THOMAS KEEPS ON WINNING, ADDS CJ CUP TO HIS HAUL
KOREA» Justin Thomas JEJU, SOUTH beat Australia’s Marc Leishman on the second playoff hole Sunday to win the inaugural CJ Cup in South Korea and cap his breakout year on the PGA Tour.
Thomas sealed his fifth PGA title in 2017 — and his first of the new 201718 tour season — when he birdied the second extra hole and Leishman made a bogey after finding the water.
The pair went to a sudden-death playoff after completing the first U.S. PGA Tour regular-season event in South Korea tied at 9-under-par 279.
Thomas, who shared the overnight lead with Scott Brown, fell behind when he had a double bogey on the 550-yard par-5 No. 3 hole.
“I just kept telling myself it was a bad golf swing,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t a mental error or wasn’t a wrong judgment that we made, but just a bad golf swing at a pretty bad time. But I knew you are going make bogeys out here today.”
Thomas regained the lead and looked set for the win in regulation until he bogeyed No. 17, a 195-yard par-3 hole. But he made amends with a birdie at the last to join Leishman in the playoff.
“I really played some great golf after the third hole, but it’s just such a long day with these conditions,” Thomas said.
• Eun-Hee Ji fired a 7-under-par 65 to win the Taiwan Championship for her first LPGA Tour title since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.
Ji, who had a six-stroke lead heading into the final round, carded seven birdies to finish at 17-under 271, six strokes ahead of Lydia Ko, who also closed with a sizzling 65.
“I’m so happy and excited because I haven’t won for the past eight years,” Ji said. “I was waiting for this moment for so long, so I’m super happy right now.”
• Tournament host Sergio Garcia won the Andalucia Valderrama Masters after shooting a 4-under 67.
He finished at 12-under 272 overall — one stroke ahead of Joost Luiten of the Netherlands.
• Bernhard Langer made a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole Sunday to overcome a mediocre round and win the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
Langer followed his second-round 63 with a 70 to finish at 16-under.