Britain's Hegarty dies in Macau crash

HONG KONG - British rider Daniel Hegarty died Saturday after hitting a barrier at the Macau Grand Prix during the feature motorcycle race. The 31-year-old, who rode for Topgun Honda, came to grief at Fishermen's Bend during the sixth of 12 scheduled laps on the 3.8 mile Guia circuit. The race was immediately stopped and Hegarty was taken to hospital in the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city. "It is with great regret that we have to announce that the British rider succumbed to his injuries en route to the Conde S. Januario Hospital," the race organisers said in a statement. "The Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Daniel." Glenn Irwin from Northern Ireland was declared the winner after the race was stopped. AFP

 Rookie Cook edges clear at Sea Island

MIAMI - Austin Cook drained a birdie on his final hole to complete an eight-under-par 62 and grab a one-shot lead at halfway stage of the RSM Classic Friday. The 26-year-old PGA Tour rookie held his nerve on the last hole of the day on the par-70 Seaside course to move to 14 under, one clear of Brian Gay, who shot a second round 64 at Sea Island, Georgia. Cook's 18th hole birdie completed another remarkably consistent round for the rookie, who is one of only two players in the field not to have carded a bogey through 36 holes. "We've just been able to hit the ball really well," Cook said afterwards. "Speed on the greens has been really good and getting up and down has been great. "Had a couple of stressful putts, but I've been able to roll them in. Everything's going really well right now." –AFP

 Park in control at LGPA finale

MIAMI - South Korea's Park Sung-Hyun opened up a commanding three-shot lead at the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship on Friday, forging clear of the field after a front-nine birdie blitz. The 24-year-old US Women's Open champion carded a seven-under-par 65 at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, to leave her at 12 under for the tournament heading into the weekend. If Park manages to defend her lead she could scoop the Player of the Year honours as well as the LPGA money title and the $1 million bonus on offer for the Race to the CME Globe crown. Park would also be likely to unseat China's Feng Shanshan as women's world number one with a victory. The Korean rookie, who carded a 67 in the first round, got off to a steady start on Friday with four consecutive pars. AFP

 ICI, Descon win premier league openers

LAHORE - ICI and Descon won the opening matches of the Premier Super League (PSL) Corporate Cricket Tournament, which commenced here at the LCCA ground on Saturday. In the inaugural match of the league played at the LCCA ground, ICI outlasted Honda by 6 wickets. Honda decided to play first after winning the toss and produced the target of 108 runs in 15.4 overs. ICI, in reply, achieved the target in 17.4 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. M Awais emerged as man of the match. The second encounter of the day was won by Descon team which routed Jazz by 8 wickets. Jazz decided to play first after winning the toss and scored 124 runs in 18.1 overs losing all the wickets. Descon achieved the target in 12.1 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. Rana Tahir was named player of the match.–Staff Reporter

 Football referee course to end today

ISLAMABAD - The concluding ceremony of football referees course will be held today (Sunday) here at Jinnah Hall of the Pakistan Sports Complex. Pakistan Sports Board Acting Director General Mansoor Ahmed will be the chief guest on the occasion. As many as 25 referees of Islamabad and Rawalpindi took part in the four-day course, which is conducted by the Islamabad Football Association (IFA) in collaboration with PSB. Pakistan Football Referees Association (PFRA) president Qazi M Asif, FIFA international referees M Amin, Irshadul Haq and national referees Chman Khan and Amer Iqbal delivered the lectures about football laws and regulations. IFA secretary Syed Sharafat Hussain Bukhari said the new referees would supervise the matches of the Islamabad-B Division Football League.–Staff Reporter