LIV Golf’s fifth season got underway this week under the lights in Saudi Arabia. But the focus hasn’t been on the golf.
The week began with additional questions about the departures of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. While the response to the exit of two marquee names highlighted the league’s new reality, something else sucked up all the oxygen at the breakaway league’s season-opener.
On Tuesday, the Official World Golf Rankings board announced that it had accepted LIV’s application for membership and that the league will begin earning points this week in Riyadh. However, it was not all sunshine and rainbows for the Saudi-backed league. While LIV will receive points starting this week, the OWGR board noted that the points will be limited to top-10 finishes and ties.
“This has been an incredibly complex and challenging process and one which we have devoted a huge amount of time and energy to resolving in the seven months since LIV Golf submitted their application,” OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman said in a statement. “We fully recognized the need to rank the top men’s players in the world but at the same time had to find a way of doing so that was equitable to the thousands of other players competing on other tours that operate with established meritocratic pathways.”
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The OWGR board’s decision has loomed over LIV’s season opener as players and CEO Scott O’Neil grapple with its implications.
O’Neil spoke with Al Arabiya English during LIV Riyadh and tried to parse through a decision that opens up a path to major championship eligibility for LIV players, but, in their eyes, is still not good enough.
“Can you imagine the commission of the PGA [Tour], the head of the DP World Tour, and so, from our perspective, what a great vote of confidence for them to say, ‘Okay, we’ll give you points,’” O’Neil said.
“Now, on the other hand, it’s a bit unprecedented. You know, in every other event that they have across the hundreds of tours that they sanction, if there are no cuts, only 15 percent of the field gets no points. In our case, it’s 82 percent of the field. So that didn’t feel great, you know. And I’m hoping that this is the first step of many steps up the flight of stairs where we’ll actually be ranked and recognized, where we actually should be, which I think is the greatest, deepest, most talented, strongest strength of field, international golf in the world.”
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Jon Rahm echoed O’Neil’s sentiment but believes LIV isn’t getting the respect it deserves, given the talent in the league.
“Yeah, it’s fantastic that we’re getting points,” Rahm said on the LIV Golf broadcast. “It’s fantastic that we’re being recognized in a way.
“With that said, I don’t like how we’re not being treated the same as every other tour. It seems like the rules that have been in place don’t really apply to us, with only ten of us getting points. It doesn’t seem fair. The small fields out there throughout the course of the year, their players get full points.”
Talor Gooch, who has been on LIV since its inception, believes the league is still being unfairly treated because of its status as a disruptor in professional golf.
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“I don’t think the right thing was done, which is not any different than what we’ve experienced here at LIV for the last four or five seasons now,” Gooch said. “It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. But I think anybody who says that the right thing was done and the fair thing was done, I don’t think they’re in tune with the reality of things.”
However, another original LIV Golf member took a different view of the OWGR’s decision.
Peter Uihlein was quick to compare the number of points LIV earns against the DP World Tour’s Qatar Masters this week and sees it as a clear step toward further legitimacy for the league.
“I might be one of the few that like it,” he said. “We have more world ranking points today than we did yesterday. I saw the winner gets 23 points this week. In Qatar, he gets 20. In my min,d we’re the second-best tour in the world right now. Obviously, there are things that probably need to get worked out with the top ten or whatever, but the reality is we have more points today than we did yesterday. I’m all for it.”
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As No Laying Up’s Chris Solomon pointed out on X, the player who finishes sixth at LIV Riyadh will get the same number of points as the player who finishes 20th at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. Given the size of the fields and the quality of players in each, LIV’s seemingly did pretty well.
Elivis Smylie won in his LIV debut, taking home the 23.03580 projected OWGR points for first place. Bryson DeChambeau, meanwhile, finished T17, leaving Saudi Arabia without an OWGR boost and with questions about his LIV future still hanging in the air as the league heads to Australia.
The final round of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open gets underway Sunday morning at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the tournament on Sunday, including full WM Phoenix Open TV coverage, streaming details and Round 4 tee times.
How to watch WM Phoenix Open on Sunday
Hideki Matusyama takes a one-shot lead into Sunday’s final round in search of his third WM Phoenix Open title. Matsuyama sits at 13 under after a Saturday 68.
One shot back of him are a pack of contenders that includes Nicolai Hojgaard and Si Woo Kim. Hojgaard fired a sizzling six-under 65 on Saturday to vault into contention. Kim, who has gone T11-T6-T2 to start the season, backed up his Friday 62 with a 66 on Saturday.
