TPC Kuala Lumpur Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

With a Sunday 65, Marc Leishman cruises to a five-stroke win at the CIMB Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 20:40:21 +0000

Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images

By Christopher Powers
Much like his round on Saturday, Marc Leishman took charge of the CIMB Classic early on Sunday, making four birdies on his first five holes. A birdie at the ninth gave him a five-under 31, and this time he backed it up on his final nine, carding a two-under 34 to finish with a seven-under 65, good enough for a five-stroke victory.

“I got off to a really strong start and then kept it going,” said Leishman, who now has four PGA Tour victories. “Yesterday struggled a little bit on the back nine, there were some tough holes out there, so I was really wary of that and knew that I had to keep my head down and keep playing really hard. So it was very nice to get a bit of a lead to come up the last and enjoy it like I did, and to birdie it, that’s something I’ll remember forever.”

The 34-year-old Aussie looked like he was going to have a breakout year in 2017, winning twice at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the BMW Championship. But he was unable to find a win during the 2017-’18 PGA Tour season, something he was happy to rectify at TPC Kuala Lumpur.

“It’s huge. After having two wins last season—sorry, two seasons ago, not winning this year so far, pretty determined to change that and was able to do it this week. So hopefully I can continue my good form in Korea next week and World Cup and the Australian PGA at the end of the year.”

Leishman now heads to the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, an event he nearly won last season in a playoff in the tournament’s first year. He wound up losing on the second sudden death hole to Justin Thomas, the only player hotter than Leishman this time last year.

Emiliano Grillo, Bronson Burgoon and Chesson Hadley finished in a tie for second at 21-under 267. Thomas was among a group that tied for fifth at 20-under 268.

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Cristie Kerr drops huge putt on final hole to secure her 20th LPGA win

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 06:16:29 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – OCTOBER 29: Cristie Kerr of the United States in action during day four of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia at TPC Kuala Lumpur East Course on October 29, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images)

By Keely Levins
Cristie Kerr made a 35-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to win the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia tournament at TPC Kuala Lumpur with a four-day 15-under 269. When that putt dropped, a flurry of career milestones were met. The win was her 20th on the LPGA Tour. The $270,000 first-place check pushed her career earnings past the $19 million mark, making her the third woman in LPGA history to do so, joining Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb. And with the win, Kerr also became the first woman in her 40s to win on tour since 2011, when Catriona Matthew won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

All of that, thanks to the pressure-filled putt on 18 that helped her avoid a four-way playoff with Danielle Kang, Shanshan Feng and Jacqui Concolino.

“When I hit it, I could just tell it was going in,” Kerr said. “It was the most amazing thing. Like it was perfect speed; if it missed, it was going to be two feet by. It was right in the center never even thought about missing.”

Though the line the putt traveled was free of doubt, the same can’t be said for the rest of the round. Kerr had to work hard for this win.

A birdie on the second hole put Kerr two shots ahead of Feng. The defending champion from China had been in contention throughout the event. She went 62 holes without making a bogey and took the lead back on Sunday when Kerr found some trouble in a hazard on the seventh hole.

Other players, including Kang (who closed with a 66), Nelly Korda (65), In Gee Chun (66) and Concolino (67), continued to make birdies and move up the leader board. Soon, Kerr had a lot more to worry about than just Feng.

Neither Kerr nor Feng were getting many particularly good breaks. Feng found a hazard on the ninth, Kerr three-putted 17 for a bogey, and there was a weather delay that halted play for more than an hour. As they teed it up on the 18th, they were tied at 14 under. Concolino and Kang were already in with 14 under.

Both Kerr and Feng hit the green in regulation, and had long putts for the win. Kerr made hers, and Feng missed, giving her runner-up honors in the event for the third time in the last five years to go with wins in 2014 and 2016.

To make the victory all the more meaningful, Kerr, a two-time winner in 2017, is donating a portion of her winnings to breast-cancer research.

After the points are calculated, Kerr is projected to move up from seventh to fifth in the Race to CME Globe. It’s a significant gain, because if a player who is ranked in the top five at the beginning of the CME Group Tour Championship wins the season finale, she will also win $1 million CME Globe year-long bonus. The Tour Championship will take place Nov. 16-19 in Naples, Fla.

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Pat Perez runs away with his third career PGA Tour victory at the CIMB Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 15 Oct 2017 12:54:44 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – OCTOBER 15: Pat Perez of USA in action during the 2017 CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur on October 15, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by How Foo Yeen/Getty Images)

By Christopher Powers
Prior to 2017, Pat Perez had won just one time in 376 starts on the PGA Tour. For a player that packed loads of potential when he first made it on tour, it felt like the then 40-year-old’s career was shaping up to be one big what-if. But after undergoing shoulder surgery before beginning last season, something has clicked for the Arizona native, and it’s brought out the best golf of his life when he needed it most.

On Sunday at TPC Kuala Lumpur, Perez capped off another strong week with a three-under 69 to win the CIMB Classic by four shots, giving him the third win of his career and his second in his last 25 starts.

Perez, 41, started his final round the same way he ended his third, with a flurry of birdies that extended his lead to seven shots, a margin no one was able to come close to catching the rest of the day.

“I knew I had to stay on the gas here because guys are playing so good and you can go low any day, I was expecting someone to shoot 63 or something like that,” said Perez, who finished with a score of 24-under 264, two strokes shy of Justin Thomas 72-hole CIMB record of 26-under.

“I’m just such a different person than I was 17 years ago, even like, five years ago,” he said. “I’m learning how to play the game, I’m learning how to play my own game, stay within myself, that kind of stuff. I’m a late-bloomer.”

Call him a late-bloomer, or a PGA Tour veteran if you want, either way, there’s no denying the 41-year-old is peaking late in his career. Since his T-33 at last year’s CIMB Classic that kickstarted his season, Perez has won twice, finished T-7 or better five times and made well over $5.7 million.

Keegan Bradley made Sunday’s biggest charge, carding a five-under 67 that earned him a solo second finish at 20-under 268. It’s the 2011 PGA champion’s highest finish since last season’s Farmers Insurance Open, where he tied for fourth.

Xander Schauffele was unable to get much going in his final round, posting an even par 72 and finishing seven shots back at 17-under 271 in a tie for third with Sung Kang.

Hideki Matsuyama (71) and Cameron Smith (64) finished in a tie for fifth at 16-under 272.

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