Officialsportsbetting.com Golf Betting Justin Thomas comfortable in return to CIMB Classic

Justin Thomas comfortable in return to CIMB Classic

Justin Thomas comes into this year’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia pretty much the same way he came into last year’s CIMB Classic, as one of the best players in the world after a multiple-win season that also saw him take a leadership role with the U.S. Presidents/Ryder Cup Team. The biggest difference: Thomas is coming off “onlyâ€� a three-win season, not a five-win season and the FedExCup, coming into this CIMB, which is the only official PGA TOUR tournament in Southeast Asia and the first of three official TOUR events in Asia this month. “Anytime you win three times in a season, it’s still a pretty good season,â€� Thomas said at his press conference at the CIMB on Wednesday. “Obviously not winning a major was a big difference and not winning the FedExCup, but I played plenty well enough last year to win the same amount of times. “When you win (five) times in a year, you have a lot of things go your way,â€� Thomas continued. “You have a couple hot streaks and I just never really had any. I played really consistent good golf kind of throughout the year and I just didn’t have as many hot weeks like I did in ’16-’17.â€� Not that he wouldn’t gladly take a three-win season anytime, he added. The CIMB, which will celebrate its ninth edition this year, is the second tournament of the new 2018-19 TOUR season. It 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. Pat Perez is the defending champion. Others of note also include two-time CIMB winner Ryan Moore, plus Kevin Tway, who is coming off his first TOUR win at the Safeway Open. Last we saw Thomas, he was going 4-1-0 for the losing U.S. Ryder Cup Team, the best showing by an American. Before that, he came to the TOUR Championship at East Lake with a chance at making history as the first player to successfully defend his FedExCup title. It didn’t go his way as he finished T7 to also finish 7th in the FedExCup, won by England’s Justin Rose. Still, Thomas took pleasure in friend Tiger Woods’ victory at East Lake, Woods’ first win in over five years. And no one would dispute that Thomas remains a potent threat who not only knows how to end a season in style, he knows how to begin it. Which is to say no one would be surprised if he won at TPC Kuala Lumpur for the third time in four years (2015, ’16). “It’s just a place that I’ve obviously played well,â€� said Thomas, 25. “I’m comfortable. I think being a little bit of a longer hitter you have an advantage, but I mean, the fact of the matter is that I’ve just played well the years I played here. I think my wedge game is a strong suit of mine and you have a lot of wedges out here, so I’ve been able to take advantage of that.â€� You could say that. Thomas is 60 under par over 12 rounds on the West course, but it’s since been resurfaced with Bermuda grass. Thomas praised the quality of the re-grassing while at the same time maintaining that the course’s bones remain unchanged. It’s a shorter track, allowing for multiple pitching- and sand-wedge approach shots—right in his wheelhouse. It always has been. He’s the same player he was when he lifted his first TOUR trophy at the 2015 CIMB, albeit with a more impressive resume. Now a nine-time TOUR winner, he’s not only won the FedExCup, a World Golf Championship and a major, he’s also tasted world No. 1. “This is always going to be a special place to me,â€� Thomas said. “This is always going to be the place I got my first PGA TOUR victory and that’s very, very special. Every time I look at that trophy in my office at home, it brings back a lot of great memories, anytime I see videos or clips of it.  It was a very instrumental part of my career, for sure.â€�

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Major Specials 2025
Type: To Win A Major 2025 - Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+160
Bryson DeChambeau+350
Xander Schauffele+350
Ludvig Aberg+400
Collin Morikawa+450
Jon Rahm+450
Justin Thomas+550
Brooks Koepka+700
Viktor Hovland+700
Hideki Matsuyama+800
