Phil Mickelson has revealed the harm and hurt his gambling addiction has caused to those closest to him.

The 53-year-old six-time major winner, who opened up about his addiction in a lengthy post on social media, claimed it affected those he cared about “in ways I wasn’t aware or could fully understand”.

Mickelson wrote on X: “I won’t be betting this year because I crossed the line of moderation and into addiction which isn’t any fun at all.

“The money wasn’t ever the issue since our financial security has never been threatened, but I was so distracted I wasn’t able to be present with the ones I love and caused a lot of harm. This lack of presence has been so hurtful.

“‘You’re here but you’re not with us’, is something I’ve been told often throughout my addiction. It affected those I care about in ways I wasn’t aware or could fully understand.”

Betting guru Billy Walters opened the lid on Mickelson’s gambling habit in his autobiography, claiming the LIV golfer had placed bets of more than one billion dollars in the last 30 years.

Mickelson paid tribute to wife Amy for her support and urged gamblers not to “confuse your enablers as friends like I did”.

He said: “It’s like a hurricane is going on outside and I’m isolated in a shelter oblivious to what was happening.

“When I came out there was so much damage to clean up that I just wanted to go back inside and not deal with it.

“If you ever cross the line of moderation and enter into addiction, hopefully you won’t confuse your enablers as friends like I did.

“Hopefully you won’t have to deal with these difficult moments publicly so others can profit off you like I have.

“But hopefully you will have a strong and supportive partner who is willing to help you through being your worst self, and through your worst moments like I have in Amy.

“She has loved me and supported me through my darkest and most difficult times. I couldn’t have gotten through this without her.”

He added: “Because of her love, support and commitment, I’m back on track to being the person I want to be.

“After many years of receiving professional help, not gambling, and being in recovery from my addictions, I’m now able to sit still, be present in the moment and live each day with an inner calm and peace.

“I still have a lot of cleaning up to do with those I love the most but I’m doing it slowly and as best I can.”

Ante-post favourite Vauban has been given a weight of 55 kilograms for the Lexus Melbourne Cup.

Willie Mullins’ charge, who won the 2022 Triumph Hurdle, heads the market for the November 7 contest after winning each of his two starts on the level this term – chalking up a seven-and-a-half-length verdict in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot before landing the Group Three Ballyroan Stakes in fine style last time.

The five-year-old’s weight, which equates to around 8st 9lb, has him 3.5kg behind last year’s winner and top weight Gold Trip.

Mullins has a second string to his bow in Absurde, who is guaranteed a start in the Group One contest after winning the Ebor under a fine Frankie Dettori ride at York last month.

He finished second to Vauban at Ascot and has been given 53kg for the Flemington showpiece, while Aidan O’Brien’s Broome, winner of the Dubai Gold Cup back in March, has 56.5kg.

O’Brien also has St Leger fourth Tower Of London on 50.5kg, with son Joseph – already a dual winner of the race with Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020) – having Valiant King (50kg) and Okita Soushi (51.5kg) in the field.

The William Haggas-trained Desert King, who finished a gallant third for the King and Queen in Saturday’s St Leger, has been given 51.5kg.

Fellow Newmarket-trained runner West Wind Blows is on 54kg for Simon and Ed Crisford, with the four-year-old already in Australia ahead of a possible run in the Turnbull Stakes on October 7.

Dermot Weld, who broke new ground when sending Vintage Crop to become the first northern hemisphere-trained winner of the race in 1993 before adding another victory nine years later with Media Puzzle, has Harbour Wind in contention this year but his weight of 50kg leaves him well down the field, which has a limit of 24 runners.

Other familiar names in the field include ex-Haggas runners Alenquer (56.5kg) and Soulcombe (53.5kg), last year’s second Emissary (52kg) plus Francesco Guardi (54kg) and El Bodegon (55.5kg), who were both previously trained by James Ferguson, and last year’s Irish Oaks victor Magical Lagoon (51kg).

