IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Tennis

Henin overcomes Golovin to win Stuttgart title

STUTTGART, Germany: Justine Henin beat France's Tatiana Golovin 2-6 6-2 6-1 in the final of the Stuttgart Grand Prix to land her eighth title of the year on Sunday.

The Belgian world No 1 was overwhelmed by the power and accuracy of the unseeded Golovin's hitting in the first set, but she gained the upper hand in the second and raced away with the third.

It was a 16th straight match victory for Henin since her defeat by another Frenchwoman, Marion Bartoli, in the semifinals at Wimbledon.

Since then she has won three tournaments - Toronto, the US Open and now Stuttgart.

For her first victory in Stuttgart - she lost in 2001 and 2003 when it was still at its old Filderstadt home - Henin got to choose between a first prize of $92,410 or a Porsche 911 convertible.

Golf

Dougherty holds nerve to clinch second Tour title

ST ANDREWS, Scotland: Britain's Nick Dougherty claimed his second European Tour title with a two-stroke victory in the Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Englishman has let two golden chances go begging this season, but a closing one-under 71 over the Old Course at St Andrews for an 18-under 270 total, left him two shots clear of fellow Englishman Justin Rose.

Rose posted a 3-under 69 and Northern Ireland teenager Rory McIlroy secured his European Tour card for next year by finishing third a further stroke back after a 68.

At 18 he became the youngest professional to claim a card from tournament play.

Dougherty had lost two tournaments this season from winning positions, in March at the Singapore Masters, where he claimed his first title in 2005, and at the Italian Open two months later.

Soccer

FIFA begins inspections of 2010 World Cup venues

JOHANNESBURG: FIFA began a formal inspection yesterday of South Africa's progress in preparing for the 2010 World Cup, the first visit since stadia construction began in earnest at the beginning of the year.

A FIFA delegation will visit four of the nine host cities on a three-day trip starting in Johannesburg on Monday, South Africa's Local Organizing Committee said on Sunday.

They will visit Johannesburg's Soccer City, venue for both the opening match and the final and which has been undergoing a major renovation, before travelling to Port Elizabeth and CapeTown to see progress on new stadiums in the coastal cities.

The inspection ends on Wednesday in Durban, where the draw for the qualifying competition will be held on November 25.

Athletics

Ivuti wins Chicago Marathon, heat halts race

CHICAGO: Kenyan Patrick Ivuti won the Chicago Marathon on Sunday after a tight two-man race to the finish with Jaouad Gharib of Morocco in unseasonably warm weather.

Ivuti and Gharib were neck-and-neck crossing the finish line in a time of two hours, 11 minutes, 11 seconds, with the winner called several minutes later as the temperature climbed towards 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit).

"The weather was not good. It was too hot," Ivuti, 29, said.

One runner was confirmed dead after collapsing in the record heat, and race officials closed the course just before noon, almost four hours after the contest began.

Those runners who had not yet crossed the halfway point were sent home.

(China Daily 10/09/2007 page24)