Sports
Charley Hull uses late charge to win PIF Saudi Ladies International
England’s Charley Hull shot a final-round 65 to win the 2026 PIF Saudi Ladies International on Feb. 14. England’s Charley Hull shot a final-round 65 to rally from three shots back and win the PIF Saudi Ladies International by one shot in Riyadh on Sunday.
Hull began the day tied for 11th place and was only 1-under par through 12 holes at the Riyadh Golf Club. But the world’s No. 5-ranked player went 6 under over her final eight holes to reach 19 under for the tournament, and her clubhouse lead held up with a one-shot victory over South Africa’s Casandra Alexander and Japan’s Akie Iwai.
“It feels great,” Hull said. “It was funny because last time I was around here my boyfriend said to me go out and make loads of birdies to begin with. He said to me last night make loads of birdies coming in, you love chasing and that’s what I did.
“I feel great and I love this golf course. I like how this golf course has really matured over the years and it’s getting trickier each year. The grass is getting thicker and I really liked it. It was a good challenge.”
Hull made her turn in 2 under for the day. She dropped a shot on the 10th before beginning her run with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on hole Nos. 11-13. Hull added a birdie on No. 15 and closed with another on No. 18 to provide the final edge she needed.
“I worked really hard this offseason, so it’s nice to get a result pretty much straight away and it’s one of the bigger events on the LET,” said Hull, who took home the $631,625 winner’s prize.
Alexander had a chance to force a playoff but bogeyed the 17th hole.
“It’s been a great start to the season. There have been a lot of positives from this week, and I can learn from a couple of the shots, but overall, it was pretty solid,” Alexander said. “That gives me a great start to the season, the prep has been good and I’m excited to see what the rest of 2026 has in store for me.”
Iwai made seven birdies against a pair of bogeys in carding a 67 on Sunday, and three-putted the 17th green.
“My style of golf is very aggressive. Today I wanted to try (and go for it). Everything was good in my game,” Iwai said. “My driver, my shots and my putting were all good. On No. 17, I made a three-putt but it’s not a problem because there’s always next week.
“I like the golf course. The weather is a lot different than last year, it’s been lovely. Hopefully, this will give me a good feeling. I will keep going, have a smile on my face and play with my heart.”
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi finished in a tie for fourth place at 17 under.
–Field Level Media
Sports
World Curling takes action after Sweden accuses Canada of cheating
Ben Hebert, Marc Kennedy and Brett Gallant of Canada in action during their match against Sweden at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on Friday. CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — World Curling said on Saturday that it would have officials monitoring for rule violations during the rest of the competition at the Olympics after Sweden’s men’s team accused Canada of cheating in a tense round-robin game.
Tensions boiled over on Friday when Brad Jacobs’ Canada entry beat Sweden 8-6, with Niklas Edin’s rink alleging their opponents were double touching the stone during the contest.
World Curling has introduced electronic handles on stones at the Games, which flash red if players are still making contact with the stone beyond the hog line — the point where curlers must let go during delivery.
However, the sensor for detecting violations is in the handle, with Sweden claiming Canada’s players were touching the granite, where there are no sensors.
“It is not possible for World Curling to have game umpires positioned to observe all hog lines for every stone delivery,” World Curling said in a statement.
“However, beginning with the Saturday (Feb. 14) afternoon session, two officials will move between all four sheets and observe deliveries.”
World Curling also clarified its rules on deliveries, saying: “During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed. This will result in the stone being removed from play.”
After Sweden and Canada asked officials to keep an eye on their opponents’ deliveries early on, there was a heated exchange between the teams’ thirds Marc Kennedy and Oskar Eriksson toward the end of the game.
Eriksson told Kennedy he would show him a video replay of him touching the stone repeatedly. The Canadian responded with an expletive.
“World Curling spoke with the Canadian officials to issue a verbal warning regarding the language used by a Canadian men’s player during the game,” the sport’s governing body said.
“During that meeting it was made clear to those officials that further inappropriate behavior… would result in additional sanctions.”
Curling Canada CEO Nolan Thiessen said it was a poor choice of words from Kennedy
“I think heat of the moment, I would allow for as well,” Thiessen told reporters.
