Orlando Sentinel

Tiger sits out, U.S. trails by 4 at Presidents Cup

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The Americans are in a big hole at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, and there’s nothing Tiger Woods is doing about it.

Whatever momentum they had going into the double session Saturday at Royal Melbourne vanished as Abraham Ancer and the Internatio­nal team filled the scoreboard­s with their black-and-gold colors and built a 9-5 lead after three sessions.

Tony Finau birdied the last two holes to at least get a half-point from the final fourballs match for the U.S. team.

Woods, the first playing captain in 25 years and a winner in the two matches he played with Justin Thomas, took himself out of the lineup on Saturday morning for fourballs. And then in a surprise, he sat himself in the afternoon.

“You have to do what’s best for the team,” Woods said. “And I’m getting ready for the singles tomorrow.”

It was the first time since 1998 at Royal Melbourne — the only Internatio­nal victory in the Presidents Cup — that the Americans trailed after three sessions.

Baseball: Two-time All-Star Yoenis Cespedes accepted a “significan­t” pay cut from the Mets ahead of the final year of his contract, according to reports Friday. The salary reduction is a direct result of the accident Cespedes suffered on his ranch back in May that led to multiple injuries. Cespedes said he stepped in a hole and twisted his leg and foot into a “difficult position.” The accident led to multiple fractures in his right foot that required surgery. Cespedes agreed to amend and restructur­e his four-year, $110 million contract with the Mets. The 34-year-old slugger was owed $29.5 million before this restructur­ing. ESPN reported that the Mets will save well over $10 million as part of the settlement. Cespedes remains under contract with the club through the 2020 season. After missing the entire 2019 season, he will continue rehabbing with the intention of playing in 2020 . ... The Brewers and LHP Brett Anderson agreed to one-year, $5 million contract. Anderson, 31, was 13-9 with a 3.89 ERA in 31 starts with A’s last season, when he had a $1.5 million base salary and earned $1 million in performanc­e bonuses.

College football: Memphis promoted Ryan Silverfiel­d to head coach, removing the interim tag given to him Sunday when Mike Norvell left for Florida State. Silverfiel­d was Norvell’s deputy head coach and cooffensiv­e coordinato­r as Memphis went a school-record 12-1 and won the American Athletic Conference championsh­ip this season. The 17th-ranked Tigers face No. 10 Penn State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 28.

Soccer: Julie Ertz was named the U.S. women’s player of the year for the second time. Ertz, a 27-year-old versatile midfielder who also won the award in 2017, was on the U.S. teams that won World Cup championsh­ips in 2015 and last summer in France . ... FIFA received bids from Brazil, Japan, Colombia and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

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