Racing Victoria’s head of handicapping David Hegan said: “Gold Trip is the standout performer among the entries for both Cups (Melbourne and Caulfield) and the natural topweight with Broome the only Group One winner among an international contingent that boasts an assortment of rapidly emerging stayers.

“We have effectively lifted Gold Trip 2kg from his true weight last year, which is less than the penalty afforded other Melbourne Cup winners in recent times, however we are mindful that it is 48 years since a horse has carried 58.5kg to victory in either Cup so a significant challenge awaits.”

What the papers say

England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, 25, is attracting transfer attention after being dropped to the bench for Arsenal’s match at Everton. The Daily Mail reports that Chelsea and Bayern Munich are keeping an eye on the situation as he battles David Raya for the Gunners’ starting role.

Newcastle are lining up a potential £52million move for Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta, 26, according to the Daily Mail. Paqueta had been linked with an £80m move to Manchester City this summer but, amid an investigation into alleged betting breaches, he ended up staying at West Ham.

Real Betis are the latest suitors for former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, 32, reports The Sun via Fichajes in Spain.

Chelsea have secured one of their young talents for another year, according to the Evening Standard. Defender Alfie Gilchrist, 19, has reportedly extended his contract until 2025.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jose Maria Gimenez: Manchester United are being linked with Atletico Madrid’s Uruguayan defender, 28.

Serge Gnabry: United are also reportedly lining up a bid for the Germany forward, 28, from Bayern Munich.

Adam Wainwright recorded his 200th career victory with seven brilliant innings as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, 1-0, on a historic Monday night at Busch Stadium.

Wainwright, pitching in his 18th and final season in a Cardinals' uniform, yielded just four hits and two walks to become the 38th pitcher in NL history to reach the milestone.

The 42-year-old had gone 0-10 over an 11-start stretch before picking up an elusive career win No. 199 last week, when he allowed two runs over five innings to beat the Baltimore Orioles.

Willson Contreras accounted for the game's lone run with a solo homer in the fourth off Freddy Peralta, who permitted just four hits and struck out six over six innings in a hard-luck loss.

The loss kept Milwaukee's magic number to win the NL Central at seven. The Brewers hold a six-game lead on the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds atop the division.

Orioles rally past Astros in clash of division leaders

Cedric Mullins hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that lifted the Baltimore Orioles to an 8-7 win over the Houston Astros in Monday's opener of a three-game series between American League division leaders. 

Astros closer Ryan Pressly entered in the ninth to protect a 7-5 lead and gave up consecutive one-out singles to Ryan O'Hearn and Austin Hays before Mullins launched a 2-1 pitch into the right-field seats to send Baltimore in front.

Cionel Perez and Yennier Cano kept Houston scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to extend the Orioles' lead over second-place Tampa Bay to 2 1/2 games in the AL East.

Houston, which is now lost five of seven, maintained a 1 1/2-game edge on Texas and Seattle for first place in the AL West. The Rangers were handed a 4-2 loss by the Boston Red Sox on Monday, while the Mariners posted a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics to tie Texas for the AL's third and final wild card berth.

O'Hearn's hit in the ninth capped a 5-for-5 night in which he drove in two runs. Mullins added an RBI double in the seventh that tied the game at 5-5, while Gunnar Henderson finished 3 for 5 with three runs scored and Adley Rutschman knocked in a pair of runs.

Houston had taken a 6-5 lead on Jose Abreu's solo homer in the seventh, and Martin Maldonado had a solo shot in the eighth to increase the margin.

Reds top Twins, move into tie for NL's final wild card

There's also now a tie for the NL's final wild card spot after Cincinnati rookie Connor Phillips pitched the Reds to an important 7-3 victory over the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.

Phillips collected his first major league win by holding Minnesota to two runs and three hits while striking out seven in seven innings. The 22-year-old's performance helped the Reds move into a tie with the Chicago Cubs for the NL's third wild card berth, a half-game in front of Miami after the Marlins were dealt a 2-1 loss by the New York Mets.