Matt Fitzpatrick and Akshay Bhatia are among a group of players two shots back at 11 under.
You can watch the third round of the WM Phoenix Open on TV via Golf Channel starting at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by the CBS broadcast at 3 p.m. RT. PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will provide streaming coverage beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday morning, as well as featured group and featured hole coverage all day long.
Below you will find everything you need to know to watch the fourth round of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open.
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With an ESPN+ subscription, you gain access to PGA Tour Live, where you can stream the best PGA Tour events live from wherever you want.
How to watch on TV Sunday
Golf Channel will air final-round TV coverage of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open from 12-3 p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by the CBS broadcast from 3-6:30 p.m. ET.
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How to stream online Sunday
You can stream the final round of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open via PGA Tour Live on ESPN+, which will offer streaming coverage starting at 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday in addition to featured group and hole coverage. Paramount+ will stream the CBS broadcast.
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2026 WM Phoenix Open tee times for Sunday: Round 4 (ET)
Tee No. 1
10:45 a.m. – Daniel Berger, Harris English, A.J. Ewart 10:56 a.m. – Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Michael Kim, Sam Stevens 11:07 a.m. – Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Jacob Bridgeman, Jordan Smith 11:18 a.m. – Ryan Fox, Rickie Fowler, Max McGreevy 11:29 a.m. Mac Meissner, Keith Mitchell, Cameron Young 11:40 a.m. Ben Griffin, Brian Campbell, Sepp Straka 11:51 a.m. – Sahith Theegala, Michael Brennan, Mackenzie Hughes 12:02 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Kevin Roy, Stephan Jaegar 12:13 p.m. – Min Woo Lee, Chris Gotterup, Pierceson Coody 12:24 p.m. – John Parry, Viktor Hovland, Rasmus Hojgaard 12:35 p.m. – Jake Knapp, Matt Fitzpatrick, Akshay Bhatia 12:46 p.m. – Si Woo Kim, Ryo Hisatsune, Michael Thorbjornsen 12:57 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Nicolai Hojgaard, Maverick McNealy
Tee No. 10
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10:45 a.m. – Christo Lamprecht, Patrick Rogers, S.H. Kim 10:56 a.m. – Zach Bachou, Wyndham Clark, Alex Smalley 11:07 a.m. – Tom Kim, Zecheng Dou, Nick Taylor 11:18 a.m. – Chad Ramey, Rico Hoey, Davis Thompson 11:29 a.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Joe Highsmith, Chandler Phillips 11:40 a.m. – John VanDerLaan, Johnny Keefer, Bud Cauley 11:51 a.m. – Sami Valimaki, Cam Davis, Keita Nakajima 12:02 p.m. – J.T. Poston, Kensei Hirata, Takumi Kanaya 12:13 p.m. – Max Homa, Kristoffer Reitan, Collin Morikawa 12:24 p.m. – Hank Lebioda, S.T. Lee, Adrien Saddier 12:35 p.m. – Gary Woodland, Xander Schauffele 12:46 p.m. – Patton Kizzire, Neal Shipley
Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, speaks at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday in Milan.
MILAN — Global sports leaders have reached consensus on a new set of eligibility criteria for transgender athletes, with the new policy expected to be announced within the first half of this year, the International Olympic Committee said Saturday.
It would be the first uniform policy adopted by the IOC and international sports federations, applying to major events in dozens of sports, including the Games and world championships. Currently, federations have their own rules which can vary.
Details of the new policy are unclear but it is expected to severely restrict the participation of transgender athletes who compete in women’s categories if they have undergone full male puberty before any subsequent medical transition.
The IOC, under its first female president, Kirsty Coventry, took the lead in June, opting for a uniform approach.
“Protecting the female category is one of the key reforms she wants to bring in,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a news conference at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games on Saturday.
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“I would say it is going to happen shortly, within the next few months.”
“It has been out to consultation phase and we had the ‘pause and reflect’ (period) on it,” Adams said. “Generally speaking there is consensus within the sporting movement. I think you will have a new policy in the first half of this year. Don’t hold me to it, but that is roughly the timescale.”
In September, Coventry set up the “Protection of the Female Category” working group, made up of experts as well as representatives of international federations, to look into how best to protect the female category in sports.
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Before Coventry’s decision, the IOC had balked at any universal rule on transgender participation for the Games, instructing international federations in 2021 to come up with their own guidelines. Under current rules, still in force, transgender athletes are eligible to take part in the Olympics once cleared by their respective federations.
