MELBOURNE, Australia – Matt Kuchar drained a 5-footer for birdie on the 17th hole of his match against Louis Oosthuizen, and it guaranteed the U.S. the half-point it needed to win the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

Kuchar, understandably, was on Cloud 9 as he skipped to the 18th hole. Other team members who were finished with their matches hugged, and the partisan International crowd was deflated.

A television camera and microphone was shoved in U.S. captain Tiger Woods’ face, and he was asked his immediate thoughts.

“We did it together,” Woods said, with tears welling up in his eyes. “We came here as a team. My teammates and my boys all played well.”

It was a touching moment from the man who has been such a steely competitor for more than two decades.

“I’ve cried in pretty much every cup we’ve won,” Woods insisted. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”

Assistant captains Fred Couples and Steve Stricker both enjoyed seeing Woods let loose a little. Couples described himself and Stricker as “both crybabies,” so it was nice for them to have some company for once.

“I love seeing other people cry,” Stricker said, “especially Tiger Woods.”

Added Couples: “The hug he gave everybody was so heartfelt. He’s a good man, and it’s fun to be on his team.”

MELBOURNE, Australia – While the International team did not have the breakthrough it desired at the Presidents Cup, it did find another one of sorts that captain Ernie Els believes will help deliver victory over the Americans sooner rather than later.

Els wasn’t joking Saturday evening when he said his team was thrilled even though it just lost the crucial foursomes session, 3-1, to the United States. That’s because they led 10-8 at that point and Els’ goal for the team early in the week was to win at least 10 points after the first three days.

“That’s why we were so excited,” he said Sunday after the U.S. put the finishing touches on a 16-14 victory.

The International team, Els believes, has finally figured out how to play team sessions more effectively. He wouldn’t divulge how or why that is the case, but he’s steadfast in his belief. He’s certain that the plan he had entering the week worked almost flawlessly.

“Great strides [were] made,” Els said. “I really felt that our team play was really the core of our team, and that never was [before]. We never felt like we could play foursomes or fourball together as a team. We did that well.”

Els is correct. His team only lost one of the four team sessions. After opening 4-1 in fourballs, they tied the Americans at 2 ½ in the Friday foursomes. On Saturday, the Internationals won the morning session 2 ½ to 1 ½ then lost the afternoon foursomes 3-1.

Unfortunately for Els, the singles session was an 8-4 routing by the Americans.

“I’m disappointed, that’s all I can say,” said Adam Scott, who played in his ninth Presidents Cup this week and has never won. “But I like what’s happening in the future. I can’t wait for another crack at it.”

MELBOURNE, Australia – Abraham Ancer said at last month’s Mayakoba Golf Classic that he wished to play against Tiger Woods at the Presidents Cup.

It seemed innocent enough at the time.

“I would like to play against Tiger (Woods),” Ancer said then. “But the truth is that our objective is to do everything we can to win. Winning a match in the singles would be very special, so we need to try to get the cup.”

Saturday night Els put Ancer out first in his singles lineup. Woods responded by putting himself up against the 28-year-old from Mexico.

Woods defeated Ancer, 3 and 2, Sunday in the first singles match and was asked afterward if he was aware of the comments.

“Abe wanted it, he got it,” Woods laughed.

Turns out, Ancer says the original quote was lost in translation.

“First of all, that question was in Spanish, so the tone when I said it, it was never like cocky or challenging or anything like that,” he said. “At the moment I thought it would be a great experience, which it was. No matter what, with the outcomes of that match, I would have gained a lot.”

The match with Woods was back and forth through eight holes, but Woods won the ninth and 10^th hole with birdies to move to 2 up. Ancer made birdie on the 13^th hole to get one back but Woods birdied the next three holes to end the match.

MELBOURNE, Australia – In 2015 the PGA Tour reduced the number of available points to 30 at the Presidents Cup at the urging of then-International captain Nick Price, and heading into this year’s matches the circuit reduced the number of team matches a player must play (one) before Sunday.

