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GATWICK Airport is set to get a second runway by the end of the decade.

Plans for the new runway have received a huge boost today, after campaigner against the plans lost their bid to challenge it.

The airport expansion was approved back in September and is set to cost £2.2billion.

It will involve moving the airport’s emergency runway 12 metres north and as a result, the airport will be able to host an extra 100,000 flights a year.

The new runway is set to have planes taking off by the end of the decade.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Lord Justice Holgate and Lord Justice Dove dismissed campaigners’ bids against the new runway.

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They said: “We conclude that each of the grounds of appeal raised by each appellant is unarguable.

“Neither appeal has a real prospect of success. We also consider that there are no other compelling reasons for either appeal to be heard.”

Gatwick Airport is the second busiest airport in the UK and has one of the busiest runways in the world.

The runway will be used mainly for more narrow-bodied planes, such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.

Campaigners argued that the Government has not properly assessed the climate impact of an additional runway.

They also commented that there is no need for an expansion at Gatwick Airport, considering Heathrow is not too far away.

Emma Raducanu will miss the US Open as she continues her recovery from a stress fracture.

The British number one suffered the injury to her right lower leg during the grass-court season and made a late decision to pull out of Wimbledon.

The 2021 US Open champion will now sit out this year’s event at Flushing Meadows, which begins on 23 August.

The decision was made after the 23-year-old’s latest consultations with her medical team. She had only recently stepped back on court wearing a protective boot.

Last summer Raducanu won her first matches at the US Open since she became a surprise champion but the past 12 months have been frustrating because of more persistent physical issues.

A foot injury severely hampered her pre-season training before she spent two and a half months off court with a post-viral illness after initially falling unwell in early February.

She returned for the end of the clay-court season having rehired Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to the US Open title, but the pair’s time on court together has been limited.

Raducanu enjoyed one of the best weeks of her career by reaching her biggest final since New York at Queen’s Club in June, but she has not played since.

A theme park less than two hours away from the UK is adding a brand-new land with two rides and five Japanese-inspired eateries.

Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen will open the area in a few weeks’ time with “thrilling adventures for the whole family.”

The theme park, which opened in the 1840s and even inspired the creation of Disneyland, currently has 30 rides and will be adding a few more.

Called Hikari, the upcoming Japan-themed area is the biggest development in the park’s history and said to cost a ‘three-digit million amount’.

It has been under construction for two years and has actually been made up of elements from Japan.

It has reclaimed doors, windows, artwork and around 60 tonnes of traditional Japanese roof tiles.

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It will span across more than 2,000 square metres – the park itself is 80,000 square metres in total.

There are two new attractions, the first is Hotel Hikari where ‘nothing is quite as it seems’.

It’s essentially an immersive family funhouse with illusions, a vortex tunnel, tilted rooms and infinity mirrors.

Another new attraction is called Typhoons Eye which gives riders the feeling of weightlessness. According to Tivoli, it’s the only attraction of its kind in Scandinavia.

The zero gravity attraction is a rotating drum ride that suspends riders against the wall as the floor drops away.

The final ride in Hikari is actually one that will be familiar to previous visitors.

Called The Demon, the rollercoaster has stood in Tivoli for years but has undergone a transformation to blend into its new home.

There aren’t just rides either, there are five new eateries in Hikari.

Yaki-Tak! will serve up Japanese street food from yakitori skewers to yakisoba noodles.

Katsu Kitchen is where visitors can pick up chicken sandwiches to popcorn-style karaage to crispy prawns.

Comé Rice Kitchen will have onigiri, otherwise known as Japanese rice balls, served with the likes of spicy tuna, Teriyaki chicken and shiitake mushroom.

For sweet treats there’s Oishii Bubbles for creative drinks from fruit teas to slushies, or Kawaii Bites will have fish-shaped waffles and mochi ice cream.

Two new shops will open too; one selling Japanese-style ceramics and gifts, another will have a mix of snacks, drinks as it’s inspired by konbini, Japanese convenience shops.

The project has taken two years to build and will open later this month – no official date has been announced yet.

For anyone who wants to visit, Copenhagen is easy to get to as it’s under two hours away from the UK.

