking to improve our understanding to help Inter to win.”

The Belgian’s high energy levels and sharp play are in contrast to United where he spent two seasons, scoring 42 goals in 96 appearances, but just 15 last season. 

He was never far from fan criticism, over his weight and professionalism, as he fell down the pecking order once Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho.

Hopes had been high that Lukaku could spearhead a new era for United when he joined from Everton for £75 million ($91 million) in 2017, but he left Manchester having failed to win a trophy.

“At the end, I thought it was better for me to move on and try different things,” said Lukaku, who took the number nine jersey of former Inter captain Mauro Icardi, who fell out of favour and moved to Paris Saint-Germain.

Conte had been a long-time admirer of Lukaku, who started his career at Anderlect, and tried to sign him for Chelsea before the Belgian’s move from Everton to United.

“Lukaku entered the Inter world in the best of ways, with great humility, he’s a good giant, a giant with a smile,” said Conte, who is trying to break Juventus’s stranglehold in Italy and win Inter’s first title since their treble under Mourinho in 2010.

Despite being targeted by racist chants during a league game in Cagliari, Lukaku has no regrets about choosing Italy, and above all Conte.

“Between him and I there is a very strong relationship. I’m happy. At the age of 26, I want a coach like this, who helps me every day and gives me motivation,” said Lukaku.

“He’s the best manager in the world.”

Former Inter Milan star Samuel Eto’o has praised Lukaku for how he has adapted.

“Some players think they are stars and others feel like normal people, he’s in the second category, and you’ll see how many goals he’s going to score,” said the Cameroonian. 

Ex-United teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who won three Serie A titles with Inter Milan, added: “Lukaku has this mad hunger to prove himself to the world and I’m sure he will do well at Inter too.”

United may be missing Lukaku’s goals as they languish in 13th place in the Premier League having scored 10 in nine games.

MADRID — Zinedine Zidane said in April Real Madrid would prioritise La Liga over the Champions League this season and their defeat to Real Mallorca on Saturday suggests they may not have the squad to go far in both. 

“For us next year, the league must be our number one priority,” Zidane said. 

“It’s the longest competition, it’s the one that cannot be missed, and I’m going to put that in the heads of my players.” 

Yet, Zidane made several changes ahead of Tuesday’s Group A game away at Galatasaray and those who came in failed to impressed, with a blunt performance against Mallorca revealing familiar failings up front and causing Madrid to slip to their first league defeat of the campaign. 

Some of the adjustments were enforced as Eden Hazard was absent following the birth of his fourth child on Friday while Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale were all nursing injuries of varying severity. 

Others were seemingly chosen as Raphael Varane and Dani Carvajal were rested, along with Fede Valverde, who had brought much-needed energy into the midfield before the international break. 

Bale’s calf injury is believed to be minor but was considered too much of a risk and will also miss the trip to Turkey along with Ballon d’Or winner Modric.

Heavy rotation points to a belief in the utmost importance of the game against Galatasaray and a recognition from Zidane that Madrid cannot afford another misstep in Europe. 

“The problem is we have to show every three days that we are good,” Zidane said on Saturday. 

“That is our difficulty and that is what we do not do. We must have consistency. We have to have more life in our game if we want to do important things this year.” 

They sit bottom of the group, with just one point from their opening two games and the prospect of failing to make the knock-out stages for the first time in the Champions League still faint, but a possibility nonetheless. 

It also suggests for all the good intentions about consistency in La Liga and wrestling back some of the domination enjoyed by Barcelona over the last decade, for Real Madrid the Champions League perhaps never plays second fiddle. 

After all, it was in the Champions League that Zidane forged his reputation as a coach, three triumphs in a row almost eradicating from memory his more disappointing period in the domestic league and cups. 

Zidane might have weighed up that there is time and games to recuperate in La Liga that do not exist in Europe but losing to Mallorca does not come without a cost. 

After five games unbeaten, doubts have returned about his team and the spotlight is back on their Frenchman. 

Perhaps he hoped for more from those that came in. Isco, Luka Jovic and Vinicius Junior were all taken off in the second half on Saturday and while Vinicus is young and Jovic recently signed, it remains to be seen how long it might take to regain Zidane’s trust. 

Alvaro Odriozola, in for Carvajal at right-back, was at fault for the goal and then sent off. 

When Madrid won the league under Zidane in 2017, he successfully rotated in games against lesser sides but, despite around 300 million euros ($300 million) spent last summer, his squad might not have the same depth. 

Galatasaray have won only four of their opening eight Super Lig games and have not reached the Champions League last 16 since 2014. 

But Madrid cannot be complacent, having lost three of their last four visits to the Turkish giants.

Zidane’s hopes of progress will be transformed with a victory but he might need his best players back to do it. 

MILAN — Cristiano Ronaldo and Miralem Pjanic sealed a 2-1 win for Juventus over Bologna to consolidate top spot in Serie A on Saturday.

Ronaldo was presented with a special jersey before kick-off to mark his 700th career goal scored playing for Portugal during the week.

The 34-year-old hit his 701st after 19 minutes, with Pjanic adding a second eight minutes after the break following a blunder by Brazilian defender Danilo, who had earlier pulled Bologna level.

