Lahiri closes to finish 52nd, Moore wins CIMB title

Anirban Lahiri closed the week with a one-over 73 to finish tied 52nd and immediately expressed disappointment at the week’s showing in the USD 7 million CIMB Classic here on Sunday.

Lahiri totalled one-over 289 over four days and earned USD 16,415.

American Ryan Moore (67) successfully defended his title after a holding off the combined challenges from last year’s runner-up Gary Woodland (67), Kevin Na (70) and Sergio Garcia (69) who were all tied for second.

Tied for the overnight lead, Moore, 31, produced glorious golf down the stretch at a sun-kissed Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to shoot a five-under-par 67 for a three-stroke victory. He pocketed USD 1.26 million with his winning total of 17-under-par 271.

Lahiri once again had a roller-coaster of a round. He had five birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys.

Starting on the 10th, he bogeyed 12th and then birdied 13th and 14th. A double bogey on 17th was followed by a birdie on 18th as he turned in even par 36. On the second stretch he birdied first and fifth, but bogeyed third and double bogeyed his closing hole, the ninth. Overall he had four double bogeys during the week.

Talking about expectations, he said, ‘Not really. I think it’s more to do with my own expectations. You know, I expected myself to play better, play more consistently, and you know, I just was nowhere near my game right from the start.

‘I just couldn’t get focused and then string together six, eight, nine good holes. I’d have just too many loose shots. I hit 15 greens on Sunday and shot over par, and that’s been my story. I’ve been hitting it 10, 15 feet and just not even coming close. So I need to turn that around, work a little bit on my putting next week.

‘I had great difficulty adjusting to the greens this week, which is disappointing considering again that I played it a lot. So lots of negatives this week that I need to work on and turn into strengths.’

He added, ‘I am very disappointed. I played nowhere near my potential. I just really struggled around the greens, made a lot of birdies, but dropped so many shots.’

Na, a former Asian Tour rookie of the year, battled tooth-and-nail with Moore for much of the final round but missed makeable birdie chances on 14 and 16 before his hopes took a dent when an errant tee shot on 17 got stuck in the trees that led to a double bogey. 

The Korean-American recovered with a birdie at the last hole for a 70 to tie Woodland, who carded a 67 and world number four Garcia, who posted a closing 69, in the event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGA TOUR.