AIG Women’s Open – fourth round

-5 *S Kuwaki (Jap), E Henseleit (Ger); -4 Y Noh (US); -2 N Korda (US), J Thitikul (Tha)

Selected others: -1 C Hull (Eng), L Woad, (Eng), H Ryu (Kor), R Takeda (Jap); E C Boutier (Fra), S Kouskova (Cze); +1 L Li (US), L Coughlin (US)

Full leaderboard

Shiho Kuwaki held her nerve to beat Esther Henseleit in a two-hole play-off to become the second consecutive Japanese player to win the Women’s Open.

A gripping finale at Royal Lytham & St Annes was brimming with drama, magic and misfortune – particularly on the crucial 18th hole.

Henseleit initially forced an extension to play by sinking a 45-foot birdie putt to draw level at five under par with Kuwaki, who sat nervously inside the clubhouse watching on.

However, after both made pars in distinctly different fashion on the first sudden-death play-off hole, Henseleit was left in difficulty when her drive hit a course marshal and was redirected into a gorse bush.

When she was unable to save her par, that effectively allowed Kuwaki two putts to secure the top prize of £1.11m just 12 months after failing to make the cut at Royal Porthcawl.

“I just can’t believe it,” said Kuwaki, whose previous five wins as a professional had all arrived on her home tour.

“To be on a stage like this is an honour and every hole I was just focused on shot by shot. I just tried to enjoy it as much as I could.

“It’s an amazing feeling to win again as a Japanese player. I hope as team Japan we can continue to light up the golf world.”

JULIUS CAESAR may have crossed the Rubicon when he went to Rome – but my tip is to head over the River Tiber to see the Trastevere neighbourhood.

It’s the Italian capital’s more edgy, bohemian district with a warren of cobblestone streets, charming alleyways and intimate squares.

There are lively food and clothes markets, individual shops, craft beer and aperitivo bars plus great-value trattorias.

And while it’s an easy, 15-minute stroll from the city centre, there are excellent places to stay if you choose to base yourself here.

I began my visit in the tranquillity of Trastevere’s headline act — the glorious Botanical Garden of Rome (ortobotanicodiroma.it, €5).

With only a handful of visitors on a pleasant late autumn day, it felt like I was in a private sanctuary.

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Chatty parakeets flew overhead as I walked through a bamboo grove to a Zen-style Japanese garden.

I stumbled across a group watercolour lesson and was invited to join in.

Having not sketched anything for decades, I was pleasantly surprised at my naive-in-a-good-way results.

I ambled on to Trastevere’s serene side streets to browse the numerous artists and artisans’ studios.

In one, I was shown the artist’s latest works in progress, which are to be exhibited in the Vatican.

My base in Trastevere was as full of character as the soulful neighbourhood.

The 4* Trastevere Roma UNA Esperienze is in a former late 19th century palazzo and my spacious room came with a quiet elegance and a coffee machine.

I had lunch at the Vista panoramic roof terrace and bar, savouring a fine, smoky Bucatini all’Amatriciana — appropriately, a classic Roman pasta dish — that will live long in the memory.

After my afternoon of exploring, I returned to the Vista for dinner and first took in the view across Rome’s rooftops to the 266ft-high Victor Emmanuel II national monument.

It’s an entrancing sight, best experienced with an Aperol spritz or Negroni in hand.

And, like that backdrop view, my dinner of veal escalope was sheer perfection.

After dinner, sociable owls can spread their wings into a buzzing Trastevere nightlife.

There’s a choice of heady aperitivo bars, before moving on to the late-opening venues — Bar San Calisto keeps going to 1.30am every night and is a local institution.

While the area has a working-class history, there is no shortage of classic Roman architecture, from opulent palazzos to the striking Porta Settimiana, the 3rd-century AD arched entrance to the north of the neighbourhood.

All of these are flanked by shuttered, ivy-clad orange apartments.

As it was a delightful 25C on my late autumn visit, I strolled across the Tiber and found myself outside the Pantheon in no time at all.

The Trevi Fountain and Temple of Hadrian are close by, too.

UNA Esperienze has a quartet of 4H hotels in Rome, and I found myself walking by the brand’s Maison Roma Piazza di Spagna.

In contrast to the earthy magic of Trastevere, it is situated on the exclusive Via Margutta, made famous in the classic movie Roman Holiday and where La Dolce Vita director Federico Fellini had an apartment.