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PGA Championship 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+450
Scottie Scheffler+450
Bryson DeChambeau+800
Justin Thomas+1600
Collin Morikawa+2200
Jon Rahm+2200
Xander Schauffele+2200
Ludvig Aberg+2500
Joaquin Niemann+3000
Brooks Koepka+4000
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AdventHealth Championship
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Kensei Hirata+2000
Mitchell Meissner+2200
SH Kim+2200
Neal Shipley+2500
Seungtaek Lee+2800
Hank Lebioda+3000
Chandler Blanchet+3500
Pierceson Coody+3500
Rick Lamb+3500
Trey Winstead+3500
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Regions Tradition
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Stewart Cink+550
Steve Stricker+650
Ernie Els+700
Steven Alker+750
Miguel Angel Jimenez+1200
Bernhard Langer+1400
Jerry Kelly+1600
Alex Cejka+1800
Retief Goosen+2500
Richard Green+2500
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US Open 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+500
Bryson DeChambeau+1200
Xander Schauffele+1200
Jon Rahm+1400
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Collin Morikawa+1600
Brooks Koepka+1800
Justin Thomas+2000
Viktor Hovland+2000
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The Open 2025
Type: Winner - Status: OPEN
Rory McIlroy+500
Scottie Scheffler+550
Xander Schauffele+1100
Ludvig Aberg+1400
Collin Morikawa+1600
Jon Rahm+1600
Bryson DeChambeau+2000
Shane Lowry+2500
Tommy Fleetwood+2500
Tyrrell Hatton+2500
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Ryder Cup 2025
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USA-150
Europe+140
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Making the best of itMaking the best of it

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Adam Scott’s golf bag waited for him on the practice tee as he signed autographs before his round. About to tee off against Si Woo Kim, Daniel Berger doubled over on the first tee not with nerves but with laughter at one of the songs by the Fanatics. (One of them went acapella on “Eye of the Tiger.â€�) Patrick Reed, waiting on the first tee to start his singles match against Louis Oosthuizen, got a chuckle out of the “12-0â€� sign in the stands and motioned for the yellow-clad sign-holder to flip it upside-down, as in “0-12.â€� (Oosthuizen won 1 up, making Reed 0-1-1 in Presidents Cup singles.) The Presidents Cup is never supposed to be life or death, and neither team treated it that way Sunday, for obvious reasons. The U.S. Team needed to win just one point in 12 singles matches, and while the International Team won the day 7.5-4.5, that only made the final tally 19-11 in favor of the Americans.   There was suspense, if you can call it that, around whether Jordan Spieth would finally win a singles match. He did not, losing 2 and 1 to Jhonattan Vegas to go 0-3 in Presidents Cup singles. Dustin Johnson, trying to become the sixth player to go 5-0-0, was thwarted as he and Branden Grace halved their match. Oh, and Kim shushed the crowd, his index finger up to his lips, after making a birdie putt at the par-4 11th hole. That was fun. Berger, though, would beat Kim 2 and 1, pushing the U.S. Team’s point total past the 15.5 required to win, making it official as a cigar-chomping Charley Hoffman chased him around with champagne.   For a game day, Sunday’s vibe was relaxed. The only thing missing, perhaps, was Phil Mickelson starting the wave around the eighth green, as he had the day before. The International Team came out with something to prove, namely that they belonged on the same golf course as the Americans, and they did that. They were huge underdogs from the start, and everyone knew it. The U.S. Team, historically dominant, was on form and would have the crowd on its side. What could you do? Assistant Captain Geoff Ogilvy was among the Internationals who wore a New York Yankees cap during Thursday’s pageantry, with Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama in attendance. “You do what you can,â€� Ogilvy said with a bemused smile. International Captain Nick Price also did his best to enjoy the ride, and at least won the interview room. Early in the week, when a reporter’s cell phone rang as Price huddled with his assistants to set their lineup, Price popped his head up and said, “I’ll get it!