Pat Perez burnished his late bloomer credentials by cruising to a four-stroke win at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia on Sunday and grabbing his second PGA Tour victory in a year. Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond and Phachara Khongwatmai both finished at tied 39th. 

 

                               

                                        Pat's four-shot victory is the second largest winning margin in the CIMB Classic.

 

 

American Perez teed off with a four-shot lead at TPC Kuala Lumpur and a three-under 69 was more than enough for the bulky 41-year-old to close out his third Tour win at the $7 million co-sanctioned event.

After claiming his first title at the 2009 Bob Hope Classic, Perez had to wait nearly eight years for his second breakthrough at the OHL Classic in Mexico last November.

 

Perez’s winning total of 24-under-par 264 is the second lowest winning score at the CIMB Classic, two strokes shy of the record set by Justin Thomas in 2014. 

 

What you didn't know?

 

• His four-shot victory is the second largest winning margin in the CIMB Classic. Bo Van Pelt won by six shots in 2011 but on a different golf course.
• He is the second player after Ben Crane (2010) and Justin Thomas (2015 & 2016) to lead after the second round and go on to win the CIMB Classic.
• After 72 holes, Perez only dropped three bogeys while accumulating a total of 27 birdies. He birdied the par-three fourth hole for all four rounds.
• Perez has never won on Asian soil before. This is his third PGA Tour victory and first on the 2017-2018 PGA Tour season.
• This is his fifth appearance at the CIMB Classic. His previous best result in the tournament was ninth in the 2012 edition.
• Perez is the oldest winner at the CIMB Classic at the age of 41. He is also the fifth American golfer to win the event. No other nationality has won the CIMB Classic since 2010.

 

 

Round of the day: Cameron Smith shot a front-nine 30 and then finished with three straight birdies for his second 8-under 64 of the week. He finished T-5 in his first start since a T-12 at the BMW Championship.

 

       

Cameron Smith shot a front-nine 30 and then finished with three straight birdies for his second 8-under 64 of the week

 

 

Best of the rest: Keegan Bradley (67) didn't make a bogey on the weekend and recorded his second straight top-10 at the CIMB. Paul Casey fired a bogey-free 65 for his sixth top-10 in his last nine starts.

 

Biggest disappointment: Xander Schauffele finished T-3, so his week was hardly a disappointment, but the Rookie of the Year shot even par Sunday on a soft golf course and never really put any pressure on Perez in the final round.

 

Shot of the day: Anirban Lahiri nearly holed out his second shot on the par-4 14th.

 

Day 1: Thailand’s Poom Saksansin excels at the CIMB Classic 2017, takes a share of second lead

Day 2: Pat Perez marches ahead, Thailand's Jazz bounces back at CIMB Classic

Day 3: Thailand’s promising Golfer Jazz sizzles, Perez tightens grip at CIMB Classic