Will Benson homered and drove in three runs to aid Phillips, while Joey Votto had two hits and two RBIs and Spencer Steer finished 3 for 4 with an RBI single.

Both Minnesota runs off Phillips came via solo homers, one from Royce Lewis in the fourth inning and the other from Alex Kirilloff in the seventh.

Twins starter Joe Ryan took the loss after surrendering four runs in five innings. 

Japan pulled off the greatest shock in Rugby World Cup history as they stunned mighty South Africa 34-32 at the Amex Stadium in Brighton on this day in 2015.

Karne Hesketh’s 84th-minute try sealed a staggering victory from the Brave Blossoms, sinking the two-time world champions and leaving coach Eddie Jones rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

Jones admitted: “Japan beating South Africa? I had to look at the scoreboard at the end just to see if it was true or not.

“We kept hanging in there. It looked at one stage when they got seven points ahead that they would run away with it.

“That would have been the normal scenario, like the horror story where the woman goes for a shower after midnight and you know what’s going to happen.

“Normally they would score three or four, it ends up 50-20 and everyone says, ‘well done Japan, you tried hard, you were brave’. But we were more than brave.”

Instead it was the South Africans who found themselves starring in their own horror movie.

They trailed 10-7 midway through the first half thanks to a try from Japan’s New Zealand-born captain Michael Leitch, which cancelled out Francois Louw’s score, but led by two at half-time after Bismarck Du Plessis went over.

Lood De Jager and Adriaan Strauss scored under the posts in the second half but a try from full-back Ayumu Goromaru, as well as his nerveless kicking, drew Japan level at 29-29 with just 10 minutes to play.

When Handre Pollard kicked a penalty with five minutes remaining it appeared South Africa would at least avoid a humiliating defeat.

But relentless pressure from Japan paid off when rather than take a penalty for a draw, they were rewarded for their bravery when Hesketh scored in the left corner.

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer said: “We let our country down, we weren’t good enough but all credit to Japan, they played really well.

“I said before, this will be the toughest World Cup ever and I think there will be more shocks. I still believe we can win the World Cup, but I have to press some hard buttons to try to fix it.”

Linebacker TJ Watt returned a fumble 17 yards to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 26-22 win and complete a bad night for the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns, who lost for the 20th-straight regular season visit to Pittsburgh, lost star running back Nick Chubb with a serious-looking knee injury in the first quarter.

Players from both teams knelt in prayer as Chubb received attention before being taken off the field on the back of a cart.

Cleveland recovered to lead midway through the fourth quarter before Watt seized on quarterback DeShaun Watson’s fumble.

Meanwhile, Tony Jones Jr came off the bench to run for two touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 20-17 to start the season 2-0 for the first time in 10 years.

Jones, elevated from the Saints practice squad, replaced the injured Jamaal Williams and grabbed his chance as the visitors cashed in on the work of their defence in the second half.

They sacked rookie Bryce Young, top pick in the draft, four times on his home debut and restricted the Panthers to 239 yards.

The Saints got within little more than a minute of going two games without conceding a touchdown before Young found Adam Thielen to briefly revive the Panthers’ hopes.

The New York Giants expect star running back Saquon Barkley to miss three weeks with a sprained right ankle he sustained in Sunday's comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals, ESPN reported Monday.

According to the report, an MRI taken on Barkley's ankle did not reveal a more significant high ankle sprain that would require a lengthier recovery period. Still, the 2022 Pro Bowl selection is certain to miss the Giants' game at San Francisco on Thursday and potentially more.

Barkley was injured with under two minutes left in New York's 31-28 win, in which the GIants rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit. The six-year veteran got his right ankle caught in a pile on his final rushing attempt and needed to be helped off the field with the assistance of trainers.

The 2018 No. 2 overall pick played a big role in Sunday's comeback with both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the second half. Barkley finished the game with 63 rushing yards on 17 carries and added six receptions totalling 29 yards.