In both cases the goal was to help narrow the gap in an event that has been wildly one-sided with the U.S. team having won the last eight matches, but following another loss Sunday at Royal Melbourne captain Ernie Els said he is looking for even more change.

“I know it's a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, but to really be able to do what you need to do, you need to be away from the PGA Tour,” Els said. “To make our own rules, to get our own choices, to do our own thing. We need to be separate.”

Els, who seems likely to get another turn as the International side’s captain, compared his concept to the Ryder Cup process, which is governed by both the PGA of America and the European Tour and has been much more competitive. The South African also said any kind of separation would be a “long, long process.”

“We're trying to do it under one umbrella, under the Tour’s office, under their roof and there's a lot of things that clash,” he said. “We need to be able to control our own destiny.”

New Zealand 166 and 2 for 31 (Latham 10*, Taylor 5*) need another 437 runs to beat Australia 416 and 9 for 217 dec (Burns 53, Labuschagne 50, Southee 5-69, Wagner 3-59)

Nathan Lyon spun out New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson with his first ball as Australia took a leap towards victory in the day-night Perth Test with five sessions still remaining.

New Zealand had been left with 468 to win after Australia's captain Tim Paine declared with one wicket remaining at the end of an innings where the visitors had successfully limited the lead while also expanding the amount of time in which the hosts may need to bowl with only two fit pacemen.

However a quick breakthrough by Mitchell Starc, who bounced out a struggling Jeet Raval, and then Lyon's bat-pad dismissal of Williamson had the Australians eyeing a yawning defeat of the tourists on another day of temperatures higher than 35C.

Tim Southee and Neil Wagner shared eight wickets between them, as New Zealand claimed 8 for 86 after the Australians had advanced to 1 for 131 late on the third day. Their concerted, short-pitched angle of attack resulted not only in plenty of wickets but also a succession of painful blows for the batsmen, most notably Matthew Wade.

Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon added 50 runs on the fourth afternoon, leaving New Zealand with five and a half sessions to survive if they wish to get out of Perth with a draw - a feat that, if achieved, would severely fatigue Australia's bowlers with Josh Hazlewood already out of the game due to a hamstring strain.

If New Zealand did not make quite as disastrous a start as they had done in the first innings, when they had lost two wickets in the first two overs, Raval and Tom Latham could not stay together for long. Taking advantage of an increasingly cracked pitch, Starc taunted Raval with the words "this is the last chance of your career" before promptly hitting the shoulder of the opener's bat to gift Lyon the simplest of catches the very next ball. With scores of 3, 33, 4, 0, 19, 5, 0, 1 and 1 since his first Test century against Bangladesh, Raval has some thinking to do.

Williamson was granted some early latitude by Starc and Cummins, who allowed him to skate into the teens with a couple of full balls on leg stump and then a wide half volley, but Lyon was in no mood to be quite so charitable. His first ball leapt out of the surface with turn and bounce, clipping the edge onto thigh pad and straight to short leg to leave New Zealand teetering at the interval.

West Indies opted to bowl against India

After winning the toss in the series opener, West Indies captain Kieron Pollard left home captain Virat Kohli surprised by choosing to field on a surface that Kohli felt was dry and liable to break during the first innings. Pollard said he didn't know what to expect from a relaid surface, so he made that decision.

West Indies had to give a break to Ewin Lewis after he injured his knee during the final T20I on Wednesday. While Roston Chase came in as a spinning allrounder, specialist spinner Khary Pierre made way for Keemo Paul. Alzarri Joseph and Sunil Ambris, too, made it to the XI.

India continued with their ploy of not playing both the two wristspinners together. Kuldeep Yadav got the nod ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal here with Ravindra Jadeja and possibly Kedar Jadhav serving as other spinners. After his maiden international fifty during the T20I series, Shivam Dube earned himself an ODI debut too.

India 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Mohammed Shami

West Indies 1 Shai Hope, 2 Sunil Ambris, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Roston Chase, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Hayden Walsh, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

LAS VEGAS -- One of the most impressive runs -- at any weight class -- in UFC history has come to an end.

