FedExCup champions Brandt Snedeker and Billy Horschel will be amongst the 46 PGA TOUR winners, including major winners Jimmy Walker, Stewart Cink and Jason Dufner, to challenge for the US$7 million CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur’s West course next week.
Following the final commitment deadline, Southeast Asia’s only PGA TOUR-sanctioned tournament will also feature 2013-14 CIMB Classic winner Ryan Moore, 2012 CIMB Classic champion Nick Watney and twice runner-up Gary Woodland.
Presidents Cup International team stalwarts Marc Leishman, Si Woo Kim, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Emiliano Grillo and United States team member Daniel Berger will also feature in Malaysia from October 11 to 14 as the CIMB Classic marks the first of three PGA TOUR events in Asia this month.
Asia’s star Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who became the first Thai to earn a PGA TOUR card this year, will also tee up at TPC Kuala Lumpur on a sponsor’s exemption. The big-hitting Kiradech won the Malaysian Open at TPC Kuala Lumpur in 2013 and also finished third at the CIMB Classic in the same year.
Gavin Green has also qualified for his third CIMB Classic appearance as the highest-ranked Malaysian on the Official World Golf Ranking as at October 1. Last week, Kim Leun Kwang earned his maiden CIMB Classic appearance by winning the CIMB National Championship in a playoff.
Earlier, organisers had unveiled the first wave of stars who include title holder Pat Perez, 2017 FedExCup winner and double CIMB Classic winner Justin Thomas, Ryder Cup star Paul Casey, Hideki Matsuyama, Davis Love III, Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele and Ernie Els.
Todd Rhinehart, Vice President and Executive Director, PGA TOUR said: “We are delighted to announce a stellar field from the PGA TOUR which features FedExCup Champions, major winners and 18 tournament champions from the recently concluded 2017-18 PGA TOUR season.
“Eleven players from the top-30 of our final FedExCup standings will also challenge for the CIMB Classic title and we anticipate yet another exciting week of world-class golf for Malaysian fans and global television viewers to enjoy.”
The 31-year-old Horschel finished fifth in the FedExCup final standings after a runner-up outing in the TOUR Championship two weeks ago. It culminated a strong season for Horschel, who finished T3 in two other FedExCup Playoff events at THE NORTHERN TRUST and BMW Championship in the past month.
A five-time PGA TOUR winner, Horschel achieved his career high by winning the FedExCup in 2014 following back-to-back triumphs at the BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship. In April, he partnered Scott Piercy to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Horschel will play in his third CIMB Classic following appearances in 2013 and 2014 where he finished T11 and T37 respectively.
Snedeker claimed his ninth PGA TOUR title at the Wyndham Championship in August, ending a two-and-a-half years winless run. He posted three other top-10s and will be looking to improve on his previous lone showing at the CIMB Classic in 2011 where he finished T13.
Thailand’s Kiradech will be hoping to launch his PGA TOUR career on a strong note after writing a small slice of history by becoming the first golfer from his country to earn a PGA TOUR card.
In 41 career starts on the PGA TOUR, Kiradech has collected five top-10s, highlighted by a T3 at the 2013 CIMB Classic. He salso finished top-five at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play earlier this season. He is the winner of five international titles, most recently the 2018 ISPS HANDA World Super 6 in Perth, Australia and was also the Asian Tour No. 1 in 2013.
Kiradech said: “I am very thankful to receive a sponsor’s exemption and it will motivate me further as it is held on a golf course which I am very familiar with and have enjoyed success there over the years. It will be amazing if I can contend at the CIMB Classic against what looks like a very strong field,” said Kiradech.
The CIMB Classic will celebrate its ninth edition this year, and is the second tournament of the new 2018-19 PGA TOUR Season.
The PGA TOUR-sanctioned CIMB Classic features a limited field of 78 players comprising of the top 60 available players from the 2017-18 FedExCup points list, eight sponsor exemptions and the top-10 available players from the Asian Tour.