But here’s the real secret: when in Rome, make your home base at the UNA Trastevere hotel and experience the very best of both worlds.

Art, architecture, families, food, friends and wine in one beautiful melting pot.

You’d cross the Rubicon (and Tiber) for that any time.

TUI is opening two new hotels in destinations a few hours from the UK.

New TUI Blue hotels will open their doors to guests in both Seville and Lisbon as it expands to European cities as well as beach destinations.

The first new TUI Blue Hotel will be in the pretty Spanish city of Seville, which is set to open later this year.

Called TUI Blue Sevilla Suites, it will be the first TUI Blue hotel to open in a European city.

It will have 89 rooms, co-working space and even a rooftop pool which will no doubt have incredible views.

It’s in Vega del Rey which is a 10-minute drive from the city centre.

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Seville is a city in southern Spain just two hours and 45-minutes away from the UK.

It’s easily walkable with plenty to see from the Royal Alcázar to the enormous cathedral which is the biggest Gothic Church in Europe.

The city is pretty affordable with tapas dishes ranging from around €3 (£2.56) to €6 (£5.15) per plate.

If you head to El Rinconcillo, you can pick up a huge glass of wine for £3.

The second European city hotel will be in TUI Blue Rossio in Lisbon‘s Baixa district.

It’s currently undergoing ‘a comprehensive redesign’ but is set to open as a 30-room boutique early next year.

Lisbon can be reached in as little as two hours 35-minutes from the UK and is the perfect spot for a city-by-the-sea break.

It’s also a cheap spot and one expat who moved there from the UK suggests picking up a local ‘vinho verde’ which costs “a few euros“.

The city itself can be explored via the tram system with tickets starting from as little as £2.70.

In Lisbon, a Lisboa card is a savvy way to save – buy one from £27 for access to 51 museums and galleries across the city.

TUI Group Chief Operating Officer Marco Ciomperlik said: “Following the first openings in cities across Asia, we are now bringing our distinctive leisure hotel concept to some of Europe’s most attractive urban holiday destinations.

“Lisbon and Seville are ideal destinations, combining strong city break appeal with the rich local culture, food and experiences that sit naturally at the heart of the TUI Blue concept.”

This comes after TUI announced its expansion in Asia.

It announced the opening of two new hotels last year in both Malaysia and Cambodia.

TUI also opened its first hotel in Bhutan in May called TUI Blue Paro Taktsang which is nestled in the Himalayas.

The ‘adults-only lifestyle resort’ has 34 suites, a restaurant and bar both with mountain views.

A RECORD-BREAKING ride is set to open at a theme park next year – but some people say it looks too scary to go on.

Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, America, will open Bakunawa in 2027 and it is set to break six world records.

The ride will be the world’s fastest spinning coaster, reaching speeds of 100mph.

It will also have the world’s fastest inversion, reaching speeds of 80mph.

It will be the first ride in the world to have an upside down launch and also be the first floorless spinning coaster.

In addition it will have the world’s longest stall inversion and will become the world’s tallest spinning coaster at 116.43metres.

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There will be two passenger carriages, each able to carry 20 people.

The carriages will travel at high speed along the track with multiple inverted sections as well as twists and turns, before climbing a vertical section of the track and spiralling up.

Once the rollercoaster reaches the top of the spiral, it will move backwards through the entire track.

The ride will last two minutes and 17 seconds in total.

To go on the rollercoaster, riders must be at least 121.92cm tall.

Many rollercoaster fans have taken to social media regarding the new ride, dubbing it “insane”.

One said: “I’m a coaster fanatic but honestly this one might be a bit much.”

Another added: “This thing looks scary. Those floorless spinning trains hanging off the track that high up.”

A third commented: “Yeah this will probably be the scariest ride on earth.”

Kelvin and his wife, Liz, both had different plans for their future on Fletcher’s Family Farm

Kelvin and Liz Fletcher opened up about their “most challenging year” on their farm.

During a repeat episode of Fletcher’s Family Farm, Kelvin left his wife, Liz, in shock after he sold their goats without telling her.

However, after overcoming the shock of saying goodbye to their beloved goats, Kelvin and Liz reflected on the farm’s future and where they see themselves.

