Tiger Woods lightly pumped his fist with another birdie. He raised his hands over his head in applause to salute a brilliant play by Justin Thomas that led to another hole won. He thoroughly enjoyed his return to competition in the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia.

His match won, Woods took the radio and inserted the ear piece as he resumed his role as U.S. captain.

And there was little else to cheer.

Ernie Els and his inspired International team won the day, and won it big.

Els got solid performances from Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen and remarkable play from his rookies that led to a 4-1 lead after the opening session of fourballs Thursday.

“I didn’t envision 4-1, no,” Els said.

It was the first time the International team won the opening session since 2005, which also was the last time it led after any session in an event the Americans have won 10 out of 12 times, including the last seven in a row.

Woods assembled the strongest U.S. team ever for the Presidents based on the world ranking. The first playing captain in 25 years, he inserted himself in the first match and made six birdies, the most of anyone at Royal Melbourne.

When it was over, the U.S. team found itself in foreign territory — trailing for the first time in 14 years.

“We have to earn this cup,” Woods said, perhaps a reminder that history means little inside the ropes. “Just because we lost the session doesn’t mean the Cup’s over. There’s a long way to go, a lot of points available. The guys will regroup, and we’ll come out tomorrow ready to go.”

College football:LSU QB Joe Burrow was named the Associated Press college football player of the year in a landslide vote. Burrow, who has led the top-ranked Tigers to an unbeaten season and their first College Football Playoff appearance, received 51 of 54 first-place votes from AP Top 25 poll voters and a total of 159 points. Ohio State DE Chase Young was second with three first-place votes and 69 points while Buckeyes QB Justin Fields was third with 43 points. Burrow, Young, Fields and Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts, who finished fourth with 33 points, are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy to be handed out Saturday in New York. ... Burrow also won Walter Camp National Player of the Year, the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Award. Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor won the Doak Walker Award and LSU’s Ed Orgeron received the Coach of the Year Award. ... Three-time Super Bowl champion Ed McCaffrey was hired as coach at Northern Colorado.

Soccer: Christian Pulisic was voted the U.S. Soccer Federation male player of the year, at 21 becoming the youngest to earn the honor for the second time. Pulisic also won the award in 2017. Landon Donovan was 22 when he won the second of his four awards in 2004. Pulisic had five goals and three assists for the U.S. this year. He also plays for Chelsea in the Premier League.

— News services