Fast start carries Leishman to title
He birdies 4 of first 5 holes, wins by 5 at Kuala Lumpur
Marc Leishman shot a 7-under 65 in the final round to win the CIMB Classic Sunday by five strokes and equal the tournament course record.
The Australian was in fine form as he strolled to his fourth PGA Tour title and matched Justin Thomas’ tournament record of 26-under 262 in 2015 on the PGA Kuala Lumpur West course.
Leishman started strongly with four birdies in the first five holes, before turning in another long birdie putt on the ninth for 31.
Two more birdies on the 10th and 16th followed and sandwiched his lone bogey at the 13th, before he birdied the final hole and celebrated with a fist pump.
“I feel unbelievable right now,” Leishman said after securing 500 Fedex Cup points for his victory.
“I knew that even though I got off to a good start, I still needed to grind because there’s some tough holes out there.”
First-round leader Bronson Burgoon shot a 68 to finish tied for second, along with Emiliano Grillo and Chesson Hadley.
Thomas ended the final day with an 8-under 64 and finished tied for fifth place along with Gary Woodland (71) and Louis Oosthuizen (69). European PGA: eddie Pepperell won the British masters at cold and stormy Walton Heath, england to likely secure a spot next year in the masters at Augusta National. The englishman shot an even-par 72 to hold off playing partner Alexander Bjork of Sweden by two shots. Pepperell finished at 9-under 279 for his second european Tour title. Pepperell will move into the top 35 in the world ranking, with the top 50 at the end of the year getting spots at Augusta. He won the Qatar masters in february. Bjork bogeyed the last hole for a 71.
LPGA: In Gee Chun won the KEB Hana Bank Championship in Incheon, South Korea, closing with a 5-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Charley Hull. Chun won for the third time on the LPGA Tour, finishing at 16-under 272 on Sky 72’s ocean Course. The South Korean star’s previous victories came in majors at the 2015 u.s. Women’s open and 2016 The evian. Hull, from england, closed with a 71. Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park had a 69 to tie for third with Ariya Jutanugarn (71), minjee Lee (70) and danielle Kang (72) at 12 under. PGA Tour champions: Bernhard Langer ran away with the SAS Championship in Cary, N.C. to take the points lead into the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup playoffs. Langer shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 for a six-stroke victory in the regular-season finale. The 61-year-old German star has 38 victories on the 50-and-over tour, also winning this year near Houston. Langer finished at 22-under 194 for his second victory at Prestonwood Country Club, the tree-lined layout softened by heavy rain Thursday from Hurricane michael. Scott Parel was second, closing with a double bogey for a 65. The top 72 players in the Schwab Cup standings qualified for the playoffs, the three-event series that begins next week in Virginia.