As the couple gathered around a campfire with their children, Liz shared, “I think this has been our hardest year, our most challenging, but I feel like we’ve learned the most this year on our own, and I feel like we’ve come on so far in the last 12 months.”

Kelvin asked, “Would you consider yourself a farmer now?”

He added, “I think this year I feel confident to say, yeah, we’ve got a farm, we’ve got a family farm, and this is what we do. We started with just a few sheep, and now we’ve got a flock of sheep, loads of pigs, cows, feral kids.”

“The kids are the biggest animals on the farm,” Liz laughed as Kelvin continued, “It’s safe to say we’re certainly on our way to becoming farmers.”

Liz went on to ask her husband whether he was “happy with this life,” to which he said, ” Yes. I’m committed that this is the right thing for us.

“We’re absolutely on the right path. There’s no question that we just got to absolutely embrace it and be in the moment, be present.”

“Cheers to that,” Liz said before Kelvin shared his dreams of moving away from their Cheshire Farm.

He stated, “I would like a ranch in America one day.”

“I mean, I’d like to be in the Bahamas, but one step at a time,” Liz told Kelvin.

This isn’t the first time Kelvin and Liz have spoken about moving to America; during an appearance on James Martin’s Saturday Morning, one thing stopped them from pursuing their dream.

The ITV chef pointed out, “You were originally going to go to America. This was a life-changing thing you decided, and you got the visas and everything, didn’t you?”

“As two actors, we thought, you know, Kelvin had been in Emmerdale for 20 years, and we kind of wanted to try something different, and as two actors, we thought, ‘Well, why not? Let’s go to Hollywood and LA and see what happens’,” Liz explained.

“And we only had two children at the time, but unfortunately, Covid stopped that, and they actually stopped the visas. We never got the visas completed because they said, ‘There’ll be a pause on this for at least two years’.

Fletcher’s Family Farm is available to watch on ITVX.

YOU could soon be able to grab a Greggs sausage roll when your on holiday.

The chain recently opened a store at Tenerife South Airport in Spain‘s Canary Islands and is eyeing up opening more spots abroad.

Greggs CEO Roisin Currie told Reuters: “If (Tenerife) is ​positive then ⁠it will be a sort of look to see where else could this go in the future.

“It ‌is ⁠only one shop, so far though it’s hit every sales hurdle.”

Inside the Tenerife South Airport store – which is in the departures side of the airport – travellers can find Greggs’ core menu.

There are also some items tailored to the local market such as Spanish omelette breakfast rolls and blueberry muffins.

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At the time of opening, Currie said: “Tenerife South Airport is a hub for millions of UK and international passengers each year, making it the ideal location to test spreading our wings in an overseas setting.

“It’s an exciting milestone for Greggs as we bring a slice of home to the Canaries, and we’re confident our great-value offering will resonate just as well under the Spanish sun as it does on the UK high street.”

The popular airport handles 13million passengers a year, with around 50 per cent of them being from the UK.

Taking to Reddit, Greggs fans shared their thoughts on the new store.

One person said: “I won’t be satisfied until we have a Greggs in Paris.”

Another person added: “Come to Canada already. Tim Hortons exists in the UK, return the favour.”

Greggs did use to have stores in Belgium, but they were closed in 2008.

A SMALL but much-loved holiday resort in the UK is set to get a load of new attractions.

Ribby Hall Village near Kirkham, Preston, has announced plans for a new high ropes course, netted play area and outdoor activity zone.

The new attractions would be at the Wildlife Discovery area in the five-star holiday park and also feature a go-kart track.

A new entertainment centre is already approved for the holiday resort as well.

Ribby Hall Village has a range of accommodation including self-catering cottages and an adults-only spa hotel.

Guests also get unlimited access to a family pool with waterslides and an adult pool.

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And much like Center Parcs, you can book onto a number of different activities including heading to the indoor soft play as well as an onsite zoo and wildlife centre.

For more entertainment, there are also a number of daytime and evening shows.

Across the village, guests can head into a number of family restaurants, bars and cafes.

Summer breaks cost as little as £32 per person per night.

One recent visitor said: “Not our first visit to Ribby hall but as usual had a fabulous break with the family – we have chosen Ribby hall over our former choice of Center Parcs as Ribby represents so much better value for money.”