Australian featherweight Alexander Volkanovski (21-1) officially ended Max Holloway's (21-5) reign over the UFC's featherweight division on Saturday, as he defeated the formerly dominant champion via unanimous decision at UFC 245 at T-Mobile Arena. Judges scored the 145-pound title fight for Volkanovski 50-45, 48-47 and 48-47.

The loss marked Holloway's first at 145 pounds since 2013 and snaps a 14-win streak within that weight class. It ends his title reign at three successful title defenses.

"It's what we do," said Volkanovski, who was a plus-170 underdog at Caesars. "We shoot for the belt. We've had great champions in this division. [Jose] Aldo was a great, respectful champion. Max was a great, respectful champion. I promise to be a great, respectful champion.

Volkanovski, of Australia, executed a picture-perfect game plan against one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. He outstruck Holloway 173 to 103, per UFC Stats, in a bout that never once hit the floor. The former rugby player, who used to weigh more than 200 pounds, matched Holloway's output and beat him at his own game.

Holloway, of Waianae, Hawaii, was gracious in defeat. It marked his second defeat of 2019 -- he unsuccessfully moved up to 155 pounds in April against Dustin Poirier -- which would have been an unthinkable proposition coming into the year.

"I'm only 28, and I'm only getting better," Holloway said. "I'll be back, boys."

Leg kicks were a major weapon for Volkanovski, as he set a UFC record for most leg kicks landed in a featherweight fight -- by the third round. Holloway never looked seriously hurt by the kicks, but he did switch from an orthodox stance to southpaw momentarily in the second and third rounds.

Volkanovski beat Holloway to the punch and seemed to surprise the champ with his effectiveness fighting on the outside. Despite facing a significant height disadvantage, Volkanovski drew Holloway onto his punches and landed clean combinations on the way in on multiple occasions.

Holloway started to turn the tide in the final rounds by targeting the body, but Volkanovski smiled at him in response. At one point in the third round, Volkanovski made it a point to tell Holloway he was "still fresh."

It's the first time Holloway has lost at featherweight since he suffered a decision defeat to Conor McGregor in 2013. Volkanovski, who trains out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand and has now won 18 in a row, becomes the second UFC champion out of that gym this year. His teammate, Israel Adesanya, claimed the 185-pound title in October.

Adesanya was in the crowd yelling instructions to Volkanovski throughout the fight. He said he knew the decision would go the way of his teammate and had tears in his eyes when ring announcer Bruce Buffer proclaimed, "And new!"

"It shows you what we're doing," Adesanya said. "We're coming back."

LAS VEGAS -- Colby Covington dominated the war of words. Kamaru Usman got the victory where it counted most.

Usman finished the trash-talking Covington via TKO at 4:10 of the fifth round in the main event of UFC 245 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. With the win, Usman retained his UFC welterweight title and quieted Covington's barbs, at least temporarily.

"I heard all week, all month, since the fight got signed, everyone is like, 'Oh, Colby is in his head, Colby is this, Colby is that. He's gonna gas out, fight emotional.' I'm telling you guys right now that the reason why I'm the best in the world is because my mind is stronger than anyone in the division."

It was the second-latest stoppage ever in a title fight in UFC history and came in a very close fight up until that point. Covington did very well in the early rounds, while Usman rallied in the third and fourth.

After the third round, Covington told his corner that he believed he had a broken jaw. Covington was later transported to the hospital following the fight, his manager told ESPN's Ariel Helwani.

The end came in the fifth when Usman dropped Covington with a right hand. Covington got to his feet, but Usman dropped him with another right. Usman closed in and flurried on the ground with hammer fists as Covington attempted a takedown. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in to call it a TKO, a call Covington protested immediately afterward.

The scorecards afterward were differing. Heading into the fifth, one judge had it for Covington 39-37, another had it 39-37 for Usman and the third had it tied 38-38. The scores don't matter now, though, with Usman earning the finish.

