Kuala Lumpur: Nick Watney claimed an early wedding anniversary gift on Sunday, buoyed by a stunning final round ten-under 61 to edge past defending champion Bo Van Pelt (66) and third round co-leader Robert Garrigus (66) to claim the CIMB Classic title.
The tall American, who will celebrate his second year of marriage to wife Amber on Tuesday, rode on a hot putter as he drained 11 birdies at the sun-baked MINES Resort & Golf Club to claim a slim one -stroke victory in the US$6.1 million event co-sanctioned by the PGA and Asian Tours.
Watney bandied around with a magical 59 through 17 holes but just like Van Pelt on Saturday, fell victim to a bogey on the closing hole after failing to reach the green with his approach and leaving his long birdie pitch just short for his only blemish of the round.
It however proved enough for him as Van Pelt, who needed a birdie on the last to force extra holes, could only respond with a par putt after sending his second shot across the green and failing to chip in successfully from the sand trap.
Top draw Tiger Woods, who single-handedly attracted thousands through the gates over four days,was on the prowl early on with a run of six birdies through 10 holes but endured a dry patch coming home to settle for a round of eight-under 63 and a share of fourth alongside Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge and Chris Kirk.
South African Jbe Kruger emerged as the leading Asian Tour performer in eighth position after a 68 while India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar took a share of 10th place after signing for a 67. Thai star Thaworn Wiratchant, currently leading the Asian Tour Order of Merit, fired a 66 for tied 16th spot.
Watney’s triumph was his second of the season and the world number 22 did it in style to pick up the winner’s cheque of US$1.3 million. “The round sort of built momentum and things just kept getting better and better. I’m thrilled to have come away with a win,” said Watney, who totalled a 22-under 262.
He shared that the thought of shooting the first ever 59 in Asia crossed his mind when he sank his 11th birdie of the day on the 17th hole. “Well, you know, I was more concerned with just winning the tournament. I hit a decent drive, and it plugged in the left rough, and I took a drop. And the ball went into a divot in the rough. So 59 kind of went out the window right there. Winning the tournament was more important than 59 for me,” he said.
The 31-year-old took pleasure in upstaging Woods on his maiden trip to Kuala Lumpur. “I really enjoyed beating Tiger. Any time that you can play in this era, I think everybody would agree these last 15 years, he is been by far the biggest attraction in our sport, so I think it’s great for every tournament that he comes to.”
Van Pelt, who arrived for his CIMB Classic defence in top form after winning the Perth International last week, saluted Watney’s final round heroics. “You’ve got to tip your cap; a guy goes out and shoots 10 under, he just wins the golf tournament. Big congratulations to Nick. He’s a great player, and he just went out and won the tournament,” said Van Pelt.
“I’ll probably look back at the two doubles I made during the week without a penalty shot that probably ended up costing me in the end. But all in all, it was a great week.”
World number two Woods threatened to steal the show but left himself with two much to do despite a blemish-free closing effort. “My goal was to get to 20-plus,” said the world number two. “That’s the only chance I had. It ended up not being much of a chance. Yesterday’s last nine holes (where he shot 39), that put me in a spot where I really couldn’t win the championship.”
Kruger was delighted with his finish which saw him pick up a cheque worth US$175,000. Starting the day two back, he started strongly with a birdie and eagle on the second and third holes before his putter went cold.
“I think I actually played the best I played all week, just couldn’t get a putt in. They always say the guy that makes the most putts is going to win. I think I had probably 34, 35 putts,” said Kruger, who won the Avantha Masters in India earlier this year.
“It’s never the winnings, it’s always about the experience. You can’t buy experience.”
Leading final round scores
262 – Nick Watney (USA) 71-65-65-61
263 – Robert Garrigus (USA) 64-64-69-66; Bo Van Pelt (USA) 70-65-62-66
265 – Tiger Woods (66-67-69-63); Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 68-65-66-66, Chris Kirk (USA) 69-66-63-67
266 – Carl Pettersson (SWE) 69-67-68-62
267 – Jbe Kruger (RSA) 66-64-69-68
268 – Pat Perez (USA) 67-68-68-65
269 – Scott Piercy (USA) 75-68-64-62, Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 65-72-65-67, Kevin Na (USA) 67-66-69-67, Brian Harman (USA) 64-70-66-69
