KUALA LUMPUR — David Puig captured the Malaysian Open golf title after the Spaniard fired home a 62 courtesy of nine birdies in the final round for a two-shot victory over South Korean Wang Jeung-hun in Kuala Lumpur.
Thailand’s Denwit Boriboonsub finished tied-third along with American John Catlin, with New Zealand’s Kevin Yuan completing a top five finish off the leader at the Mines Golf Club.
The day certainly belong to the 22-year-old Puig, who started the final round in tied-fourth but quickly rose to contention thanks to his brilliant efforts on the front nine.
The Spanish professional golfer netted a hat-trick of birdies on the second, third and fourth hole, before adding another two in the sixth and seventh, AFP reported.
The Catalan cut a relentless figure with three further birdies in his first three holes on the back nine, before finishing off with his ninth birdie on the 17th for an unblemished scorecard.
Puig’s nine birdies mirrored his score on Saturday to cap sensational weekend, which gave him the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream of featuring at the 152nd British Open in July.
“The scores were unbelievable on the weekend. 18 birdies 18 pars, it’s pretty crazy. It was a great week that I won here in Malaysia and got that spot for The Open (Championship).
“It means everything to me. As a Spanish kid we look forward to playing in the majors and The Open is a big one. I am looking forward to it already,” said Puig, who pockets a $180,000 prize purse as champion.
This is Puig’s second Asian Tour title, with his maiden victory also coming on South-east Asian soil at the International Series Singapore which he won in October last year.
Wang and Denwit will receive the other two tickets to play at the British Open.
Elsewhere, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele first competed at cards on the long flight to Australia for the Presidents Cup. They became partners in team events, roommates on the road, close friends who take vacations together with their wives, and more practice rounds than they can count.
Cantlay was solid in the Genesis Invitational until a soft bogey toward the end of the round that effectively cut his lead in half. He was leading by four shots most of the back nine until his mistake on the par-5 17th and strong finishes by Schauffele and Will Zalatoris.
Cantlay settled for a 1-under 70, giving him a two-shot lead over Schauffele and Zalatoris, who each birdied the 16th and 17th holes for 65s.
For a tournament in which host Tiger Woods withdrew with the flu and Jordan Spieth was disqualified for signing an incorrect card amidst his own stomach issues, the final round of this signature event has some appeal.
Zalatoris missed most of last year after back surgery, and now he has a chance to show he’s all the way back. “Being in contention, that’s how you find out where you´re at,” he said.
The final group is Cantlay and Schauffele, a pair of Californians who are now neighbors in Florida. They don’t do everything together, it just seems that way.
“We play most practice rounds together and we play a lot at home. It won´t be anything out of the usual,” Cantlay said according to AP.
They have been in the final group twice and it’s a draw – Cantlay got the best of him at the BMW Championship in 2022 at Wilmington Country Club, while Schauffele won earlier that summer at the Travelers Championship.
This will be their 21st time playing together on the PGA Tour, to go along with 13 times they have been partners in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and 12 rounds they played together as partners in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, winning in 2022.
The Genesis Invitational has a $20 million purse like other signature events, but it awards $4 million (up from $3.6 million) as a player-hosted event. Woods might not be around to present the trophy, confirming on X he had influenza, the cause of him withdrawing Friday.
“When we play on Mondays and Tuesdays we´re trying to beat each other,” Schauffele said.
“I think the only time we´re really rooting hard for each other is when we´re playing team events. I´m rooting for myself harder than anyone else and same goes for him. But of course I´d like to see him do well, but when we´re in the final group together it´s pretty obvious what we´re trying to do.”
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