Usman said afterward that his victory isn't just for him, but for everyone, mentioning the country of Brazil, which Covington has run down as a "dump" and called its residents "filthy animals."

"This one is for the whole entire world right now," Usman said.

The Las Vegas crowd, though, was pro-Covington throughout the bout, chanting "Colby!" and "USA!" Usman is an American citizen and longtime U.S. resident, but was born in Nigeria.

Covington started the bout peppering Usman with left hands out of the southpaw stance. He landed solidly over the first two rounds. In the second, Usman started digging hard body punches and those seemed to add up as the fight went on.

In the third, momentum changed. Usman landed more hard body shots and big right hands to Covington's face, which started to bleed and redden. It was after that round that Covington told his corner about his possibly broken jaw, but he continued throwing and standing in the pocket with Usman despite that possible severe injury. Covington landed nice uppercuts in the fourth, a very close round in which Usman also landed hard right hands.

Covington started the fifth round well, landing left hands. But Usman clearly carried his power into the late rounds and those two right hands put Covington on the mat. Goddard had enough after the second one and Usman followup shots.

Usman was ESPN's No. 10-ranked pound-for-pound MMA fighter coming in and the No. 1 welterweight. Covington was the No. 2 welterweight. Usman won the UFC welterweight title by beating Tyron Woodley by unanimous decision at UFC 235 on March 2.

Usman and Covington had bad blood coming in. Covington crashed Usman's open workout before UFC 235 and the two exchanged words at the conclusion of that card. At the UFC 235 post-fight news conference, Usman professed his hatred for Covington, and the two -- along with Usman's manager Ali Abdelaziz -- got into a confrontation at the Palms Resort Casino buffet in Las Vegas the next day.

The feud continued in interviews and on social media, with Covington referring to Usman as "Marty Fakenewsman." Usman was called "Marty" during his amateur wrestling career, because coaches couldn't pronounce his first name "Kamarudeen."

Covington has embraced his role as the UFC's biggest villain, which has almost been too effective. While the attention from his sometimes crude trash talk has earned him greater opportunities inside and outside the Octagon, Covington has also alienated many in the sport, including several of his own American Top Team teammates like fellow UFC star Jorge Masvidal.

Usman (16-1) has won 14 in a row, including 11 straight in the UFC -- the third longest current winning streak in the promotion. Usman's 11-fight streak is the second longest in welterweight history behind Georges St-Pierre's 12. Usman, 32, is one of just four fighters to start a UFC career at 11-0 or better. Anderson Silva, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Royce Gracie are the others.

Covington (15-2), the former interim welterweight champion, had a seven-fight winning streak snapped. He did not attempt a takedown in the bout despite his 5.69 takedowns per 15 minutes being the highest rate in welterweight history coming in. Covington, 31, had beaten the likes of Robbie Lawler, Demian Maia and Rafael Dos Anjos en route to the title chance.

Matt Kuchar was often the center of attention in 2019, too often for the wrong reasons.

From his stiffing of El Tucan, to his match-play dispute with Sergio Garcia, to his excessive landscaping in a waste bunker, Kuchar's assorted controversies overshadowed an otherwise excellent year of golf.

But Kuchar will exit 2019 in style, having secured the Presidents Cup for the United States with this birdie putt at the 17th hole Sunday at Royal Melbourne.

That make pushed Kuchar to 1 up with one to play in his singles match with Louis Oosthuizen, guaranteeing the United States a half-point and the Presidents Cup.

Kuchar would drop the 18th hole to halve the match with Oosthuizen, but the celebration was already on for captain Tiger Woods and company.

"Such a thrill," Kuchar said after the match. "I can’t tell you what it felt like, what the emotions running through my body were. But I was basically jumping out of my skin when that putt went in on 17 knowing that was the clinching — at least the clinching half.

"And to see everybody on 17 green, knowing exactly what that meant. To be able to come through and do that, I was just overwhelmed with emotion. It was just an awesome feeling."