Another visitor added: “Loved it here, obvious comparison is with Center Parcs and I would pick Ribby Hall.”

Fylde Council has not yet announced when they will make a decision on the application.

British number two Cameron Norrie ended a six-match losing streak with a 6-4-6-1 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the Mifel Open in Mexico.

Norrie had not won since the Madrid Open in April, a run which included a first-round exit to qualifier Michael Zheng at Wimbledon.

Playing at the tournament in Los Cabos where he won his first ATP title in 2021, Norrie recovered from having his serve broken twice in the first set, including in the opening game.

The fifth seed dropped only five points on serve in the second set and broke American Kovacevic twice to set up a meeting with Australian James Duckworth or American Aidan Mayo in the last 16.

“I’m so happy,” said Norrie, who retired from his French Open first-round match in May because of a rib injury.

“I hadn’t had a win in a while. I’ve been battling some injuries and a bit of confidence, so I was a bit nervous.

“But I played well in the big moments and managed to stay calm.”

British number two Katie Boulter was knocked out of the Citi Open in the first round, extending her losing run to four matches.

American Ashlyn Krueger triumphed 3-6 6-2 6-2 in Washington DC as Boulter won only four points from 2-0 up in the deciding set.

Universal Studios Hollywood surprise-opened its flashy new high-speed roller coaster Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift on Monday. After much hype and anticipation — and even some unfounded rumors that the coaster would not hit its promised summer launch — Hollywood Drift is at last ready for its close-up.

Billed as one of the most intense roller coasters in Universal Studios’ global ride portfolio, Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift can reach speeds of 72 mph while taking guests through multiple inversions in vehicles that can rotate 360 degrees. It is the fastest coaster that Universal Creative, the division of the company responsible for theme park experiences, has designed.

There is some fine print.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift has still not announced its official grand opening. The ride is operating in what Universal is calling “technical rehearsals.” Think of this as a soft opening.

What that means: Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is not guaranteed to be running if you visit the park. It’s still, for all intents and purposes, in a testing phase, and can be closed down at any time. If you’re thinking about rushing to the park to be one of its first riders, proceed with caution. Until Universal gives the coaster a proper opening — and expect some sort of gala to go with it — Hollywood Drift may not be fully operational.

Technical rehearsals help ensure that when a ride does receive a formal opening, it can operate, in theory, without any issues or prolonged downtime. My advice: Visiting a theme park is an investment, and if experiencing Hollywood Drift is vital to your day at Universal Studios, it would be safest to wait until the coaster gets its date. At this point, it should be a matter of weeks, if not days.

A view of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift when it was still in testing mode.

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

But I certainly understand that theme park FOMO.

Hollywood Drift has long been circled as the most important theme park attraction opening in North America in 2026. The ride has been about 10 years in the making, and has many unique attributes. Not the least of which is its location, as the coaster is built on a steep hill between the park’s upper and lower lots, meaning at times it will go over and under its famed escalators.

“It wouldn’t be your first choice,” says Jon Corfino, Universal Studios Hollywood’s lead creative, of the topography. “But in a way, it makes it more dynamic that we were able to do it.”

Meanwhile, the ride has also raised eyebrows among the community surrounding Universal Studios Hollywood. The park’s neighbors in the adjacent Toluca Lake neighborhood have been none too pleased with some of the rider screams that emanated from the coaster on a day of testing earlier this summer. I talked to several residents as well as Universal and representatives from Los Angeles County for a story published last week, “Fast & Furious’ coaster screams rattle quiet neighborhood: ‘Like someone is getting murdered.” Whether those concerns fade, or how that issue is ultimately resolved, will be but one of the storylines that will follow the attraction.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift on a test-run. The coaster has been the most anticipated theme park opening of 2026.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

Yet most guests will simply be concerned with how it rides. While other coasters can rotate 360 degrees, they don’t do it at this speed and through this many twists, turns and loops. And then there’s the design. Hollywood Drift puts riders in mini cars, each one heavily detailed and with unique engine and breaking noises. Of course, the ride may simply move too fast to pay attention to all that.

“It’s a high level of intensity, absolutely, for sure,” Corfino says.

Stay tuned to Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride for detailed impressions of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.

This week in SoCal theme parks

A glass slide from the Medusa portrait in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion is going up for auction.

