Sports
New LIV golfer Ben An relying on AI to acclimate to global schedule
Jun 8, 2025; Caledon, Ontario, CAN; Byeong Hun An watches his tee shot at the fifth hole during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Byeong Hun An is new to the whole LIV Golf experience. And a new lifestyle apparently calls for the use of some new technology.
An, also known as Ben An, was one of the new additions to the 2026 LIV roster and the captain of the newly rebranded Korean Golf Club. Everyone on the four-man team has Korean heritage (Danny Lee was born in South Korea but competes under the New Zealand flag).
“We’re all good friends, and hopefully we can play good golf,” An said Monday at an introductory press conference. “I’m very excited for the season. It’s my first year; feels like the first school year.”
An pointed out that Korean Golf Club will spend a lot of time together, including travel. The season opens this week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the LIV schedule features events in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. That includes the second year of LIV Golf Korea, an event technically unconfirmed on the schedule but expected sometime in May.
An, who previously competed on the PGA Tour and spent most of his playing season in the United States, said he’s relying on artificial intelligence to plan his travel now.
“I use ChatGPT and Gemini,” he said. “I put in my flight schedule and everything, what time of day we’re playing because it’s set every week because it’s a shotgun. I try to utilize that a lot because I don’t know much about how to get my body ready.
“Especially this week, I put in all the flights and numbers and everything, so it’s like, ‘All right, sleep at this time, try to do this and that to maximize the performance on the golf course at 6:05 p.m.’ That’s what I did, and I’ll probably do that again the next couple of events because we’ll be go different time zones, and with the longer flights, it helps, and with the physio on our team. We’ll probably utilize that a lot because we’ve got the resources and all the info is out there, so I’ll try to use that as much as I can and hopefully get my body ready for the tournament days.”
An, 34, was best known for being the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur in 2009 at age 17. His world ranking rose as high as No. 22 in late 2024 after he won the Genesis Championship in his home country, beating countryman Tom Kim in a playoff at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.
An never won on the PGA Tour, but tied for fourth at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan this past October for his third top-10 finish of 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs stuff Cooper Flagg, Mavs
Oct 22, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks past Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Victor Wembanyama dominated with 29 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots to carry the visiting San Antonio Spurs past the Mavericks in a 135-123 win on Thursday in Dallas.
Cooper Flagg had 32 points and became the youngest player in NBA history with 30 or more points in four consecutive games, etching his name alongside Michael Jordan as the first rookie with 30 points and at least five rebounds in four games in a row.
The Spurs were up 11 at halftime before the Mavs trimmed the margin to 96-93 heading into the fourth. Naji Marshall’s jumper with 4:09 to play capped a 6-0 run to slice the margin to one point but Stephon Castle answered with a long 3-pointer on San Antonio’s ensuing possession.
Wembanyama added a pair of free throws and Cooper Flagg’s floater with 2:41 remaining answered right back. A key Wembanyama block of Daniel Gafford’s layup try and two more free throws by Harrison Barnes helped San Antonio put the win away.
The Spurs return home for a rematch after the victory in which Barnes had 19 points, Keldon Johnson 18, De’Aaron Fox tallied 17, Julian Champagnie added 14, and Castle and Devin Vassell had 12 each as San Antonio won its third straight game.
Marshall poured in a season-high 32 points for the Mavericks, who have dropped six in a row. Flagg had 32 while Max Christie added 20 and Gafford scored 16 points with 10 boards.
Wembanyama was torrid from the start with San Antonio’s first 10 points and had 20 at halftime.
He hit all net on his first three 3-point attempts and the Spurs built a 12-7 lead five minutes into the game. San Antonio led by as many as nine points before owning a 38-35 edge after 12 minutes of play.
Dallas pushed its way to the front and led 48-44 when Flagg canned a jumper at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter. The Spurs then forged a 21-4 run capped by Johnson’s cutting layup with 4:05 to play before halftime and eventually carried a 74-63 advantage into the break.
Marshall matched Wembanyama with 20 points in the first half to lead their respective teams. Johnson added 12 points and Champagnie had 11 for San Antonio; Flagg and Gafford both produced 10 points in a supporting role for the Mavericks.
Jordan, Bernard King, Allen Iverson and Jalen Green are the other rookies who’ve gone for 30-plus points in four consecutive games. Iverson is the last rookie to put up 150-plus points in the span of four games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
ATP roundup: Luca Nardi upsets fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli
Aug 13, 2025; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Luca Nardi (ITA) returns a shot against Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Italian Luca Nardi blasted 17 winners as he downed countryman and ATP No. 20 Flavio Cobolli, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday at Montpellier.
Nardi was one of five winners on Thursday to finalize the quarterfinal matchups of the France-based event. Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 8 player in the world and the top-seeded player at the event, emerged from a battle with Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6 (3), and will next face France’s Arthur Fils, a 7-6 (4), 7-5 winner over fellow Frenchman Ugo Blanchet.
The Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor — the No. 4 seed — took down Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-4, 6-4, while the lone American competing on the day, eighth-seeded Aleksandar Kovacevic, dropped a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 decision to France’s Titouan Droguet. Droguet will face Griekspoor in the quarters.
Davis Cup Qualifiers
Great Britain’s Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie grabbed matching straight-set wins in Davis Cup qualifying in Oslo, Norway, giving their side a 2-0 lead over host Norway in the best-of-five competition.
The 13 winners in the first round of qualifiers will advance to the second round, set for late September.
Draper downed Viktor Durasovic 6-2, 6-2 while finishing 4-for-4 on break point opportunities. Draper, ranked No. 13 in the world, won 88% of first serve points, as opposed to Durasovic’s 53%. Norrie defeated Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 6-4, 6-4, on the strength of three break point saves.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lakers' Luka Doncic exits due to sore left leg
Feb 5, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) looks on in the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Lakers guard Luka Doncic departed Los Angeles’ Thursday game against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers in the second quarter because of left leg soreness.
The injury occurred with just under four minutes remaining in the first half during a Lakers possession. Doncic remained in the game before departing with 3:03 left in the half. The team officially ruled him out for the rest of the game late in the third quarter.
In 16 minutes of play against the 76ers, Doncic compiled 10 points, four rebounds and two assists, plus five turnovers, including one on the play when he was injured.
Doncic, who has missed eight games this season, entered with an NBA-best average of 33.4 points per game to go along with 7.9 rebounds and 8.7 assists over his first 41 contests.
The Lakers were playing their first game at home in more than two weeks after completing a 5-3 road trip.
–Field Level Media
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs stuff Cooper Flagg, Mavs
ATP roundup: Luca Nardi upsets fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli
