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Nov 1st, 2015
Justin Thomas Wins
At the CIMB
Words: The Brigadier Photography: Getty Images
22 year old American Justin Thomas made it over the line for his maiden victory on the PGA tour at the CIMB Classic in in Kuala Lumpur, with a single shot margin over Australia’s Adam Scott.
His victory at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and country club came with a six-foot putt for par on the par 5 18th to complete his final round of 66, six under for the day, and a tournament record total score of 26 under.
It was by no means all plain sailing, as he had a double bogey on the par four 14th when he found the water off the tee, but he pulled himself together and shot three consecutive birdies to take the lead.
He only needed a par for victory, but it didn’t come easy, as his approach shot was short and in the greenside bunker. He found the green, but was 20 feet short, and was too aggressive with his first putt, which raced past the hole. He then had a tricky six-footer for the win, which he managed to hole. Phew!
"I still can't believe what happened," Thomas said. "I made that par to clinch the title. "I don't care how I got it done, it just feels awesome.”
Commenting on his double bogey on the 14th, he said:
"I had a big body of water in front of the green, but I told myself I've been controlling the tournament so I should not worry too much. I knew I had four more holes to try to make some more birdies and was fortunate enough get birdies in three of the last four holes."
Adam Scott was playing two groups ahead of Thomas, and shot a 63, which included an eagle and seven birdies. He had an eagle attempt on the 18th, which would have forced a play off, but his putt was well wide.
Scott commented: "Look, 35-footers breaking 4 feet are not gimmes. I threw everything I could at it today. I'm playing well, and that's nice, because I haven't played that well for a while.”
"It's motivating for sure. I want to get up there and play and show them that the old dog's still got something," Scott said.
American Kevin Na and Brendan Steele tied for third at 24-. Scotland's Russell Knox was tied for 21st on 14 under with England's Paul Casey a shot back in 24th place.