(Matt Roppolo / HA.com)

• Bid on a piece of Disneyland history. I have mixed feelings on auctions involving Disneyland artifacts. And by mixed, I mean mostly negative, as they tend to inflate prices for the fans who care about the items most, and many of these treasures belong in a museum rather than someone’s private collection. But if you’ve ever wanted a mummy prop from Indiana Jones Adventure, or — gasp — an original glass slide from the Haunted Mansion’s changing Medusa portrait, now’s your chance. The Disney Experiences Auction — Rare and Remarkable Finds is part of next month’s all-things Disney fan convention D23, and is hosted by Heritage Auctions. The live auction is Aug. 16, but online bidding is open.
• A Halloween Horror Nights original. Spooky season is now just a few weeks away, and Universal Studios Hollywood’s lineup for Halloween Horror Nights is mostly set. The latest addition to the event, which begins Sept. 3, is an exciting one, as it’s a brand new haunted house not based on any existing film or television properties. The maze, Dead, Deader, Deadest, is set in a funeral home, based on a plot involving a “miracle drug” that can restore the features of the deceased without embalming. Halloween Horror Nights mastermind John Murdy revealed on socials that it connects to past original haunted houses at the park, for those deep into Halloween Horror Nights lore.
• Hope you like Kraft Mac & Cheese, Disney fans. Times Business writer Samantha Masunaga reports on a deal between the Walt Disney Co. and Kraft Heinz. As part of the agreement, more Kraft Heinz products will be available in Walt Disney Co.’s U.S.-based theme parks and on cruise ships, including Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

YOU will soon be able to stay in luxury cabins right by a 17th century castle.

Crossbasket Castle, around 10 miles from Glasgow, is already home to a luxury castle – but new plans have revealed 12 additional cabins.

The cabins will be right on the banks of the River Calder, which is a short walk from the castle itself.

Each cabin can host up to four people, with a double bed and a sofa bed.

The cabins also have bathrooms found on the enclosed balconies, with freestanding copper bathtubs.

For breakfast, guests need to head to Foveran’s atrium, where they can grab a range of breakfast items including a breakfast grill, charcuterie and pastries.

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When it comes to grabbing something in the evening, guests can head to the hotel’s restaurant, Trocadero’s.

The cabins will welcome guests from the beginning of October, with a one-night stay including breakfast costing from £295.

In addition to the lodges, the hotel will also get a new spa – Four Angels Spa.

Due to open in the autumn, the spa will have four treatment rooms, ‘immersive experience showers’, a sauna, a steam room and heated loungers.

Products used in the spa will also be sourced locally, from the Isle of Harris.

Crossbasket Castle dates back to the 15th century and at one point was even owned by Charles Macintosh, the inventor of the raincoat.

It was then purchased by Alison and Steve Timoney in 2011, who spent £10million on restoring the castle for it to reopen in 2016 as a five-star hotel.

Alison Timoney, owner of Crossbasket Castle, said: “From the outset, our vision has been to create an experience that goes beyond traditional luxury hospitality.

“The introduction of the Four Angels Spa and Crossbasket Cabins further enhances our vision for the overall estate, offering guests a place to fully immerse themselves in the beauty of our surroundings whilst enjoying a moment of calmness and relaxation.”

3M Open final leaderboard

-25 J Koivun (US); -22 S Scheffler (US); -20 D McCarthy (US), B Harman (US), C Phillips (US), H Matsuyama (Jpn)

Selected others: -17 S Power (Ire), G Woodland (US) M Kim (US); -16 Knapp (US); -13 J Parry (Eng)

Full leaderboard

American rookie Jackson Koivun held his nerve to beat Scottie Scheffler by three strokes and claim his first PGA Tour win at the 3M Open on Sunday.

Playing in just his third tournament since turning professional, Koivun surged into a three-shot lead on Saturday during a round of 10-under 61.

The 21-year-old then stretched his lead to five in the final round at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota, before world number one Scheffler applied pressure.

The four-time major winner began the back nine with three straight birdies, then claimed two more in the final three holes to finish with an eight-under 63 and trail compatriot Koivun by two strokes.

Former world amateur number one Koivun could have wobbled at that point, with holes left to play, but instead he made his fifth birdie of the day at 16 before wrapping up a five-under 66 to finish on 25 under par overall.

