by Jeff Skinner
Ryan Moore made his trip to Malaysia very worthwhile and he didn’t mind the extra night he had to stay in Kuala Lumpur one bit. Moore and Gary Woodland had to come back early on Monday morning to decide the CIMB Classic in a playoff.
Moore wasted no time with a birdie on the first playoff hole (18th) to capture his third PGA Tour win. Moore enjoys this “fall golf” time of year. His last win came just about a year ago at the Shiners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. “I’ve always enjoyed playing in the fall. I’m not sure why,” he said. “It’s actually kind of funny, I won a week before my son was born last year; I won a week after (his birthday) this year.”
Suzann Pettersen continued her sizzling play with a defense of her title at the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship. Pettersen’s final round 69 gave her a five shot win over Azahara Munoz and her fourteenth career LPGA victory. In her last five events she has three wins and two top three finishes.
It’s her fourth victory of the season and pushes the world number two over the $2 million mark. She continues to hunt down Inbee Park for the world number one ranking and think she may finally be ready to handle life at the top. “Yeah, being No. 2 is pretty much the first loser and I’ve been No. 2 behind four great No. 1s…I’ve been No. 2 behind Annika, I was No. 2 behind Lorena, I was No. 2 behind Yani and I’m 2 behind Inbee.”
“The first couple times I felt maybe a little bit immature,” said Pettersen. “I didn’t feel quite ready to take on that role. Now, I feel my game is progressing. It’s getting stronger. I think personally, mentally, I’m ready to take on No. 1. That’s pretty much — that’s my drive, that’s my goal. I want to dominate ladies golf and to do that, you’ve got to go out and you’ve got to be comfortable with big leads.”
Continuing in the “Fall Asian Golf Swing” on the European Tour Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano claimed the BMW Masters in Shanghai. It’s his seventh career win and second this season on the Euro Tour.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy round, especially the way I started. I started hitting the ball pretty bad,” Fernandez-Castaño said. “But my caddie kept me cool and told me how good I had been hitting the ball through the week and I played fantastic after that.
On the last I played too conservative and it was a fighting six at the end for sure. BMW is one of the great supporters of The European Tour through the years, they know how to run events and they make the players feel so comfortable. It’s pretty much like playing at home and it’s also great to see the crowds this week. I think they have been pretty amazing.”
Back in the states, Kenny Perry defeated Bernhard Langer in a one hole playoff in Texas at the AT&T Championship. It’s Perry’s third win of the season and puts him well ahead in the race for the Charles Schwab Cup.
Perry who won fourteen times on the PGA Tour now has five wins on the senior circuit.
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