Three of the five players from the Iran women’s soccer team, who had attempted to seek asylum earlier this week while the team was in Australia, have elected to return home, The Australian newspaper reported Saturday.

The Iranian team was in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup when the war between Iran, Israel and the Unites States began. Five players left the team and were given humanitarian visas in Australia.

Australia’s Home Affairs department gave the three players requesting a return home multiple chances to reconsider before their request was honored.

“While the Australian government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said, according to the Australian. “The Australian government has done everything we could to make sure these women were provided with the chance for a safe future in Australia.”

Iran’s women’s team started play in the Women’s Asian Cup just after the war in their home country started. The team lost all three games it played and were eliminated from the event.

–Field Level Media

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, in pursuit of a third PGA Tour title and the biggest win of his career, maintained ice-cool composure as he increased his overnight lead to three shots in the third round of The Players Championship on Saturday.

The 26-year-old, whose most recent victory came at last year’s Genesis Invitational, for the most part played ultra-disciplined golf as he carded a 1-under-par 71 on another sun-splashed afternoon at TPC Sawgrass.

That left him with a 13-under total of 203 in the PGA Tour’s flagship event – three strokes ahead of American Michael Thorbjornsen, who reeled off five birdies, an eagle and two bogeys en route to a 67.

Cameron Young was alone in third at 9-under after returning a 72 while fellow Americans Brian Harman (69), Xander Schauffele (74) and Justin Thomas (72), England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (69), Viktor Hovland of Norway (69) and Canada’s Corey Conners (72) were a further stroke back in a six-way tie for fourth.

Aberg had been two ahead overnight and made a slow start to the round, bogeying the par-4 fourth after finding the right rough off the tee and doing well to save par at the fifth where he sank a 13-foot putt after being bunkered off the tee.

Three more pars followed before he got up and down from a greenside bunker to birdie the par-5 ninth and stretch his lead to three shots.

Though a Young birdie briefly trimmed Aberg’s advantage to two, the Swede surged four ahead with a superb eagle at the par-5 11th where he struck his second shot to 17 feet and coolly sank the putt. On a course that was increasingly running firm, the Swede comfortably parred the next six holes before surprisingly bogeying the par-4 18th where he three-putted from 25 feet.

Top-ranked American Scottie Scheffler, who made his 70th consecutive PGA Tour cut on Friday with just one shot to spare, produced his best performance of the week as he carded a flawless 5-under 67 that included three birdies in his first six holes.

Scheffler, who in 2024 became the first Players champion to successfully defend his title, finished with a 4-under total of 212 — nine strokes off the lead.

World No. 2 and defending champion Rory McIlroy, who withdrew from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational after two rounds due to a back injury, struggled at times with his driver and his putter en route to a 72 and a 1-over total.

–Mark Lamport-Stokes, Field Level Media

The New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors are dealing with a spate of injuries as the NBA regular season winds down.

But the Knicks also are getting a glimpse at an oft-injured player who could be a key factor in a playoff push later this spring.

The Knicks will begin a two-game homestand Sunday night when they host the slumping Warriors in their final clash of the regular season.

Both squads were off Saturday after playing Friday night, when the visiting Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 101-92 and the host Warriors fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-117.

The Knicks won despite the absence of starters Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns, each of whom was sidelined with knee injuries. But Mitchell Robinson, who has been limited to 97 regular-season games the last three seasons due to chronic left ankle woes, helped pick up the slack by scoring 12 points and pulling down a career-high 22 rebounds over a season-high 31 minutes.

It was the fifth career 20-rebound game for Robinson, who hadn’t logged 30-plus minutes since April 11, 2025, when he played 32-plus minutes in a 108-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Robinson didn’t play 30 minutes in any of the Knicks’ 18 playoff games last spring when they reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000.

The strong performance was another indication the Knicks could be rewarded by their careful management of Robinson, who has yet to play more than six straight games this season and has sat out eight of New York’s 34 games since Jan. 1.

New York entered Saturday in third place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the second-place Boston Celtics and 4 1/2 games clear of the Miami Heat for the sixth and final playoff spot.

“It’s obviously shown that it’s paid off because of his ability to, knock on wood, stay on the floor and play in games and play the minutes he played tonight,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown told The New York Post on Friday night.

Finding enough healthy players to put on the floor is becoming a challenge for the Warriors, who are all but locked into the play-in tournament after losing four straight and 15 of their last 22.

Golden State sits in ninth place in the Western Conference, nine games ahead of the 11th-place Memphis Grizzlies but eight games behind the sixth-place Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets entering Saturday.

The Warriors, who lost Jimmy Butler to a season-ending ACL injury Jan. 19 and have played the last 16 games without superstar shooting guard Stephen Curry, saw four more key players get hurt before and during Friday’s loss.

Draymond Green was a late scratch due to a stiff lower back while Al Horford exited in the first quarter with a tight right calf. Seth Curry, the younger brother of Stephen, left with a sore left adductor while Quinten Post suffered a sprained left ankle.

“We’re going through it,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re about as beaten up as any team I can ever remember.”

–Field Level Media