Barkley helped the 2022 GIants to their first playoff appearance in six years with an outstanding season in which he finished fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He accounted for 27.7 per cent of New York's total yards from scrimmage last season, the sixth highest rate of any player for his respective team.

The 26-year-old is entering the final season of a one-year, $10.091 million contract that can be worth up to $11 million with incentives. The Giants gave Barkley the franchise tag this offseason, which prompted him to skip the team's minicamp in June, but the two sides reached an agreement on a revised deal just before the start of training camp.

Veteran Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell are both expected to see increased touches during Barkley's absence.

Breida has spent the majority of his career as a backup but did rush for 814 yards in 14 games with the 49ers in 2018. Brightwell's most extensive action came in the 2022 regular-season finale, in which he rushed for 60 yards on 11 carries against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Cleveland Browns star running back Nick Chubb suffered a gruesome knee injury Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers and was carted off the field.

Chubb was tackled by Pittsburgh safety Minkah Fitzpatrick’s early in the second quarter, with Fitzpatrick’s torso hitting Chubb’s left knee as Chubb’s left foot was firmly planted in the ground.

Chubb was evaluated by trainers on the field for several minutes while some of his teammates knelt solemnly in prayer, and he was eventually helped onto a cart to be taken into the locker room.

The Monday Night Football production staff declined to show some graphic replays of Chubb’s injury.

The Pittsburgh crowd let out a collective groan when the play was replayed on the Acrisure Stadium jumbotron, and Steelers fans gave their rival’s star player a standing ovation as he was carted off the field.

Chubb was almost immediately ruled out for the rest of the game, typically a sign of a serious injury.

He was replaced at running back by Jerome Ford, who caught a 3-yard touchdown pass on the first play after the stoppage.

While playing for the University of Georgia in 2015, Chubb suffered a devastating injury to the same leg – a dislocated left knee with three torn ligaments and cartilage damage.

A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Chubb has been a force since he was drafted by the Browns in the second of the 2018 draft.

Chubb has had at least 1,145 yards from scrimmage in each of his first five NFL seasons, and he set a career high in 2022 with 1,525 rushing yards.

Chubb has averaged 5.25 yards per carry during his NFL career, the second most all-time among players with at least 1,000 carries (Jamaal Charles, 5.38).

Chubb is on the first season of a three-year, $36.6million contract and is one of the running backs who met last offseason to discuss better compensation for players at the position.

Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. are the only other running backs on Cleveland’s roster.

Kareem Hunt, with whom Chubb shared work in the Browns’ backfield from 2019-22, remains a free agent.

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper expected Callum Hudson-Odoi to have a big impact as his “moment of brilliance” earned a 1-1 draw with Burnley.

Hudson-Odoi reminded the Premier League what he is capable of with a fine debut goal, bringing his side level with a brilliant curling effort in the second half after Zeki Amdouni had put the Clarets ahead.

It is 18 months since the 22-year-old last played in England’s top flight as his promising Chelsea career petered out, but, after a year on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, he was back with a bang.

He was Forest’s brightest spark following his deadline-day move from Stamford Bridge and got his reward.

“Any new player will want to hit the ground running and show what they can do,” Cooper said. “We got Anthony (Elanga) and Callum in really good positions and we could have done more with them.

“I know he has quality and he can have moments of brilliance. We need that at times in the Premier League and we got one tonight. It is great for him, great for us obviously.

“He hasn’t played much football, he has trained well, but I backed him to do well tonight. He ran out of legs, I didn’t think we’d get that long out of him. We have got to push him to do more of that.

“You see goals like that in the Premier League, there is so much quality. It is a brilliant goal. We have had a few of those scored against us but we haven’t had too many of them for us. Beautiful strike, beautiful technique, great for him, great for the team. He will feel good about that.”

The point for Burnley enabled them to get their campaign up and running after three successive defeats, but they might be disappointed they did not leave with all three after they were denied a late winner by VAR as Sander Berge was ruled to have handled the ball.

