Thomas headlines star-studded CIMB Classic title

KUALA LUMPUR: Two-time defending champion and world No. 4 Justin Thomas will headline a magnificent field at next month's CIMB Classic which will feature 10 Major champions, 10 Presidents Cup team members, 15 players from the Top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking and 18 winners from the PGA Tour's 2016-17 season.
The US$7 million (RM25 million) CIMB Classic, which is the sole PGA TOUR event in Southeast Asia, will feature an elite 78-man field at TPC Kuala Lumpur from Oct 12 to 15.
The major winners who have committed to the eighth edition of the CIMB Classic include Americans Keegan Bradley, Stewart Cink, Jason Dufner, Lucas Glover, Davis Love III, South African stars Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel and Irishman Padraig Harrington.
Thomas has enjoyed an outstanding season with five wins including a first major win at the PGA Championship in August.
Apart from the 24-year-old Thomas and world No. 20 Patrick Reed who will represent Team USA in the Presidents Cup in New Jersey next week, International Team Members Branden Grace, Oosthuizen and Schwartzel of South Africa, Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, Canada's Adam Hadwin, South Korea's Si Woo Kim, Anirban Lahiri of India and Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas will also star in the CIMB Classic.
Group Chief Executive of CIMB Group Tengku Zafrul Aziz said, "We are pleased to once again welcome a truly world-class line-up of golfers at this year's CIMB Classic, which will feature an eclectic mix of 46 PGA Tour winners ranging from established PGA Tour champions, veteran stars and emerging young talents.
"Eighteen players from this group have won tournaments during the 2016-17 season and collectively, the Tour winners assembling at the CIMB Classic have a combined 140 tournament victories between them, including 14 major victories.
"Without a doubt, our defending champion Justin Thomas will be the hot favourite as he is enjoying a truly spectacular year which began with a successful CIMB Classic defence last October. The strong representation of international golfers which includes 15 players from within the top-50 of the Official World Golf Ranking reinforces the CIMB Classic's prestige and stature as the leading golf tournament in the Asean region."
World No. 16 Paul Casey of England, the 19th-ranked Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain, Europe's Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter, 2011 Masters Tournament winner Charl Schwartzel, this season's THE PLAYERS Championship winner Si Woo Kim of South Korea and South African star Branden Grace, who wrote golfing history at the British Open by becoming the first man to shoot a 62 in a major in July, have also confirmed their participation in the CIMB Classic.
The 22-year-old Kim will be one of the players to watch as the Korean talent cemented his growing credentials by winning THE PLAYERS Championship in May, which is the PGA Tour's flagship tournament. Other players in their 20s who triumphed this year include Wesley Bryan, Cody Gribble, Mackenzie Hughes, Grayson Murray and Kyle Stanley.
India's Anirban Lahiri, who recently concluded his second season on the PGA Tour by finishing in 51st position on the FedExCup standings, will chase for the CIMB Classic title again after coming close with a T3 finish last year.
He won the Malaysian Open at TPC Kuala Lumpur in 2015 en route to becoming the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion. Chinese rising star Li Haotong, who enjoyed a standout 3rd place finish at the British Open in July after closing with a stunning 63, will also feature in his first CIMB Classic tournament on a sponsor's invitation.
Veteran swinger Love, who finished T8 in his lone appearance at the CIMB Classic in 2014, will arrive in Malaysia with the most PGA TOUR victories – 21 – under his belt, followed by the "Big Easy", Els, who holds 19 wins including four major titles.
Apart from 60 being eligible from the PGA TOUR, the top-10 from the Asian Tour's Order of Merit, as at Oct 9, will qualify for the CIMB Classic plus eight sponsor's exemptions. Two of the sponsor's exemptions will be allocated to Malaysian golfers where veteran Danny Chia has taken the first spot after winning the CIMB National Championship in July.
He will be joined by the highest ranked non-exempt Malaysian on the Official World Golf Ranking as of Oct 2. Local prospect Gavin Green wil also qualify for the CIMB Classic by virtue of his current third position on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit.
Advance tickets for the CIMB Classic are now on sale on www.ticketpro.com.my, Ticket Pro sales channels and selected MST Golf Stores in the Klang Valley. Fans who purchase tickets from now until October 8 will enjoy early bird pricing, with tickets costing RM62 each for the first round (Oct 12, Thursday) and second round (Oct 13, Friday). Prices for the third round (Oct 14, Saturday) and final round (Oct 15, Sunday) are RM99 per day. A season ticket for all four rounds are priced at RM199.
The CIMB Classic is also sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Professional Golf Association of Malaysia (PGAM). The premier Malaysian tournament is also the first of three PGA TOUR events in Asia during the month of October.