“Something was said in his ear which got him going. Head games get played in a lot of sports and things get said in competitive sport and I think this was one of those situations. Do I wish Mark didn’t drop an F-bomb? Yeah.”
Swedish media on Friday tore into Kennedy, accusing the 2010 Olympic champion of cheating while also releasing videos and images of him appearing to touch a stone while it was crossing the hog line.
Asked about the video, Thiessen replied: “I was surprised that there was a live video on the hog line outside of OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) rules.
“That seems odd to me. But nevertheless, you know, I think they (the Canada team) are concentrating on the game today.”
The Swedish Curling Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media
Sports
Switzerland's Kevin Fiala undergoes surgery on injured leg
Feb 5, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Los Angeles Kings left wing Kevin Fiala (22) warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Kevin Fiala underwent surgery on his left leg after being removed from the ice on a stretcher late in the third period of Switzerland’s 5-1 loss to Canada on Friday in a Group A preliminary round game in the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation announced the surgery on Saturday for Fiala, a forward for the Los Angeles Kings, and said he will miss the remainder of the Olympics.
Fiala was injured after getting his legs tangled with Canada’s Tom Wilson with just less than three minutes left in the game. Fiala was unable to get to his feet and medical personnel attended to him after a stoppage in play.
“Obviously it doesn’t look very good,” Switzerland coach Patrick Fischer said after the game. “Tough moment for Kevin and the whole team, obviously.”
Fiala, 29, has recorded 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in 56 games this season with the Kings, who reside three points in back of the Anaheim Ducks for the final wild-card spot in the NHL’s Western Conference.
“We need that guy on my team back home, big time,” said Canada defenseman Drew Doughty, who plays for the Kings.
For Fiala’s career, the 2022-23 All-Star has 229 goals and 299 assists across 707 games. He is in his 12th NHL season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Australian takes gold, 2 US women medal in dual moguls
Jaelin Kauf of United States in action during the women’s dual moguls final on Saturday. She won the silver medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics. LIVIGNO, Italy — Australia’s Jakara Anthony won the gold medal in the women’s freestyle skiing dual moguls at the Winter Olympics on Saturday, redeeming herself after a disappointing loss three days earlier in the single-format moguls.
Anthony, 27, became the first Australian to earn two Winter Olympics gold medals when she overtook American Jaelin Kauf under heavy snow in the northern Italian town of Livigno. Kauf earned silver, and bronze went to fellow American Elizabeth Lemley.
“This one is really different to the last one because I picked this up after the heartbreak of the other day,” Anthony said of her new medal, which joins the one she earned in the single moguls in Beijing in 2022.
Dual moguls is a new sport at the Olympics, pitting skiers together in a head-to-head elimination format in which two competitors race side-by-side through parallel bump fields. Speed counts, but so do turns and aerial maneuvers.
Anthony crossed the finish line a fraction of a second before Kauf but had to wait for the judges’ final assessment. She smiled and pumped her arms in the air when she saw she had earned a score of 20, compared to Kauf’s 15. A throng of Australian supporters cheered and waved yellow inflated kangaroos on the side of the mountain.
At the medal ceremony, Anthony broke into a wide smile as she celebrated her historic second Olympic gold.
Anthony had been the favorite to win the singles but wobbled out of line in her second run to finish eighth. In the single moguls, riders tackle the course solo and the highest score wins.
Heavy snow fell throughout the women’s dual moguls finals, hindering visibility for the skiers.
Kauf’s second-place run gave the 29-year-old her third Olympic silver medal. She finished second in the singles at the Milan Cortina Games and at Beijing in 2022.
“I was really going for gold, but I guess ‘Silver Jae’ has a ring to it, so I’m living up to the name,” Kauf said.
The 20-year-old Lemley, the surprise gold medalist in the singles, made it to the podium in the dual moguls despite a crash in the semifinals. She hurt her elbow but was determined to keep going, she said.
“I was able to just push the pain out of my head and ski as if it was any other run,” she said.
Singles bronze medalist Perrine Laffont of France finished fourth in the dual event.
–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media
