Bubba’s coming to town
American, Els and Garcia the latest big guns confirmed for CIMB Classic
KUALA LUMPUR: Three big names – American Bubba Watson, South African Ernie Els and Spain’s Sergio Garcia – have joined a worldclass field to compete in the US$7mil (RM22.4mil) CIMB Classic at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club from Oct 24-27.
The trio will join stars like five-time Major winner Phil Mickelson, defending champion Nick Watney, Brandt Snedeker, Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley and Hideki Matsuyama in the four-day US PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
Watson, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, will be playing in the championship for the first time. He is among the longest hitters on the PGA Tour. Watson won the 2012 Masters after beating Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa on the second sudden-death playoff hole.
As for former world No. 1 Els, it will be his second appearance in the championship. He finished tied for fifth in 2010.
The Big Easy, as he is popularly known, has won four Majors – the US Open in 1994 and 1997 and the British Open in 2002 and 2012. In total, Els has won 66 titles worldwide.
Garcia needs no introduction in the golf world. The 33-year-old is an eight-time PGA Tour winner and 17 other titles around the world.
Other notable Americans who are competing include 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas, 2012 US Open champion Webb Simpson and 2010 British Open winner Stewart Cink.
“This is a stellar field and the strongest Asean has ever seen. With so many great players taking to the course, we are bound to see some fantastic golf,” said group chief executive of CIMB Group Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.
“With its ascension to a full-fledged US PGA Tour event, the CIMB Classic is now Malaysia’s biggest international sporting event. It will showcase golf in our country to at least 700 million viewers worldwide,” he added.
The winner of the championship will receive a two-year exemption on the US PGA Tour and a spot in next year’s Masters at the Augusta National.
The complete field for the CIMB Classic will comprise 60 players from the US PGA Tour, the top 10 players from the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit and eight sponsor’s exemptions