“I had some nerves coming down 18,” said Koivun. “All throughout the crowd I kept hearing ‘Scottie’s coming, Scottie’s coming’.

“I just tried to tune that out and keep playing the golf I knew I could and was able to find some good putts coming down the stretch.”

American trio Denny McCarthy, Brian Harman and Chandler Phillips finished five strokes behind Koivun, in a tie for third with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.

Michael Kim fired a 12-under 59 on Friday, but the American finished in a tie for 10th after closing with rounds of 70 and 69.

As performers protest and studios sue in their war on artificial intelligence, the entertainment industry is deepening its dependence on it.

Although few places are better than Hollywood at crafting a narrative and concealing what happens off-frame, a Los Angeles Times survey of job postings sheds light on what is happening offstage.

Among hundreds of job postings in late June, more than one in 10 was likely connected to AI. The top studios’ public postings suggest they have been recruiting people to build AI tools. They are also recruiting teams to defend their intellectual property against unauthorized AI use.

“There are plenty of studios that are hiring [for AI] but never talk about it in public,” said Yoland Yan, a co-founder of ComfyUI, a company that helps studios juggle different AI tools.

Companies have been hesitant to detail how they use generative AI in film production — partly because they are concerned about consumer and union backlash.

The Walt Disney Studios complex on May 3 in Burbank.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Some in Hollywood described AI use as the new cosmetic surgery, where everyone knows it is happening, but few will admit to it.

Recent want ads show Amazon MGM Studios trying to find a principal AI executive and Walt Disney Studios advertising for a production innovation technologist job.

“What you’re seeing in those job postings is that adoption is already happening,” said Bryn Mooser, chief executive of Asteria, an AI film studio.

Netflix recently posted a job that didn’t exist a year ago.

The streamer was hiring for the role of “Manager, Generative Workflows,” a job to help integrate more AI into Netflix films. It promised hands-on experience with the cutting-edge technology.

“The industry is flooded with speculative GenAI roadmaps, but few are battle-tested in production,” the post said, referring to generative AI. The post said the role will work on introducing AI into Netflix’s slate of films being released in the U.S. and Canada.

Although some companies may be shy about sharing their AI plans, big stars who don’t have to answer to others have been more open about their embrace of the new technology for storytelling.

An exterior view of the Netflix sign at Netflix on Vine in Hollywood in 2025.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Rejecting AI is like picking a horse and buggy over a car, said “Star Wars” creator George Lucas.

“Artificial intelligence means it’s much easier for us to make movies,” he told a trade magazine earlier this year. “There’s nothing you can do about it. That’s progress. It’s the future.”

Some in Hollywood have a softer stance on artificial intelligence, with studios cutting deals with AI companies, and filmmakers like Martin Scorsese backing AI companies.

Ben Affleck launched an AI film tech company then sold it to Netflix for half a billion dollars.

When launching InterPositive, Affleck said he wanted to keep “storytelling human” by building AI tools that could fix lighting, generate missing shots and other things while “keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists.”

The Times’ survey turned up two senior InterPositive roles to update the programming to apply AI to visual effects .

The Culver Studios on Feb. 12 in Culver City.

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

To gauge what is happening behind the scenes, The Times used Claude Code to build a scraper to identify job postings at Disney, Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros., Sony, Netflix and Amazon MGM. It found around 250 film studio job postings that were still public as of late June. Around 30 of those seemed to be connected to AI.

Disney, Netflix and Amazon had job postings that were about using AI on the creative side of the business. Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Sony had job ads suggesting they were also using AI but for marketing, distribution and audience analytics.

The postings suggest the Disney, Netflix and Amazon studios are building repeatable AI workflows for visual effects, animation, sound and dubbing. The companies also seem to be building in-house teams to develop custom generative-AI models, while also using third-party software.

None of the jobs advertised were to create AI that wrote scripts or created AI actors.

Disney’s ten or so AI jobs showed the century-old studio building out its AI research and production muscle, while protecting its vault of beloved characters.

Mouse House is hiring PhD-level talent to study “computer graphics and AI” for Pixar and Disney films, people to “bridge the gap between research and practical studio application.”