â€� Later, when the U.S. Team had taken a 14.5-3.5 lead, he enjoyed a chuckle when U.S. Captain Steve Stricker was asked about complacency. “Tell your guys not to panic,â€� Price said, bringing laughter. But there were poignant moments, too. “This one’s going to sting,â€� Ernie Els said as he and his wife, Liezl, waited for players to come down the 15th fairway late Saturday. The cold wind whipped, and fans, assistants and wives crossed their arms in front of them, some in ski hats, many scooched together on the backs of golf carts. It will be left to Els, the presumed captain for the International Team that will take on the U.S. at Royal Melbourne, Australia, in 2019, to pick up the pieces after this loss. As points continued to accrue, national debt clock style, for the Americans, players and assistants from both teams fought the urge to rush to Price’s side with hugs and hot chocolate. Ever a good sport, he wore a yellow Fanatics cap as he watched the singles matches Sunday. His reign now ends after three losses, to U.S. Captains Fred Couples (Muirfield Village, 2013), Jay Haas (Jack Nicklaus G.C. in Incheon, South Korea, 2015) and now Stricker. The U.S. Team’s 18.5-15.5 victory at Muirfield led to a format change, trimming the number of matches from 34 to 30. It was meant to bolster the Internationals, who traditionally lack depth, and it seemed to work. The 2015 Cup came down to the anchor match, Captain’s pick Bill Haas beating local hero Sang-Moon Bae 2 up to give the U.S. the 15.5-14.5 win before his dad/Captain, Jay, broke down in tears. It was storybook stuff. The narrative at Liberty National, alas, took a different turn. The intrigue surrounded what songs would be sung. (“Jason Day, all my troubles seem so far away…â€�) And the tension came down to whether the Americans would clinch a day early. That they did not was due to Anirban Lahiri’s two late birdies, including a left-to-right breaker on 17 that even Jordan Spieth said was almost impossible. The match ended in a rare International W when Hoffman and Kevin Chappell gave Lahiri (and partner Si Woo Kim) his 4-1/2-foot par putt on 18. “I think it’s the spirit of the game,â€� said Lahiri, who halved his singles match with Kevin Kisner. It was left to the Internationals to look for such smaller victories in the blowout. Price appeared to be on the verge of tears as Els, sitting next to him Saturday night, came to his defense. “This guy deserves a lot of credit,â€� Els said. “It’s been a very tough week on him, obviously. We played an exceptionally well organized, very talented group of players, and they were on.â€� In the end, there would be no more eloquent epitaph than that. Yes, Stricker admitted, it would be odd to contest 12 singles matches Sunday with the Americans needing just one point. But players from both sides would keep grinding, PGA TOUR pros being a competitive breed and none of them wanting to lose, ever. Sure enough, while Scott signed autographs before his singles match against Brooks Koepka on Sunday (Scott won 3 and 2), Reed didn’t join him. Nor did Mickelson, even if one of those who asked for his signature was 1983 Sony Open of Hawaii champion Isao Aoki. Where did this U.S. Team rank relative to other great teams throughout history? Price paid due respect but said it was hard to tell, as the Americans were never tested. In any event, Els has a lot of work to do. He said he was already planning to huddle with Price and review what worked, and what didn’t, and begin to consider how the Internationals might regroup. Stricker, meanwhile, was done pulling the strings, though he admitted that as the week wore on his job was simply to get out of the way. Asked if this was the strongest U.S. Team he’d seen, top to bottom, he said it was. The licking at Liberty National was a bravura performance, the 12-man, four-day equivalent of a 59, but the event, he added, would go on. It always does.

