South Africa won its second Rugby World Cup by beating defending champion England 15-6 Saturday in a final where all the points came on penalty kicks. Percy Montgomery was 4-for-4 on kicks for South Africa, Francois Steyn added another, and Jonny Wilkinson had two for Britain. Wilkinson kicked England to victory in the 2003 final in Sydney, but didn't receive enough chances at Stade de France. The Springboks also kicked for all their points in their previous championship, on home soil in 1995. South Africa, which went unbeaten and averaged almost 44 points in six wins to reach the final, had demolished England 36-0 in pool play 36 days beforehand. Though the English looked much better Saturday, they never appeared close to becoming the first champion to retain the William Webb Ellis Cup.Roger Federer should have seen it coming. One by one, David Nalbandian was picking off the best that tennis has to offer. Nalbandian beat Federer 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 Sunday to win the Madrid Masters. On his way to the final against the world's top-ranked player, Nalbandian also defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Novak Djokovic. The Argentine broke Federer three times and became the second player this year to beat the top three players en route to winning a title. Djokovic did it in Montreal in August, culminating his run with a victory over Federer. Boris Becker had done it 13 years earlier. Federer fell to 6-4 in finals this season. He was playing in his first tournament since winning his fourth straight U.S. Open six weeks ago. This was Federer's first loss on indoor hard courts since Nalbandian rallied to win at the Masters Cup in China nearly two years ago. The 25th-ranked Nalbandian, a former Wimbledon finalist once ranked No. 3, won his first title since the Estoril Open in May 2006.
Canadian Mike Weir won for the first time since early in the 2004 season, shooting a 2-under 68 on Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Australia's Mark Hensby in the Fry's Electronics Open. Weir secured the win with a 6-foot par putt after hitting his approach on the par-4 18th into a greenside bunker. The 2003 Masters champion took the lead with a birdie on the par-4 15th, rolling a chip shot to a foot, then held off Hensby over the final three holes on a warm, blustery day at Grayhawk Golf Club. Weir finished at 14-under 266 for his eighth PGA Tour victory, and first since the 2004 Nissan Open, a span of 87 starts.
Suzann Pettersen was prepared for another challenging round in the cold and wind. The Norwegian star ended up holding yet another trophy Sunday without even hitting a shot. Pettersen won the Hana Bank KOLON Championship for her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the year when high wind and unplayable conditions on the putting surfaces forced tournament officials to call off the final round at Mauna Ocean resort. Japan's Miho Koga shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday for a four-stroke victory over American star Paula Creamer in the Masters GC Ladies. Koga finished with a 9-under 207 total on the Masters Golf Club course. Creamer, the 2005 winner in the Japan LPGA event, closed with a 70. Second-round leader Momoko Ueda had a 76 to finish nine strokes back.
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