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The final 72-hole leaderboard for the 2015 CIMB Classic at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is in. Justin Thomas, 22, shot a final round 6-under 66 to win by one stroke over runner-up Adam Scott. Below is the truncated top-10 leaderboard:
(1) Justin Thomas (-26)
(2) Adam Scott (-25)
(T3) Brendan Steele (-24)
(T3) Kevin Na (-24)
(5) Hideki Matsuyama (-22)
(6) James Hahn (-21)
(T7) Scott Piercy (-19)
(T7) Brian Harman (-19)
(9) Tony Finau (-18)
(T10) Charles Howell III (-17)
(T10) Jim Herman (-17)
(T10) Patrick Reed (-17)
(T10) Ryan Moore (-17)
Here are my thoughts and a few statistics on the champion and some notable golfers on the leaderboard:
Winner: Justin Thomas (-26) – After countless top-10 finishes this season and last, including a T3 last week at the Shriners, the 22-year-old has finally done it — he’s won his first PGA Tour event. Well deserved. What an incredible coincidence that the last three winners on Tour are age 23, 23 and 22. This wave of young guns is truly a force to be reckoned with. He still has a long way to go though if he wants to be a rival to his buddy Spieth.
Today: 6 birdies, an eagle and a double bogey. The string of three birdies in the final four holes sealed the deal for him. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up his impressive play in the weeks and months beyond.
Adam Scott (-25) – We haven’t really seen Scott in contention since the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship and The Barclays, and hadn’t played a regular
Tour event since then up until this week. He has some adjusting to do with his putter before the anchor ban goes into effect at the beginning of next year, although I’m sure he already has put a lot of work in. His last win on Tour came at the Crowne Plaza Invitational in 2014.
Today: 7 birdies, an eagle and no bogies for an awesome 63 (-9), the low round of the day. To me, what he does from this point forward is a question mark.
Kevin Na (-24) – I really don’t have much to say about Na that I haven’t already said before in previous roundup posts. He is consistent as ever, has a chance to win seemingly in every tournament, but just can never get it done.
His last three finishes (and first three of the wraparound season) have been 2, T2, T3. Wow. Looks like he’ll have to wait some more before he gets another shot. You’d think he’s bound to win one eventually given how well he’s playing, but who knows?
Today: 3 birdies, an eagle and a stagnant back nine for a 5-under 67.
Hideki Matsuyama (-22) – Another young player (age 23) with a lot of potential. The fact that he has only won once on Tour (the Memorial in 2014) might surprise a lot of people. He had a T17 last week and an overall average performance last season. His last two finishes at the CIMB: T25, T21.
Today: 5 birdies and no bogeys for a 67. I definitely think he’s too talented not to win again soon.
Have any congratulations for Justin, or any other thoughts about this year’s CIMB Classic? Discuss in the comments below!
