Wolff heralds Antonelli speed as teen joins Senna and Schumacher in record books

World number one Nelly Korda cruised into a three-stroke lead at the LPGA Riviera Maya Open, scoring 67 in another flawless round Saturday.

Showing no signs of fatigue after last week's triumph at the Chevron Championship, Korda has gone 43 holes since her sole opening-round bogey at Mexico's El Camaleon Golf Course.

And the 27-year-old American rarely even came close to dropping a shot in a serene third round, which finished with a tap-in eagle for a healthy lead going into the final day.

She stands at 14-under 202, followed by Thailand's Arpichaya Yubol on 11-under, and Japan's Minami Katsu a further stroke back.

Korda said she "would be lying to you if I said that my energy levels were 100 percent" after her major win last week, but insisted she was in Playa del Carmen "to work, not on vacation."

"I think just mentally, just staying in it has been the most important part for this week," she said.

A surging Arpichaya finished her best-of-the-day, bogey-free round of 66 with birdie-birdie, to keep the gap at three.

Katsu sank a rare eagle on 17 to get herself right back in the tournament, on 10-under.

The Japanese player had experienced an up-and-down day -- two-over for the front nine, before birdies on three of her next four holes.

Korda had begun the day tied on nine-under 136 with fellow American Brianna Do, who was chasing her first LPGA tour title.

Korda enjoyed a calm, risk-free front nine, her eight pars punctuated only by a birdie on the par-five fifth.

She made a superb save with a long curling putt on nine to retain her solo lead over Arpichaya and China's Liu Yu.

But three-time major winner Korda turned up the tempo down the stretch. 

On the par-five 13th, her long eagle effort just failed to drop. She settled for birdie, and a dart into the green on the par-three 14th meant a tap in for another.

She struck a perfect driver followed by an aggressive iron on the low-scoring par-five 18th, to finish with a tap-in eagle. 

Her only mistake of the day came when she twice tried and failed to retrieve the ball from the cup at the final green, laughing at her fumble.

Overnight co-leader Do had a more turbulent day. She had bogeys on the first and fourth, before pulling back birdies on six and nine to briefly move back into joint second.

But she sliced her tee shot into water on 10, carding a double bogey, and finished with a 72 on nine-under, tied for fourth with Liu.

Korda is having a totally dominant season.

She is already chasing her third win of 2026, having captured the Chevron Championship last week, and the season-opening Tournament of Champions

Korda finished second in her other three starts so far this year.

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Golden Tempo roared home to win the 152nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, making Cherie DeVaux the first woman trainer to capture the iconic race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

"I don't even have any words right now, I just can't," an emotional DeVaux told broadcaster NBC as she made her way toward the winner's circle. "I'm just so, so happy for Golden Tempo."

Jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo's late surge and held off his brother, Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard early favorite Renegade, to seize his first Kentucky Derby victory in his 11th start.

Renegade finished second by a neck and Ocelli, a 70-1 shot who was a late addition to the field after multiple scratches, was third.

"Jose did a wonderful job, masterful job of getting him there," DeVaux said. "He was so far out of it. He has had so much faith in this horse."

DeVaux is just the second female trainer to saddle a winner in any of US flat racing's Triple Crown races after Jena Antonucci with Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes.

She won the Derby in her first opportunity.

"I'm glad I can be representative of women everywhere," she said. "We can do anything we set our minds to."

The start of the race was delayed slightly when Great White reared and flipped on his side going into the starting gate.

He was the second race-day scratch in the $5 million, 1 1/4-mile race, which originally was set for a field of 20 but went off with 18 runners.

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King Charles III's US state visit was a "risk and challenge" that he "grasped in both hands", a palace aide said Sunday as the monarch returned from a widely praised trip.

Charles left for the UK from Bermuda Saturday following what a senior royal aide called a "historic" visit to the United States, aimed at healing strained ties between Washington and London.

The highlight of the four-day visit was the 77-year-old king's speech to US Congress on Tuesday -- the first such address since his mother, queen Elizabeth II spoke there after the Gulf War in 1991.

The speech, marking 250 years since American independence, was "high stakes", the aide involved in the visit told reporters.

The king urged the importance of NATO and called for a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine, despite US President Donald Trump's critical stance on the bloc and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

This was "a measure of how much he personally cares" and proves that he "will always be guided by the truth", the royal aide said.

- 'Warmth and laughter' -

His words won praise from Trump's opponents, with senior Democrat Gregory Meeks hailing the king's "impassioned call for a renewed commitment to NATO".

And the speech appeared to have gone down well with Trump, too.

The president told journalists Friday that Charles "is just a great person. He's a high quality person. I love the job he did in Congress".

The rapport between the king and president continued as they met behind closed doors in the Oval Office, the royal aide said with "an awful lot of warmth and laughter" amid serious topics.