Industrial Light & Magic, the Disney-owned visual effects shop, was searching for supervisors to “explore emerging technologies (including AI/Machine Learning)” to develop new production workflows.

The company’s audio post-production unit, Skywalker Sound, seemed to be recruiting to build proprietary AI models for soundtracks, voice separation, and voice transfer, the process of taking a speaker’s tone and pitch, and applying it to new content.

Disney was also hiring to defend itself. Three of its jobs were for “content security” to assess AI tools and guard against piracy, watermarking and rights-protection work.

The company’s public posture has so far been pursuing lawsuits against AI companies for inappropriate use of copyrighted material, and it pulled out of its plans to invest $1 billion in an equity investment deal with OpenAI.

Netflix’s posts suggested it is bringing more AI to the creative side of its business.

Netflix’s senior director of creative innovation, Girish Balakrishnan, outlined at the Runway AI film festival how AI was used to create soccer fans in “Brazil ’70” and establish shots for fight scenes in “Glory.”

Amazon, an early adopter, was hiring a principal AI executive to drive AI-tool adoption across production, plus roles in operations automation and LLM content classification, the listings revealed.

The Seattle-based streamer has been the most aggressive AI adopter in studios, and commissioned three AI animation series through its GenAI creator fund in May. Amazon has also bankrolled a Manhattan Beach production services company, Innovative Dream.

Even as studios build bigger AI teams, many in the industry are resisting, and some film fans are concerned.

The actors’ guild SAG-AFTRA in June ratified a new four-year contract with special protections against synthetic performers, and the union has backed a national bill designed to protect individuals from unauthorized, AI-generated digital replicas.

Studios have met with the union twice a year since 2023 to provide a confidential report on their AI-related activities. The studios tell the union they aren’t yet using AI that would entirely replace humans, said a person familiar with the discussions.

The union says it has no evidence that generative AI is being used to create performances, and the studios are supposed to notify the union if that happens.

Actors, writers, production staff and movie fans are still resistant to the overuse of AI and defining when and where it is acceptable, so studios are treading lightly, said AI film studio CEO Mooser.

“It’s been really a challenging thing to adopt both socially, ethically and legally, but we are seeing more adoption of it than we’ve ever seen before,” he said.

The tournament director of the Canadian Open says changes need to be made to the “demanding schedule” of players after Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic pulled out of the Masters 1000 event.

Sinner, who beat Alexander Zverev to win the Wimbledon title this month, said he had withdrawn from the ATP tournament, which takes place from 2-13 August in Montreal, to prioritise his health.

Carlos Alcaraz will also be absent from the Canadian Open as he continues his recovery from a wrist injury that has kept him out since April.

“We are obviously very disappointed that Jannik and Novak won’t be joining us in Montreal this year, especially after they also withdrew from last year’s tournament in Toronto,” said the Canadian Open’s tournament director Valerie Tetreault.

“We respect their decisions and understand that, with such a demanding schedule, players’ health must remain the priority.

“That said, we believe the frequency of these last-minute withdrawals in the last few years raises a broader issue for our sport.

“Masters 1000 events are among the flagship tournaments on the tour, and fans rightfully expect to see the world’s best compete.

“We are already in discussions with the ATP to ensure this matter received serious consideration.”

The Canadian Open takes place before the Cincinnati Open, which is also a Masters 1000 event, and prior to the start of the US Open – the final Grand Slam of the year – on 30 August.

Seven of the existing nine Masters 1000 events – the sport’s highest level below the Grand Slams – are now staged over 12 days and concerns over the congested tennis calendar, which stretches across 11 months of the year for the top players, have regularly been voiced.

Britain’s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu recently pulled out of Wimbledon on the eve of their home Grand Slam because of injury.

Draper, who withdrew with a long-term arm injury, said he felt the amount of injuries suffered by leading players is “pretty worrying”.

In September 2024, Alcaraz said: “They are going to kill us in some way.”

“We firmly believe adjustments are needed in the near future to better protect the integrity of our Masters 1000 events while remaining mindful of the realities players face,” added Tetreault.

Earlier this year, women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek pulled out of the Dubai Championships, a WTA 1000 event, two days before it started.

Tournament director Salah Tahlak said players who made late withdrawals from tournaments should be docked points, while Sabalenka said criticism of her was “ridiculous” and that she may not play at the tournament again.