Only a handful of openly transgender athletes have taken part in the Games. New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in a different gender category to that assigned at birth when the weightlifter took part in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Currently, for example, World Aquatics allows transgender athletes who have transitioned before the age of 12, to compete. World Rugby bans all transgender athletes from elite-level competitions.
President Donald Trump has banned transgender athletes from competing in school, college and pro events in the female category in the United States, as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
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Trump, who signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order in February, has said he would not allow transgender athletes to compete at the LA Games.
Nigeria’s Falconets secured a narrow 1-0 win over Senegal in the first leg of their third-round qualifier for the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
The match was played at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta and was a tense contest, with both teams well organised in defence.
Nigeria controlled most of the early play but struggled to create clear scoring chances. Senegal stayed compact and closed down spaces, making it difficult for the Falconets to break through in the first half.
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The Falconets suffered a blow before half-time when forward Janet Akekoromowei was stretchered off with an injury.
After the break, Nigeria came out stronger and found the breakthrough. Chinaza Kindness scored the winning goal with a powerful close-range header, rising above the Senegalese defenders.
Senegal pushed forward in search of an equaliser and increased the pressure as the game went on. However, Nigeria stayed calm and organised at the back to protect their lead.
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The win gives the Falconets a slim advantage ahead of the second leg, which will be played on Saturday, 14 February, at the Stade Lat-Dior in Thiès. Nigeria will aim to finish the job and book their place in the next round of qualification.
Lindsey Vonn’s remarkable comeback to the Olympic Games is nearly complete.
Vonn completed her training in the women’s downhill on Friday and Saturday, a big test after she tore her ACL just over a week ago in a World Cup race. With her training complete, she will compete at 5:30 a.m. ET on Sunday in the women’s downhill final.
Vonn will also compete in the women’s team combined downhill and the women’s super-G.
Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during alpine skiing women’s downhill official training at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 6, 2026.(AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
The 41-year-old will participate in the women’s team combined official training on Monday, Feb. 9, at 5:30 a.m. ET. She will then compete in the actual event on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 4:30 a.m. ET and 8 a.m. ET.
Her final event is on Thursday, the women’s super-G, at 5:30 a.m. ET.
After Vonn was injured last week, many thought it would rule her out of the Olympics, but the Minnesota native has fought through. On X, she clarified that her ACL is 100% ruptured.
Franjo von Allmen speeds down the course during an alpine skiing men’s downhill race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Bormio, Italy. The race took place on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
An ACL tear normally entails a recovery that lasts about a year, but Vonn plans to fight through it.
She made a stunning comeback to the sport last year after nearly six years away from competition. Her return followed a partial titanium replacement inserted into her right knee, which she had in 2024.
Lindsey Vonn, right, and Breezy Johnson stand in the finish area during an alpine skiing women’s downhill official training at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 6, 2026.(AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
The Team USA legend is the second-most successful woman in World Cup history with 84 wins. She has won eight World Championship medals.
Vonn won a gold medal in the downhill and a bronze medal in the super-G in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, and a bronze medal in the downhill at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games. She will look to add to her collection in Italy.
Adrian Bott is fully aware of the tough assignment Watson faces in the Eskimo Prince Stakes, pinning hopes on the budding three-year-old exploiting his fitness superiority.
Watson has triumphed in both appearances this term, opening with a resounding score at Kembla Grange and backing it up with a polished effort at Canterbury.
The uptick in performances is ascribed by Bott to the gelding surgery after his introductory campaign, ahead of the horse’s most demanding outing in the Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday.
“He was gelded after that first ‘prep’ and that’s a big factor in the improvement we’ve seen in him. His two runs have been excellent,” Bott said.
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“He wasn’t coltish, but things weren’t falling into place. He would show something at home but under pressure in trials or on race day, he was doing a few things wrong and mentally wasn’t ready yet.
“It has helped him focus on what needs to be done and bring that work we’ve seen at home to the races.”
Seven foes line up against Watson at Randwick, incorporating Golden Rose minor placers Wodeton and Tempted, stakes conqueror Napoleonic, and superior weighted Rivellino.
Since all are restarting, Bott banks on Watson’s current race-hardened state to bridge the gap in major race pedigree.
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“That’s the biggest advantage he’s got going into the race is that bit of race fitness that he’s carrying. He’s coming off two nice wins and there is further improvement again,” he said.
