IN BRIEF (Page 20)

Golf

Pampling in US Open

NEW YORK: Australian Rod Pampling, runner-up at the Colonial tournament on Sunday, is among 14 players to earn a late exemption for next month's US Open.

Pampling, who led by two strokes with nine holes remaining before being overhauled by American Phil Mickelson, qualified for the year's second major by moving into the world's top 50.

The 38-year-old Queenslander will compete in his fifth US Open at the Torrey Pines course in San Diego from June 12-15 after climbing 22 spots to 47th in the rankings.

Britain's Oliver Wilson, beaten by Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez in a playoff for the PGA Championship at Wentworth, England, on Sunday, also booked his place.

Soccer

Newcomer steers France

GRENOBLE, France: Bafetimbi Gomis celebrated his first cap with two goals to earn France a 2-0 win over Ecuador in a Euro 2008 warm-up on Tuesday.

Forward Gomis, who is hoping coach Raymond Domenech will include him on Wednesday in his 23-man squad for the finals, fired an angled shot into the top corner from just inside the box after 59 minutes.

The 22-year-old St Etienne player, one of the few to shine in a generally dull game played on a slippery pitch, then sealed victory with an acrobatic volley four minutes from time.

Domenech rested several first-choice players including Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery and the game did not come to life until the last few minutes of the first half.

Bolivia striker joins Donetsk

RIO DE JANEIRO: Bolivia striker Marcelo Martins, joint top scorer in this year's South American Libertadores Cup with eight goals, has joined Ukraine champion Shakhtar Donetsk for nine million euros ($14.19 million).

Martins' current club Cruzeiro said the 20-year-old had signed a five-year contract on Tuesday.

Martins joined Cruzeiro last year after helping his previous club Vitoria climb out of the Brazilian third division. He scored 21 goals in 36 games for the Belo Horizonte club.

He began his career with Bolivia's Oriente Petrolero and joined Vitoria in 2004.

Gymnastics

Hamm has surgery

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Paul Hamm had surgery to repair the broken bone in his right hand on Tuesday, and will begin physical therapy on Thursday.

"The surgery went perfectly and we are already ahead of schedule," the gymnast said through his agent, Sheryl Shade.

Hamm had surgery at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where he and twin brother Morgan train. Dr Lawrence Lubbers inserted a plate and nine screws to repair the fourth metacarpal, which Hamm broke last Thursday in the final seconds of his parallel bars routine at the US gymnastics championships.

Baseball

Clemens claims distress

HOUSTON: Roger Clemens added a claim of emotional distress to his civil lawsuit against Brian McNamee, the former trainer who fingered the baseball star as a steroid user.

Clemens on Tuesday accused McNamee in court papers of intentionally inflicting emotional distress on him, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"That's what McNamee has done, he has intentionally taken a shot at Roger Clemens," said Joe Roden, an attorney for Clemens who is working with Rusty Hardin. "Every good lawyer will tell you, you bring every claim covered by the facts."

(China Daily 05/29/2008 page20)