Kim claims maiden pro title at CIMB National Championship
KUALA LUMPUR: Kim Leun Kwang held his nerve to beat Amir Nazrin Jailani in a sudden death play- off to win the CIMB National Championship and secure his maiden professional title at TPC Kuala Lumpur’s East course in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
For his feat, Kim pocketed the winner’s purse of RM30,000 and received the championship trophy from Effendy Shahul Hamid, the chief executive officer of Group Commercial Banking and Group Asset Management & Investments, CIMB Group.
“This means a lot to me. I’ve been looking for my first win for a very long time and I finally did it. It was crazy, Amir played really well and gave me a good fight,” the 23-year- old from Kuala Lumpur told reporters.
“I’m a bit brain- dead right now and I guess I was on the lucky side. It’s not easy to see a golfer threeputting from close range. I feel for him but I’m happy I’m going to be playing in the CIMB Classic,” he added.
Kim and Amir Nazrin concluded their competition on identical four- day total of 12-under-par 272, forcing the winner to be decided by a playoff.
“It has taken me a long time to get this win and there were some struggles over the years but I knew it would come someday. I’m really happy now. Having my first win and getting my reward to play in the CIMB Classic is amazing,” added Kim, who turned professional when he was 17.
Apart from this week’s winner earning a spot, the highest ranked Malaysian on the Official World Golf Ranking as of Oct 1 will also earn the right to play in the CIMB Classic.
The competition from Oct 11 to 14 features an elite field of 78 players comprising of the top 60 available players from the 2017-18 PGA Tour FedExCup points list, eight sponsor exemptions and the top-10 available players from the Asian Tour. — Bernama