The defending champions are now four points clear of second-placed Inter Milan.

Atalanta stay third after throwing away a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Lazio, with fourth-placed Napoli closing the gap to just one point after Arkadiusz Milik’s double saw off Verona.

“The road is the right one, but we need to work on some details. It was a good match blighted by three or four errors,” said Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri.

Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic returned to the bench in Turin after his second course of chemotherapy as he battles cancer.

And the visitors were given reason to hope of snatching a rare point against the Turin giants when Danilo responded to Ronaldo’s opener with a 29th-minute volley.

But Pjanic sealed victory with his third goal in four games in the 54th minute amid chaos in front of the Bologna goal.

Bologna keeper Lukasz Skorupski denied Ronaldo and in-form Gonzalo Higuain late before both the crossbar and Gianluigi Buffon frustrated Federico Santander’s push for a last-gasp equaliser for the visitors who slip to 12th place.

“We watched the Santander goal again, it was offside so VAR would have ruled it out,” said Sarri.

“But I told the lads we mustn’t sit back on a lead, we should attack, otherwise we leave ourselves in these risky situations to the very end.”

Serie A leading scorer Ciro Immobile’s late brace of penalties helped Lazio wipe out a three-goal deficit in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Atalanta.

Atalanta, who travel to Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, had led 3-0 with 21 minutes to go at the Stadio Olimpico.

But Immobile scored from the spot on 69 minutes and less than 60 seconds later set up Joaquin Correa for the second, before capping the comeback two minutes into injury time with his ninth goal in eight league games this term.

“With penalties, nobody can understand a thing nowadays,” blasted Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

“Immobile went for a walk, felt someone touch him slightly and dived. 

“Even more, on the second penalty, Immobile put his foot in front of De Roon.”

Colombian Luis Muriel scored a first-half double for the Bergamo side as compatriot and star striker Duvan Zapata was sidelined injured.

Alejandro Gomez got the third eight minutes before the break in a rematch of last season’s Italian Cup final which the Romans won.

But the visitors lost momentum after the hour mark.

Immobile got one back from the spot after being brought down by Jose Luis Palomino and then combined with Correa for their second.

Immobile earned a late penalty after a Marten de Roon foul, celebrating wildly after converting to grab a dramatic point before Lazio’s Europa League trip to Celtic next week.

“I’m losing years of my life kicking penalties in the 90th minute,” said 29-year-old Immobile, after scoring his third league goal from the spot this season.

Polish striker Milik scored in either half as Napoli got back to winning ways at the Stadio San Paolo.

Verona drop to 13th place.

MOTEGI, Japan — MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will eye his tenth win of the season after snatching pole position on Saturday in Japan.

The Honda rider clocked 1min 45.763sec for his first pole start in the premier class at Twin Ring Motegi, where he won in 2016 and last year, while coming second in 2017, 2014 and 2013.

“Finally we did it. So happy,” Marquez said, after securing his 90th career pole.

He will be joined in the front row by Petronas Yamaha SRT riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo, who came in 0.132sec and 0.181sec later.

Marquez, who finished third in Friday practice, has already secured his sixth season win in seven years after triumphing in Thailand two weeks ago.

He also finished second in five of the season’s six other races, missing the podium only once in the United States after crashing out while leading the race.

Still, the season champion was keeping his guard high, with the Yamaha duo and Andrea Dovizioso on Ducati maintaining pressure.

Marquez admitted that he and his team were yet to find the best setup for their machine, saying “tomorrow will be a tough race” as the weather has changed constantly on Friday and Saturday.

“We will see tomorrow because Yamaha riders have good pace, Dovizioso has a good pace. We will try to do our 100 per cent,” the Spaniard said.

“The main target is to finish in the podium. Then if I feel OK, try to fight for the victory,” he said.

Quartararo is nipping at the Spaniard’s heels after two narrow defeats to the world champion in recent races, with victory only decided on the closing laps.

“I am ready to fight. I hope to make good first laps,” the Frenchman said about the Sunday race.

Riders in Motegi had to navigate hostile conditions after heavy rain into the afternoon, leaving the track with damp spots and with thick cloud cover for the qualifying sessions.

Sunny weather is expected for Sunday’s race day on the Japanese circuit.

Starting from the second row will be Maverick Vinales of Monster Energy Yamaha, Cal Crutchlow of LCR Honda and Jack Miller of Pramac Racing.

They are followed by Dovizioso, who could seal second place in this year’s championship with Sunday’s race, while Valentino Rossi starts from the fourth row.

JEJU, South Korea — Phil Mickelson said Wednesday that captain Tiger Woods should pick himself to play the Presidents Cup this year believing it is wrong that two of 2019’s major winners are not automatic selections.

Woods won his 15th major at The Masters and Gary Woodland won the US Open, but neither qualified automatically in the top eight points scorers for December’s team matchplay showdown against Team International in Melbourne.

“I think those two players should be automatic picks,” Mickelson firmly told AFP at the CJ Cup in Jeju, South Korea.

