CIMB Classic leaves Danny with fond memories

PETALING JAYA: The local golf fraternity led by Danny Chia are shocked that the CIMB Classic will no longer be a major tournament in Malaysia’s golf calendar.

On Tuesday, the PGA Tour announced that last month’s US$7mil (RM29.4mil) CIMB Classic, which was won by Australia’s Marc Leishman, will be the last edition after it has signed a six-year deal with online fashion retailer Zozo to stage a new US$9.75mil (RM40.9mil) Zozo Championship in Japan.

The 45-year-old was saddened that another marquee tournament has been scrapped. Malaysia has already lost the women’s premier golf event – LPGA Malaysia – after Sime Darby pulled the plug as the title sponsor in May.

The other main tournament, the Malaysian Open – which was last staged in 2015 – has yet to resume after it struggled to get a new title sponsor on board after parting ways with national banking giants Maybank.

“It’s a shame to hear that, I just hope Malaysia won’t lose any moreevents,” lamented Danny, who featured in six of the nine editions of the sole US PGA Tour event in South-East Asia.

Danny had fond memories playing in the CIMB Classic, where he was in contention before settling for tied 13th at the The Mines Resort and Golf Club in 2011.

That creditable outing earned him US$85,000 (RM356,000) and it still stands as the best-ever finish by a Malaysian in the tournament.

“I’ve enjoyed every CIMB Classic that I played in, especially the year I finish tied 13th. It was also memorable as I got to play in the same flight with my idol Vijay Singh (former world No. 1 of Fiji) and Jason Dufner (American Major winner).

“It’s a big loss to Malaysian golf as a whole.

“For us players, we lose our opportunity to compete against the PGA Tour stars, and as for the fans, they now have one less world-class tournament to enjoy,” said Danny, who’s playing in the Hong Kong Open this week.

CIMB has forked out a staggering US$60.2mil (RM252.8mil) in all the nine editions, with the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Lee Westwood amongst the big names who had graced the tournament.

CIMB in a statement said: “We’ve decided to bid farewell to the CIMB Classic after nine years of worldclass golf.”