By contrast, Trump has repeatedly lambasted Prime Minister Keir Starmer, particularly over his stance on Iran.

The palace aide denied any awkwardness over the differences in warmth of relationship, stressed the king's visit was on the government's request and there is "not a competition" between the monarchy and Downing Street.

On the contrary, the king and queen "have been able to help the government", the aide said, and the king himself viewed the US leg of his trip as particularly "positive".

"What looked like risk and challenge was also a phenomenal opportunity. One that was grasped in both hands by the King," the aide said.

- 'A personal triumph' -

British media lavished praise on the visit: The Daily Telegraph called it "a triumph" and a "reassertion of our shared values", while for The Times, it was a "star-spangled success".

"I think it was a personal triumph," for Charles, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP, citing the king's "superb" speech to Congress, with "brilliant jokes".

"He got it right and every nuance seemed perfect. It pleased everybody," Fitzwilliams said of the address.

The visit proved a "boost" at a "very difficult time for the monarchy," the royal expert said.

Undergoing cancer treatment and after a bitter rift with his son, Prince Harry, Charles this year saw his brother, the former prince Andrew, arrested over ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump reacted to the royal visit by lifting whisky tariffs, a major trade concession, in honour of Charles.

But Fitzwilliams urged caution on future consequences for the UK, citing Trump's "unpredictability".

Trump "loves all things British royal. But not necessarily the British government," he said.

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World number four Cameron Young stumbled early but rallied to stretch his lead to six strokes after Saturday's third round of the PGA Cadillac Championship.

The 28-year-old American followed an opening bogey with four birdies and a bogey to fire a two-under par 70 and stand on 15-under 201 after 54 holes on the Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral in Florida.

"It was a little bit difficult to find a rhythm, just the wind and the direction it blew was really tricky," Young said. "Every hole was a substantial cross wind."

"It's really just a matter of trying to manage that and give yourself as many opportunities as you can."

World number one Scottie Scheffler fired a 69 to seize a share of second place on 207 with South Korean Kim Si-woo and Norway's Kristoffer Reitan.

Americans Ben Griffin and Matt McCarty shared fifth on 208 with Canada's Nick Taylor.

Stormy forecasts for Sunday afternoon have prompted organizers to have players make morning starts in the final round in threesomes off the first and 10th tees.

"Today was kind of a good test run of how tomorrow will be," Young said. "I'm sure it will not be as easy as I want it to be. Sounds like the weather's not going to be great.

"It'll be a fight from the beginning and just looking to execute the way that I did for the most part today -- just keep it in front of me and try to make some putts."

Young, who turns 29 on Thursday, won the Players Championship in March and shared third last month at the Masters.

After starting the day with a five-stroke lead, Young found water with his second shot on the way to a bogey at the par-five first hole while Taylor sank a six-foot birdie putt to close within three.

"It wasn't my best shot," Young said of his dampened shot. "With a good bounce it's not in the water. With an average bounce it's kind of close. I happened to get a bad one. I can't be mad for hitting driver, 6-iron at the middle of the green on one.

"This place is difficult and it will do that to you. Good reminder today wasn't going to be easy and set the tone for how the rest of the day went, just in terms of grinding through it and trying to make the best of the opportunities you do get."

Young rolled in a birdie putt from just inside 20 feet at the fifth, then sank a 32-foot chip in from the left rough for birdie at the seventh to reach 14-under with a four-stroke lead.

When Taylor stumbled with a double bogey at seven, Young's lead was five over Norway's Reitan and McCarty.

Young sank a 17-foot birdie putt at 11 but missed a six-footer for birdie at the par-five 12th and found a bunker off the tee on the way to bogey at the par-three 13th.

But he bounced back with a birdie putt from just inside 19 feet at the par-three 15th and parred in from there, making an eight-foot putt to save par at 18.

- Greens 'pretty tricky' -

Scheffler, a four-time major winner, dropped his approach at the 18th inches from the hole and tapped in to put himself into Sunday's last group.

"It was definitely windier out there," Scheffler said. "The greens weren't as firm as I anticipated them to be, but the fairways are, and there's a lot of crosswinds out there so it's hard to hold the fairways.

"Definitely a challenging day to make a lot of birdies but I gave myself a few looks and was able to make a few.

"Greens have been pretty tricky this week. Just keep giving myself looks, get hot with the putter and see what happens."

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Four-time world champion Max Verstappen said he could "see light at the end of the tunnel" after claiming an impressive second place in Saturday's qualifying for Sunday's Miami Grand Prix.

The 28-year-old Dutchman, frustrated by progress at Red Bull and the driving experience of racing in the new hybrid era of F1 cars, said his team's upgrades had made his car far more comfortable and pleasing to drive.