They then ended the game with 10 men after Lyle Foster elbowed Ryan Yates deep into added time, with VAR also intervening.

Clarets boss Vincent Kompany was pragmatic in his response.

“I have a decent business brain and a decent coaching brain, but when it comes to the laws and legalities I switch off,” he said.

“A handball this way and handball that way, people come in and explain to us all of the time, but I have come to a decision to trust they know what they are doing and that they have the right intentions.

“It’s not something I want to discuss too much because I can’t change it now.”

Having played Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham in their opening three games, Kompany is seeing an improvement.

“You have to fight for every point in this league, but there is a range of teams that we can compete with at the moment from what I have observed,” the Belgian added.

“I thought today was at least even and depending what side of the fence you sit on you probably think you deserved three points.

“But, if we stay in these games, our team has got so much progress still to go and that is the exciting things for us. In these types of games we are there, but in the future there is room for much further improvement.”

Joe Marler has invoked England’s 2003 World Cup heroes in his belief that winning ugly is to be applauded if it results in success.

England have taken a stranglehold on Pool D after delivering comprehensive victories over Argentina and Japan but, for different reasons, neither performance has set the tournament alight.

Against the Brave Blossoms in Nice on Sunday they kicked for 1,175 metres, putting boot to ball 42 times, and while they secured the bonus point in humid conditions that made handling treacherous, the kick-first approach drew boos.

Yet Marler recalls that two decades ago Martin Johnson’s England resorted to conservative tactics to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, including winning the final against Australia through a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal.

“Finesse – why do you have to finesse it? You’ve just got to win, haven’t you? What did England do 20 years ago? Find a way to win in the World Cup,” the Harlequins prop said.

“A lot of people talk about style of play. In 2003 they went a couple of phases, Jonny slotted some penalties and some drop-goals.

“They won ugly, a lot of that tournament they won ugly but we don’t talk about that now do we? We talk about them winning the World Cup. You forget about how you did it.

“You don’t talk about South Africa getting pumped in the first game against New Zealand in 2019, you talk about them pumping us in the final and then lifting the trophy.

“We’ll keep trying and taking the lessons from each game and we’ll keep trying to finesse. But ultimately it’s about the win. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves at all.”

Marler played a comical role in the 57th-minute try that swung the game away from Japan, with the ball bouncing off his head and over the line for Courtney Lawes to touch down.

The Sussex native joked that he was influenced by Brighton’s 3-1 victory at Manchester United 24 hours earlier.

“Well it’s just what I’ve been practising for – these moments. I’ve been practising with Dan Cole and Jamie George in activation,” Marler said.

“I took great inspiration from Roberto De Zerbi’s mighty Seagulls doing a demolition job on United, which is my son’s team.

“Four Premier League wins in a row over Manchester United. Only three teams in Premier League history have done that – Brighton, Man City, Liverpool.

“But we’ve won nothing yet, which is quite apt because it brings it back to us (England) having won nothing yet.

“We’ve had two good victories, won in different circumstances, and we’re on to the next one.”

England fans turned on the players in the third quarter when Alex Mitchell kicked the ball dead and the groans persisted until the kitchen sink was thrown at Japan in the final half hour.

“We’re here to win games, that’s our job. We’re here to win Test matches. We want to make every fan and every English fan proud,” man of the match George Ford said.

“We understand the sacrifice and commitment they make to come and support us and we value that so highly.

“But we want to be a winning team and we want them to be proud of a winning team as well.”

Taulupe Faletau has highlighted Wales’ sense of belief and confidence as they close in on a fourth successive Rugby World Cup quarter-final appearance.

Australia’s defeat against Fiji means that Wales are four points clear at the top of Pool C.

They need a maximum of seven points from two more games – against the Wallabies next Sunday and then Georgia – to guarantee a last-eight spot as group winners.

And that would maintain their impressive record under head coach Warren Gatland of reaching the knockout phase in every World Cup campaign he has overseen.

“With the work we have done we are very confident in the group of what we can do,” number eight Faletau said.

“That is our approach going forward with each game – knowing the work we have put in and backing that.

“The togetherness we have built in that time together will put us in good stead.”

While Wales are in total control of their World Cup destiny, Eddie Jones’ Australia have entered the last-chance saloon following a 22-15 loss to Fiji.

It was Fiji’s first triumph against the Wallabies since 1954, and Australia are hovering on the brink of a pool stage exit for the first time.

When it comes to World Cup action, Wales and Australia are familiar rivals, having played each other seven times.

And while Australia lead that particular series 4-3, Wales have won three of the last four in all competitions.

Faletau added: “We have got to concentrate on ourselves. There will be a lot to work on from the Portugal game and we will look to make those improvements going into Australia.

“With the time we have had together there is definitely belief within the group. In each game we believe we can get a result against any team on the day.

“We will take confidence from the two wins, but there is definitely plenty to work on going into Australia.”

Faletau, who has won 102 caps, is two games into his return from a calf muscle injury that ruled him out of Wales’ three-Test preparation schedule.

He highlighted an impressive display against Portugal by claiming Wales’ bonus-point touchdown, while he also made a try-saving tackle earlier in the contest.

A further step up from the 32-year-old can now be realistically expected, and Gatland said: “The more game-time he has and a string of games, he gets better.

“That is why, even with the short turnaround (between Fiji and Portugal) we wanted to give him some more rugby.

“I thought he did some really good things, and he will continue to get better with more rugby.”

Callum Hudson-Odoi reminded the Premier League what he is capable of with a brilliant debut goal to earn Nottingham Forest a 1-1 draw with Burnley.

It is 18 months since the 22-year-old last played in England’s top flight as his promising Chelsea career petered out, but, after a year on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, he was back with a bang.

He was Forest’s brightest spark following his deadline-day move from Stamford Bridge and brought his side level with a brilliant curling effort in the second half after Zeki Amdouni had put the Clarets ahead.

Hudson-Odoi is reunited with Steve Cooper, who managed the winger when he was part of the England Under-17 World Cup-winning squad, and England boss Gareth Southgate will hope the Welshman can get the best out of a player he has not used since 2019 and who is considering changing his allegiance to Ghana.

The point for Burnley enabled them to get their campaign up and running after three successive defeats, but they might be disappointed they did not leave with all three after they were denied a late winner by VAR, while they ended the game with 10 men after Lyle Foster elbowed Ryan Yates.

Forest, handing debuts to Hudson-Odoi and Ibrahim Sangare, looked vibrant in the opening 20 minutes and were causing Burnley problems with their pace on the break.

Hudson-Odoi, playing his first Premier League match since January 2022, was enjoying himself and saw a shot blocked after cutting inside from the left.

He came even closer in the 16th minute as Taiwo Awoniyi teed him up and his 20-yard effort was palmed away by Clarets goalkeeper James Trafford.

Burnley weathered the storm and began to come into the game.

They fired a warning shot in the 25th minute when Amdouni fired a low shot toward the bottom corner, but Matt Turner got down well to keep the ball out.

But the Clarets did take lead in the 41st minute as Luca Koleosho skinned Joe Worrall down the left and pulled the ball back for Amdouni to fire into the bottom corner.

Hudson-Odoi had looked Forest’s most dangerous player and he brought the City Ground to life just after the hour mark.

Awoniyi did well to control a high cross and he laid it off to the former Chelsea winger, who cut inside and sent a 20-yard curling effort in off a post, with the goal surviving a VAR check.

Burnley were not so lucky as they thought they had regained the lead in the 76th minute when Sander Berge got past Scott McKenna and teed up Foster, but the Norwegian was ruled to have used his hand and the visitors were denied.

And Foster’s experience with VAR did not get any better as he was shown a red card in added time after referee Robert Jones was invited to check the pitchside monitor after the forward was caught elbowing Yates.