“I think if somebody else was the captain, 100 per cent they would pick Tiger.

“The only reason that it’s a question is because it’s weird to pick yourself, but he’s ninth in the world, and he won the Masters. He should be on the team.”

Mickelson has an unmatched record in team events, playing in 24 consecutive Ryder or Presidents Cups since 1994.

But the five-time major winner is resigned to missing out saying his form this year has not been good enough.

“I have not played well in the last seven, eight months,” said the slimmed-down 49-year-old, who has embarked on a fitness and diet regime in an effort to get back to his best.

“Even if I were to win [this week], I have not done enough to warrant a pick. I’m not asking for one, I don’t expect one.”

Woods is returning from arthroscopic surgery at the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan next week, and his fitness will probably decide if he follows the advice of his long-standing rival.

Slim Mickelson

Mickelson by contrast is revelling in his new fitter body and has set himself the target of making the US Ryder Cup team next at Whistling Straights at the age of 50.

“Well, I’m starting to play some good golf and I fully expect to play to my level and make the Ryder Cup team next year,” he said.

“But the players that are on the Presidents Cup team need to showcase consistency throughout the year.

“I have not played very consistent good golf at all this year. And there are a lot better, more deserving players that have earned their way on to the team.”

A lithe-looking Mickelson would not reveal how much weight he has lost, but said he was already feeling the benefits.

“I’ve changed my eating habits. I eat much healthier, I eat a lot less,” he revealed.

“I work out twice a day when I’m home and I believe that the weight loss and increased physical fitness will help me play better,” said Mickelson.

“I wanted to feel better on the golf course, I wanted to be able to practise longer and I wanted to be able to recover faster. 

“It helps me have more energy and more focus towards the end of the rounds. I’m optimistic and believe that I will start to play to the level that I know I’m able to.”

STUTTGART, Germany — US gymnastics star Simone Biles won her fifth gold medal in the women’s floor final Sunday to conclude her “best ever” world championships and take her career record to 25 medals.

Biles, who won the beam title earlier in the day, also claimed an unrivalled 19th world gold following her previous successes in the team, all-around and vault events in Stuttgart.

“This is really the best worlds performance I have ever put out,” she said after finishing her fifth world championships with five titles in six events.

The 22-year-old plans to celebrate when she gets back home to Texas, where “my mom usually likes to throw a worlds party — whether I want one or not,” she joked.

Biles was crowned world floor champion for the fifth time after winning by a full point from team-mate Sunisa Lee, who earned silver with Russia’s Angelina Melnikova taking bronze.

“I just couldn’t move at the end, I was so tired,” Biles confessed after her sixth and final event in Stuttgart.

Her double gold success Sunday came within a two-hour spell after earlier winning the beam final with Liu Tingting, 19, taking silver and 16-year-old Li Shijia claiming bronze.

“It meant a lot,” said Biles of her gold on the beam. She had to settle for bronze in the event at the 2016 Olympics and last year’s world championships in Doha.

“I’m thrilled with that performance, it was probably the highlight” of the week.

Biles worked hard on the beam to rebuild her confidence in the discipline, so “to go out there and nail the routine felt really good”.

Sunday’s golds made Biles the most decorated gymnast in world championship history, surpassing the previous all-time record of 23 world medals won by men’s star Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus in the 1990s.

This is the first time she has finished a world championships with five golds, but she has said she is “99 per cent” sure Stuttgart will be her last.

The only blot on her near-perfect record in south-west Germany came in Saturday’s uneven bars final when she finished fifth, but both Biles and her coach Laurent Landi were delighted with her week.

Less than 10 months before the Tokyo Games, Biles is on course to retain the Olympic team, floor, vault and all-around titles she won in Rio.

“She’s incredible, she was here to do a job and she did exactly what she trained for,” said Frenchman Landi.

“She has shown to herself and everybody else that she is consistent, not only in training, but when it counts.

“If she does this for 12 more months, she will be very, very successful.”

Landi said the hard work Biles has also put into her mental preparation paid off as she patiently waited despite a lengthy delay before her floor routine while judges reviewed a rival’s performance.

Mental edge

“In her head, she’s fine, doesn’t get too upset, even if there are mistakes in training it doesn’t bother her, so she was very confident for this final,” he said.

Russia’s Nikita Nagornyy also stood out as one to watch in Tokyo next year by completing a hat-trick of gold medals, adding the men’s vault title Sunday to his all-around and team success.

The 22-year-old finished just ahead of team-mate Artur Dalaloyan by 0.033 points in a repeat of Friday’s all-around final where Nagornyy took gold and Dalaloyan, the men’s 2018 world champion, silver.

Dalaloyan also took bronze on the horizontal bar, behind Brazilian gold medallist Arthur Mariano, for his fourth medal this week, completing the set after an all-around silver and team gold.

Joe Fraser, the youngest competitor in the parallel bars field, said it was a “dream come true” to win Britain’s second gold medal in Stuttgart.

Less than 24 hours after Max Whitlock’s pommel horse gold, Fraser pipped Turkey’s Ahmet Onder on the bars by 0.017 points.

“World champion? It doesn’t get better,” said Fraser.