Biggest Winners and Losers from the CIMB Classic
Apparently, Ryan Moore really likes playing golf in Malaysia. Moore's final round five-under 67 earned him his second consecutive win at the CIMB Classic. For the second year in a row, he knocked off a hard-charging Gary Woodland at his new favorite track: Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
Who joined Mr. Moore as a winner this week? Why was Sergio Garcia a loser in a week in which he had a top-five finish?
Click through to see.
Winner: Last Year's Winner
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Ryan Moore's repeat victory at the CIMB Classic never looked like a sure thing until the final holes Sunday, when Kevin Na missed a two-footer for birdie on the 16th hole and double-bogeyed the 17th to open the door for Moore.
Moore's win was not so much spectacular as it was steady. Weekend rounds of 67 secured the three-stroke victory over Gary Woodland, Kevin Na and Sergio Garcia.
"I like to tell myself all the time that `I am a closer. Let's just do what we can, hit good shots and let's close this thing' and I was able to do that," Moore said (per Yahoo Sports Ryan Ballengee).
A closer, and a winner indeed.
Loser: Golf Fans in the United States
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Golf fans in the United States were losers this week, with the final round of the CIMB Classic ending in the middle of the night stateside.
While the global growth of the game is a good thing, Americans lose out when tournaments are played in time zones 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
The CIMB Classic, however, is a relatively minor tournament in the "silly season" portion of the golf calendar, so maybe fans don't mind watching it on tape-delay.
Winner: Lee Westwood
3 of 8Lee Westwood finished tied for 13th at the CIMB Classic.
While the showing was a solid one, Westwood was a winner in the "spectacular hole-in-one" department.
Westwood canned his approach on the 226-yard 11th hole during his second round. Check it out above.
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Loser: The CIMB Classic
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Even without a cut (and thus with guaranteed money for all), the CIMB Classic has had trouble attracting top golfers, as Rex Hoggard of Golf Channel pointed out:
"It is a sign of the times that the PGA Tour had to dip beyond the top 125 from last season’s FedEx Cup list to fill the field for this week’s no-cut, 78-man, guaranteed money CIMB Classic.
Even players who could likely benefit from an early-season points boost passed on a trip to Malaysia...
Even more concerning for Tour types is the number of members who made the trip to Asia but are playing the BMW Masters in Shanghai, the first of four European Tour post-season stops, instead of the CIMB Classic.
Both events have $7 million purses, but the BMW Masters is allowed to dole out appearance fees, which might explain why some U.S. players – including Ryan Palmer and Kevin Stadler – are in China and not Malaysia.
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Winner: A Pair of First-Timers
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In his first trip to Malaysia, 50-year-old Davis Love III did pretty well for himself. He finished at 10-under par for the week and tied for eighth.
“Now family and business will allow me to expand my horizons a little bit, so I'm going to try to play a little bit more all around the world, try to play in some of these events that I'm invited to. At 50 years old, now I can start my world travels, I guess," Love said, per Rex Hoggard of Golf Channel.
Another golfer made his first career start in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event this week and led the tournament after one round. Rikard Karlberg of Sweden opened with a stellar 65 to move to the head of the class after the first round.
Karlberg's second and third rounds weren't impressive, but he closed with a 69 to finish tied for 39th. Not bad.
Loser: Sergio Garcia
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As the fourth-ranked golfer in the world and the highest-ranked golfer in the field, Sergio Garcia came to Malaysia as one of the pre-tournament favorites.
He finished tied for second, three strokes behind winner Ryan Moore.
Why is he a loser then? Because Sergio Garcia should be winning tournaments like the CIMB Classic, not merely recording top-five finishes.
Winning is the expectation we have for our elite golfers, after all. Anything less than that is, well, losing.
Winner: Prom Meesawat
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The Big Dolphin was a relatively big winner in Malaysia this week. The two-time Asian Tour winner is enjoying his third season on the European Tour and built off a top-25 showing at the Hong Kong Open in Kuala Lumpur.
Referred to as the large sea-dwelling creature because of his figure and origin (a seaside town), fan favorite Meesawat tied for eighth in Kuala Lumpur, thanks to a tidy final-round three-under 69.
Loser: Guan Tianlang
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Remember Guan Tianlang?
The then-14-year-old attracted national attention both for making the cut at the 2013 Masters and being assessed a rare slow-play penalty.
This week, the amateur teed it up at the CIMB Classic. He would have missed the cut handily, had there been one.
Guan carded the fourth-worst four-day total at the tournament, getting around in rounds of 76, 71, 72, 78 to finish 74th.
Not very impressive stuff for a golfer who made the cut at the Zurich Classic. However, he did better than PGA Tour winner Charlie Beljan, who finished 76th.
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