"For sure, the car has not been great in the previous races," said Verstappen, whose previous best grid position this year was eighth.

On Sunday, he will start alongside championship-leading Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, who claimed his third consecutive pole on Saturday.

"From my side, I never felt comfortable with the layout of the car," said Verstappen. "I think over these last few weeks the team has been pushing flat-out to try and bring upgrades to the car and make me feel more comfortable with a lot of things and it really paid off.

"I feel more in control of the car again and then I can push a bit more. The upgrades are working and to be on the front row is way better than I expected heading into this weekend.

"Now, let's start with a good start. I've not had a lot of them this year. We'll try to have a look at that, for sure, and see what the weather will do tomorrow, but I'm already very happy with where we are.

"From here there's like light at the end of the tunnel, and we can just push on and try to close the gap further."

Red Bull, in common with most leading teams, made use of F1's enforced five-week hiatus due to the conflict in the Middle East to deliver major upgrade packages for their cars.

While Verstappen purred with satisfaction, his friend and rival -- defending world champion Lando Norris of McLaren, who won Saturday morning’s sprint race in convincing style from pole -- was unhappy at qualifying only fourth. 

"I think we did a good job but I think the others just did a really bad job yesterday and did what they should have done today... so I have no complaints.

"It was trickier today with the wind and the high temperatures and I was struggling a big more for whatever reason. We didn't change anything. It was just the conditions."

He revealed also that, like team-mate Oscar Piastri, he had struggled with power deployment problems and found it difficult to have a fully charged battery pack.

"It wasn't right and we didn't have a clean run," he said. "And we need to understand why."

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Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was ruled out of game seven of the team's NBA playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday with an Eastern Conference semi-final berth on the line.

Tatum was ruled out less than two hours before tip-off in the deciding game after being listed as "questionable" on an earlier injury report.

Celtics coach Joe Mazulla told reporters at his pre-game press conference that Tatum had "discomfort" in his left knee that was bad enough to prompt the coach and team medical staff to rule Tatum out.

Tatum had exited late in the third quarter of Thursday's game-six blowout loss to the Sixers but downplayed the issue after the game.

Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in last year's playoffs and missed the first 62 games of this campaign before making his season debut on March 6.

The second-seeded Celtics held a 3-1 lead in the series before dropping two straight against their old rivals.

It is the 23rd playoff clash between Boston and Philadelphia.

Boston has won the last six, knocking Sixers star Joel Embiid out of the playoffs three times -- in 2018, in 2020 and in 2023.

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Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff heralded Kimi Antonelli’s emergence on Saturday after the Italian teen stunned rivals with a dazzling lap to capture pole position for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old Italian, the youngest championship leader in F1 history, clocked a time of one minute and 27.798 seconds with his first lap in Q3 to jump four-tenths clear of his competitors and, effectively, take pole without needing an improved second lap. 

"That first lap, it was really special," Wolff said. "He was three or more tenths ahead of the next car... but then we were having over-confidence and over-pushing it, but that's how he is."

Wolff, who has overseen Antonelli's rise from prodigy to pace-setter, made clear the Italian’s youth and inexperience still needed to be taken into consideration, but said he felt he was no longer prone to mistakes.

"It's an improvement because in the past he would have ended up in the wall, but now it's just a missed lap –- now he's showing his speed, which is really nice to see.

"Trusting in Kimi... you can look like a fool or you can look great. Our junior programme is doing a diligent job and you can look at his trajectory and you see the pace and speed.

"It just needed development, which we gave him last year, when he made his mistakes. Now, there is more to come, but I think he has good speed and character traits."

Antonelli joined an elite club when he took his third career pole in consecutive races -- a feat achieved previously by multiple champions Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.

Asked about joining such elite company, the curly-haired Italian smiled modestly and said it was "very nice" but spoke more about the challenge of driving in the heat at the Miami International Autodrome.

"It was very hot and it wasn't easy," he said. "The track is slippery and it's not easy to put the sectors together, but I'm happy with the lap and feel there's more on the table."

Asked about the prospect of severe rainstorms in Florida on Sunday, he warned that it would be extremely slippery. 

"If it's wet and we have a rolling start, that will take the usual start element out of it. And if it rains a lot, let's see what happens with the timings so that we don't have to have crazy conditions.

"It will be slippery in the wet and we all have so little experience driving these cars in the wet, but it's the same for everyone."

Antonelli leads team-mate George Russell by 75 points to 68 in the title race after Saturday's sprint race, in which he was penalised five seconds for exceeding track limits and dropped from fourth to sixth.

He will be seeking a third consecutive Grand Prix triumph on Sunday after successive victories in China and Japan before F1's enforced five-week hiatus due to the conflict in the Middle East.

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Mercedes' championship-leading teenager Kimi Antonelli stormed to pole position on Saturday for the Miami Grand Prix, resisting a late charge by four-time champion Max Verstappen in a tense qualifying session.