In the card’s marquee race, the $2 million Inglis Millennium (1100m), Tulloch Lodge enters forcefully via Golden Gift finisher Plagiarism.
Bott observes the colt aligns closely with 2024 winner Fully Lit at this phase, both handled by RedFox Racing interests.
“Fully Lit had the one run going into it in that preparation. Plagiarism has had the benefit of experience from a previous campaign, so he’s well-seasoned in that regard,” he said.
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“He looks a natural running two-year-old, which we saw (in the Golden Gift).
“I think that form will stack up, and he seems to be back in good shape off the back of a couple of nice trials.”
Fans should visit the leading racing betting markets to place wagers on the Eskimo Prince Stakes.
Michael Carrick is not being fooled into thinking Manchester United have “cracked it” after his dream start continued by beating a Tottenham side that captain Cristian Romero apologised to after his costly red card.
A year that began with Ruben Amorim’s abrupt exit and some underwhelming results has been transformed by the appointment of the Red Devils’ former midfielder, captain and coach for the remainder of the campaign.
Carrick followed up wins against Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham with a 2-0 triumph against his former club Spurs on Saturday lunchtime, when Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes wrapped up a deserved win against the 10-man visitors at Old Trafford.
It was the first time in two years that United have won four Premier League games in a row and left them fourth on 44 points – two points more than they managed last season.
“It’s difficult to comment in terms of what’s changed,” Ruben Amorim’s successor Carrick said. “I’m pleased with the buy-in, connection and everyone’s invested in it. I think that goes a long way.
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“At certain times cans see the game flow in different ways and you can look very different, good or bad.
“But I think being in a real good emotional place helps you and, again, that proved to be the case.
“It was different today. We had to manage the game, control the game, and show patience and good quality, but there’s different ways to do it.
“The four games we’ve had have all slightly looked different, but we’re not getting carried away. I’m not sitting here thinking ‘everything’s great, we’ve cracked it’. There’s a lot of work to do so, and I’m fully aware of that.”
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Carrick was full of praise for star United skipper Fernandes on a day when Tottenham captain’s recklessness damaged his side.
Thomas Frank defended Romero as he stressed he “clearly tried to go for the ball” when he caught Casemiro on the ankle and received a 29th minute red card.
“He was sorry for the incident,” the Spurs boss said. “He apologised to his team-mates in the changing room.
“I think he’s one of the most important players. When he performs at his top, he’s driving the team.”
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This was Romero’s sixth red card in all competitions since making his Tottenham debut in August 2021 – more than any other Premier League player has received during that period.
That statistic surprised Frank, who says he has no regrets about naming him captain and will not consider that position at the end of a week when he questioned Spurs’ “disgraceful” squad depth on social media.
Romero will start a four-match ban as Spurs host Newcastle on Tuesday, when Destiny Udogie could also be absent for injury-hit Spurs as they seek to win a first Premier League game of 2026.
“We haven’t won enough in the Premier League,” Frank said after overseeing a seventh successive top-flight match without a win. “We’re just coming on the back end of four good games, where we also showed a lot of resilience.
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“Before that, we also did it, but we didn’t get enough of the results where we turned around second half, so I think there’s still a lot to hang the hat on in terms of resilience.
“But, of course, the performances need to be backed up by doing a little bit more and keep doing the right things because then the results will turn.”
From Super Bowl props like Jaxon Smith-Njigba first touchdown scorer (+500) to Patriots vs. Seahawks (-4.5) picks against the spread, to over/under picks (45.5), to money-line picks (Seahawks -230, Patriots +190), your 2026 Super Bowl parlay can go in a number of different directions. Another option is guessing the margin of victory of the game, and there’s an NFL betting trend that could help in that regard. Entering Super Bowl 60 three of the last four editions of The Big Game have been decided by exactly 3 points. So, you could back the game’s winning margin to be exactly 3 points in a 2026 Super Bowl SGP, which would return +475.
Seattle winning by 3 points has +950 NFL prop odds, while New England doing the same carries +1100 odds. You could also make NFL bets on winning bands, such as the Seahawks prevailing by 1-6 points (+275) or New England winning by 1-6 points at +300. But if you want to increase your potential winnings exponentially, then you could string one of these wagers with others into a lucrative Super Bowl same-game parlay. Before making any Super Bowl 60 picks and NFL parlays, you need to see the epic Super Bowl LX same game parlay from SportsLine’s proven model that pays out $15,000 on just a $10 bet.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters the 2026 Super Bowl on a 53-37 run on top-rated picks dating back to 2024. Anybody following its NFL betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns.
For Super Bowl LX, one of the picks featured in the longshot parlay is Patriots receiver Kayshon Boutte as an anytime TD scorer (+330). Despite ranking 68th amongst wideouts in catches (33) in the regular season, Boutte was 18th in positional receiving touchdowns (6). He added another score in the divisional round and then got a red-zone target in the AFC Title Game. While Seattle has an elite defense, through the air is where to exploit that unit. Eight of the last 10 touchdowns the Seahawks have allowed have been via the pass, including all three they gave up in the NFC title game.
Boutte has more touchdowns this season than the Pats leading receiver, Stefon Diggs, despite the latter having twice as many targets and receptions. The model projects Boutte to score 0.31 touchdowns, which matches Hunter Henry for the highest amongst all Patriots and brings great value to these plus-money odds as one leg of a Super Bowl SGP. See the rest of the picks in the Super Bowl LX same game parlay here, and you can bet Boutte as an anytime TD scorer using the DraftKings promo code, which offers $300 in bonus bets if your bet wins right here:
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How to make NFL parlay picks for a payout of $15,000
Following his retirement, Terence Crawford is being placed into many fans’ list as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters since the turn of the millennium. Now, ‘Bud’ has revealed how he believes he outperformed Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones Jr.
Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez back in September in a win that will be referenced for generations, becoming boxing’s second three-division undisputed world champion, 87 years after Henry Armstrong became the first.
Off the back of that career-best triumph, Crawford opted to walk away from the sport whilst he was sat atop it, hanging up the gloves with both an undefeated record after 42 fights and the status of being a five-division world champion.
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Reflecting upon his time in the ring, Crawford told The Pivot Podcast of his pride in becoming the undisputed super-lightweight champion back in 2017, and why he feels he’s surpassed Mayweather and Jones Jr.
“I was on a mission. That mindset was, ‘I am not celebrating this fight, because I am trying to get to that fight. That is the fight that I want to get, to show y’all, these are just stepping stones’, to me, in my mind.
“I celebrated being undisputed. That was the greatest feeling ever because nobody did it in so long. I was the third person in the four-belt era to do it, nobody was thinking about or trying to become undisputed.
“I set my sights out, I said that I wanted all the belts. Once I did that, it was like ‘man, Floyd didn’t do this, Pacquiao didn’t do this, what can they say? Roy Jones Jr, my favourite fighter, didn’t do this’.
“I got something over them, that they didn’t do in their career. I’m not saying that they couldn’t have done it, but they didn’t do it.”
Recalling Learning To Fly’s barrier-conquering win in the Inglis Millennium three years prior, Chad Schofield seeks an encore performance.
Chad Schofield is well-founded in his view that a broad starting position poses no fatal threat to Screen Idol, prepared by John Thompson, in the $2 million Inglis Millennium at Randwick.
The elite Sydney hoop has claimed the prize twice, lately with Learning To Fly who mirrored Screen Idol’s second-outermost barrier.
“When I won on Learning To Fly, it drew wide (barrier 15 of 16) too,” Schofield said.
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“This is a different type of filly. Learning To Fly sat last and rounded them up. This filly is a bit speedier, so we’ll see.”
A daughter of Nature Strip’s sire Nicconi, Screen Idol exceeded her debut odds to almost defeat Shiki in the Gimcrack Stakes (1000m).
She has undergone a pair of trials for her seasonal reappearance, and Schofield, ever-present with her, affirms her continued development.
“She’s going really well. She was unlucky not to win the Gimcrack. She covered ground that day and just kept finding the line,” he said.
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“John tipped her out and she has come back a more mature, stronger filly. She’s got no favours from the barrier draw but she’ll be tough. She will be there late.”
Schofield connects with debutant Threads from Godolphin in the Listed Lonhro Plate (1000m), optimistic after shared trial work.
Under Ciaron Maher’s guidance, Threads, first to race from Group 3 winner Tailleur, is tipped by Schofield for prominent juvenile targets.
“I think he’s a very talented two-year-old colt and it’s exciting to kick him off on Saturday,” he said.
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“It’s a good start off race for him. He’s drawn well and I think he’s a horse that could race into the two-year-old features.”
Schofield’s Randwick slate features 10 rides, topped by Maher’s premier filly Tempted in the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m). Fans of the 2026 Inglis Millennium can find competitive prices in the racing betting markets.
