2017 CIMB Classic Tournament Roundup

Golfstead is reader-supported. When you buy through links on the site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Our affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network and Amazon Associates.

Embed from Getty Images

The final leaderboard for the 2017 CIMB Classic at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is in. In his first start of the 2017-2018 season, Pat Perez took control of the tournament, winning by four strokes over runner-up Keegan Bradley. Below is the truncated top-10 leaderboard:

(1) Pat Perez (-24)
(2) Keegan Bradley (-20)
(T3) Xander Schauffele (-17)
(T3) Sung Kang (-17)
(T5) Cameron Smith (-16)
(T5) Hideki Matsuyama (-16)
(T7) Paul Casey (-14)
(T7) Danny Lee (-14)
(T7) Lucas Glover (-14)
(T10) Rafa Cabrera Bello (-13)
(T10) Peter Uihlein (-13)
(T10) Anirban Lahiri (-13)

Here are some statistics on the champion and other notables near the top of the leaderboard:

Winner: Pat Perez (-24) – Like last week’s winner Brendan Steel, this is his third win on Tour, his other two being at the Bob Hope Classic (2009) and the OHL Classic at Mayakoba (2016). This is Perez’s first start of the new season; last season he had made it to the TOUR Championship where he finished 16th. Also last season, he missed three cuts but secured several top-10s including a T2 at the Wells Fargo Championship and a T4 at the Farmers Insurance Open — not too shabby. Last year, Perez was recovering from shoulder surgery and playing on a major medical extension; his win at the OHL Classic reportedly gave him a great deal of confidence and led him to this moment. Previous finishes at the CIMB Classic for Perez include a T33 in 2016, 63 in 2015 and T33 in 2014. The win will push him into the top 20 of the OWGR. Last year at the CIMB he was ranked 333rd in the world.

Most Tour winners these days seem to be one-hit wonders and non-factors in the weeks following their win; it’ll be interesting to see if this happens to Perez.

Final round: 4 birdies (three straight on holes 2-4) and 1 bogey for a 3-under 69. Perez was never really in any danger of losing the tournament in the final round. He made nine straight pars on the back nine to finish it off. Scores in regulation: 66, 65, 64, 69 (264).

?

A post shared by Pat Perez (@patperezgolf) on

Keegan Bradley (-20) – Bradley has not won a PGA Tour event since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2012, although he did win the CVS Health Charity Classic, which was an unofficial event, earlier in the year. Some might be surprised by the fact that he only has three wins on the Tour, but it’s true. His performance this week comes off the heels of a missed cut at the Safeway Open. He didn’t make it farther than the BMW Championship in the recent FedEx Cup playoffs. Previous finishes at the CIMB Classic for Bradley include a 6th last year (second straight top 10 here), T47 in 2015, and 10th in 2013. All things considered, he had a pretty good run last season, and I think the fact that he won an event (albeit non-official) in the recent past is a indicator that he has a good chance of making some waves moving forward.

Final round: 3 birdies and an eagle for a 5-under 67. Bradley made no bogeys on the weekend. He played a good round but it wasn’t enough to catch Perez. Scores in regulation: 65, 71, 65, 67 (268).

Honourable mentions:

Xander Schauffele (T3) – won the TOUR Championship
Paul Casey (T7) – yet another strong finish among countless in the recent past

Have any congratulations for Perez, or any other thoughts about the CIMB Classic this year? Be sure to leave a comment below!


Featured image attribution: Presidio of Monterey
Share this:

Leave a Reply