The 19-year-old Italian, the youngest title race leader in F1 history, produced a fastest lap of one minute 27.798 seconds to top the times ahead of Red Bull's Verstappen with Charles Leclerc third quickest in his Ferrari.

World champion Lando Norris, who won the sprint race earlier in the day, will start his McLaren from fourth in Sunday's grid.

It was Antonelli’s third pole and his third in consecutive races, a feat that draws him alongside great former champions Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher in the record books. 

His Mercedes team-mate George Russell was fifth ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari and Oscar Piastri, who was seventh in the second McLaren.

Alpine's Franco Colapinto was eighth ahead of Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. 

"It has been an amazing day for me to be on pole again," said Antonelli. 

"It was obviously a difficult sprint (race) for me earlier, but I am super happy with this recovery. I got a little too excited in that last lap in Q3, but my first lap was good enough.

"I was so stressed because I was waiting for everyone to finish their laps, but it was good enough and now, hopefully, I will have a magic start tomorrow."

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A key manufacturer of the United States' most widely used abortion pill asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to restore access to the drug, a day after a lower court halted mail delivery of the medication.

Mifepristone, which prevents pregnancy progression, is used alongside misoprostol, which empties the uterus, in the majority of abortions in the United States. It is approved for use up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy.

Danco Laboratories, which manufactures mifepristone and is one of two companies distributing the drug in the United States, asked the top court to stay a Friday decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that temporarily blocked abortion providers from prescribing and shipping the drug nationwide.

The lower court ordered that women seeking abortions anywhere in the United States had to obtain mifepristone at a clinic, rather than by mail order or through a pharmacy.

That decision, "injects immediate confusion and upheaval into highly time-sensitive medical decisions," the drugmaker wrote in its filing with the Supreme Court.

"The resulting chaos for patients, providers, pharmacies, and the drug-regulatory system is a quintessential irreparable harm that underscores the need for emergency relief from this Court."

Mifepristone has been approved since 2000 and is also routinely used for managing early miscarriages.

Anti-abortion activists, however, have called the drug's safety into question, with some citing a study conducted by a conservative think tank that never underwent formal peer review.

In 2024, the Supreme Court rejected a bid to restrict the drug, ruling that anti-abortion groups and doctors calling for greater limits lacked legal standing to bring the case.

Since a 2022 Supreme Court decision that struck down a nationwide right to abortion, some 20 states have banned or restricted it.

Polls show a majority of Americans support legal access to abortion even as activists push to limit or ban it outright.

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NATO said on Saturday it was working with the United States to understand Washington's decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany as a rift in transatlantic ties deepens over the Middle East war.

The Pentagon's announcement of the troop withdrawal follows a spat between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Monday that Iran was "humiliating" Washington at the negotiating table. 

It also came as Trump announced that tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union would jump from 15 percent to 25 percent next week, accusing the bloc of failing to comply with a trade deal signed last summer.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Friday the withdrawal of around 5,000 troops from Germany was expected "to be completed over the next six to twelve months."

NATO said Saturday it was "working with the US to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany."

"This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defense and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security," NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart wrote on X.

There were 36,436 active-duty US troops in NATO ally Germany as of December 31, 2025, compared to 12,662 in Italy and 3,814 in Spain.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Saturday the US troop withdrawal "from Europe and also from Germany was to be expected."

- Republican concern -

The decision is being met with skepticism by top Republican lawmakers who oversee US military policy.

In a joint statement Saturday, Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers, chairs of the Armed Services Committees in their respective chambers, warned that pulling troops from Germany risks "sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin."

Even though European allies are boosting defense spending, "translating that investment into the military capability needed to assume primary responsibility for conventional deterrence will take time," they said.

The duo noted that Germany had heeded Trump's calls for greater spending on defense and that it had allowed American planes to use German bases and airspace during the ongoing conflict with Iran.

- 'Why shouldn't I?' -

Trump has threatened to slash US troop numbers in Germany and other European allies during both his White House terms, saying he wants Europe to take on greater responsibility for its defense rather than depending on Washington.

He now appears determined to punish allies who have failed to back the Middle East war or contribute to a peacekeeping force in the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway, which Tehran's forces have effectively closed.

Trump said on Thursday he might pull US troops from Italy and Spain due to their opposition to the Iran war. 

"Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible," he told reporters.

"Yeah, probably, I probably will. Why shouldn't I?" Trump said.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Thursday that Berlin was "prepared" for a reduction in US troops and "discussing it closely and in a spirit of trust in all NATO bodies."

However, Wadephul said large American bases in Germany are "not up for discussion at all" and cited the example of Ramstein Air Base, which he said has "an irreplaceable function for the United States and for us alike."

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