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SYDNEY, Australia – South African Louis Oosthuizen fell just short of winning the Australian Open but has positioned himself as the potential spearhead for Ernie Els ahead of the Presidents Cup. Already the only player on Els’ International Team with a winning record in the biennial team competition against the U.S., Oosthuizen produced a huge eagle on the final hole at The Australian Golf Club to make local Matt Jones sweat. RELATED: Inside the International’s dominating 1998 win | Internationals hoping for South African omen Jones – a former winner of the Houston Open – ultimately survived a drama-filled trip down the par-5 18th to secure his second national championship at the course he grew up on. Oosthuizen’s eagle left him with the round of the day, a 5-under 66 and finished at 14 under. But Jones dropped in a testy 5-foot par put after going from bunker, to woodchips, to a tight lie short of the green to win by a shot. Still, Oosthuizen showed he will be a force at this week’s Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne against Tiger Woods and his formidable U.S. Team. “I used this week as preparation for next and obviously I’ll take a lot of confidence out of this and hopefully we can pull it off next week,â€� Oosthuizen said. “I’m ready. Game face is on now and I’m ready.â€� Marc Leishman was the next best member of the International Team and finished in a tie for 10th. Cameron Smith was tied for 27th and defending champion Abraham Ancer was 33rd. “We’re ready to go, and looking forward to it,â€� Leishman said. “I’m pleased with the way I drove the ball and then the way I chipped. I putted well; I just wasn’t reading the greens awesome, but off the tee and around the greens I was pretty pleased with. “If I could take that over into next week and sharpen my irons up a little bit, should be good to go. It’s been a pretty easy week this week energy-wise, so we are excited about next week and hopefully we can play well.â€� Adam Scott and C.T. Pan failed to make the cut although Els was not concerned with their form. Byeong Hun An, Joaquin Niemann, Hideki Matsuyama, Haotong Li, Adam Hadwin and Sungjae Im all rested this week. “My long-term view is long-term form. I’ve picked guys who have played well for a long term.  One week or one round is not going to change anything in my view,â€� Els said. “The guys are quality players; they’ve made great strides in making the team and I believe in them. If they have a bad round or a bad tournament, it’s not changing my view on that.â€� Jones, fellow Australian Aaron Pike and Japanese amateur Takumi Kanaya all booked spots in the 2020 Open Championship at Royal St George’s from July 16-19 as the highest three players not already exempt.

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ATLANTA - This has been a life-changing week for Rory McIlroy. It could be a historic one, as well. McIlroy and his wife, Erica, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Poppy, into the world Monday. With wife and baby safely at home, a rejuvenated McIlroy was able to find his form in time for the first round of the TOUR Championship. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Season unlike any other comes to thrilling finish at East Lake "Golf was the furthest thing from my mind the first few days this week," he said. "And then once we got home on Wednesday and everything was good and mom and baby were healthy, that sort of took a load off my mind, and that meant I could come here and somewhat focus on what I’m supposed to do." McIlroy is trying to become the first player to successfully defend the FedExCup and win the season-long title three times. He and Tiger Woods are the only two-time winners of the FedExCup. McIlroy started this week seven strokes behind FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson. His 64 matched the low round of the day, however, and allowed him to pick up three shots on the lead. McIlroy will start Saturday in fourth place, four shots behind Johnson and Jon Rahm. McIlroy started this season with six consecutive top 5s, including a win at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, but the 2019 FedExCup champion has struggled since the season resumed. His best finish in eight starts since the Return to Golf is T11. In his last five events, he's a combined 2 over par and has just one finish better than 30th (a T12 at last week's BMW Championship). He admits it has been hard to focus without fans on-site and his pregnant wife at home. His caddie, Harry Diamond, carried a phone on the course and McIlroy was prepared to leave immediately if Erica went into labor. He doesn't have to worry about that anymore. Many players say fatherhood helps their game because it changes their perspective, and McIlroy is no exception. He didn't touch a club this week until arriving at East Lake on Thursday. "Golf was sort of the furthest thing from my mind, and sometimes that’s a good thing just to decompress and get away from it," he said. McIlroy birdied his first hole Friday, hitting a 331-yard tee shot on the uphill first hole and knocking his 137-yard approach to 7 feet. He shot 30 on the back nine, including birdies on his final three holes. He birdied the par-5 18th after hitting a 366-yard tee shot through the fairway. It was reminiscent of his drive in the playoff here four years ago, which McIlroy won to earn his first FedExCup. Today was McIlroy's 25th round at East Lake. He matched his career-low score at the annual site of the TOUR Championship. He shot a final-round 64 in 2016, when he holed out on the 16th hole and then won a playoff with Ryan Moore and Kevin Chappell. Just like today, Johnson was the FedExCup leader and atop the TOUR Championship leaderboard on that fateful day four years ago. He shot a final-round 73, though, and lost his best chance to win the FedExCup. Thursday's 64 was McIlroy's best round since a first-round 63 at the Travelers Championship in late June. He hit 14 greens Friday, including every one on the back nine, and holed two putts apiece from 10-15 feet and 15-20 feet. "Whether I don’t feel like my game is in a good place or I’m not the favorite coming into a tournament, all that stuff, I feel like that’s when I usually play my best and I can play with a bit of freedom, and that’s what I did today," he said.

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