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Brooks Koepka quiet on The Match, but praises DeChambeau’s great showing at World Long DriveBrooks Koepka quiet on The Match, but praises DeChambeau’s great showing at World Long Drive

Brooks Koepka did not have many details to share regarding his upcoming post-Thanksgiving showdown with long-hitting Bryson DeChambeau – the newest addition to Capital One’s The Match series that will air Nov. 26 on TNT. Asked when conversations for such a mano-a-mano television event even began, Koepka smiled and answered, “You can ask Bryson.” But on the eve of competing in the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, Koepka did convey considerable respect for DeChambeau’s significant transformations, and had praise for DeChambeau’s surprising performance at last week’s Professional Long Drivers Association’s World Championship. DeChambeau made it through to the quarterflnals at the Long Drive, falling just shy of the four-man finale. DeChambeau achieved a swing speed of 219 mph and his longest drive on the grid was 412 yards. Kyle Berkshire eventually would win his second title (his winning drive measured 422 yards). A few of DeChambeau’s peers on the PGA TOUR could not help but take notice of his spirited march through the competition. Koepka said Wednesday that adding length has become a huge theme on the PGA TOUR, and will continue to have a big impact as younger players make their way out to the game’s top level. “I think you kind of saw it maybe coming out of COVID,” Koepka said at TPC Summerlin after playing nine holes in a pro-am. “I think you saw even other guys (other than DeChambeau) trying to hit it further. Swing a little harder, trying to maximize their distance. I think it’s going to change the game of golf forever, personally. If you’re going to hit it that far and you find a couple fairways, it’s tough to beat. It does get very difficult when you got wedge into hole where guys got 6-iron. Your odds are going to be in your favor. “That’s what he (DeChambeau) has done. It’s impressive to be able to actually change a body, change the way you swing, and yet still compete out here. I think that’s probably the most impressive thing. It’s one thing to do it and then just kind of mess around with it at home but not bring it to an actual tournament. So the fact he’s able to do that, the fact he did at the Long Drive, I don’t think anybody really thought he was going to get that far. The fact he did was quite impressive.” This new PGA TOUR season is but a few events old, but the driving average on TOUR thus far is 304.7 yards. A year ago, the average distance TOUR players hit their drives was 296.2. DeChambeau led all players in distance last season, averaging a record 323.7 yards through 83 rounds. Koepka doesn’t exactly bunt it off the tee; he averaged 310.7 yards and ranked 12th. Scottie Scheffler partnered with DeChambeau in two Four-ball matches at the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits two weeks ago, and knew DeChambeau was as excited about the Long Drive as he was about the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. “He was definitely pretty interested in it last week,” Scheffler said. ”We had a great time playing together. He’s a great (Four-ball) partner and he’s a great alternate-shot player as well because he’s such a talented player. We had a great time in the team room. “His performance in the Long Drive was pretty cool. I think he told us his goal for the Long Drive was to make it to the final 16, I think he said that would have been a really big accomplishment for him. … I’m sure he’s feeling really good about his performance. It was pretty fun to watch.” Koepka, 31, is playing for the sixth time at Shriners (he was a runner-up in 2017), and will play next week at THE CJ CUP @ Summit, a second event in Vegas. Koepka said his 2020-21 season, which was slowed by knee and wrist injuries, was a disappointment, and that this season he’d like to not only win multiple events, but stay healthy throughout. One aspect of his game that held him back last season: Green-reading. He said he has worked on integrating AimPoint into his routine to better read breaks on the greens, which hopefully will lead to better results with the putter. “I’ve fallen off, to be completely honest,” said Koepka, an eight-time TOUR winner and four-time major champion now ranked ninth in the Official World Golf Ranking. “I’ve fallen off going to World No. 1, injuries, all this stuff, and I haven’t been where I expected myself to be. I think that’s been the disappointing part, so I was kind of kicking myself and trying to figure out how to get better, and that (AimPoint) was just one of the ways. “… There’s some things where you’ve got to keep improving year after year. You look at it, traditionally, 30 or 35 is when guys have their prime out here, and I’m just kind of starting that prime at 31. So hopefully that holds true. But you got to find a way.” Koepka and DeChambeau, who bantered through social media through much of 2021, will partake in a 12-hole match on Nov. 26 at the Wynn Golf Course at Wynn Las Vegas. DeChambeau, ranked seventh in the world, was part of a previous version of The Match, joining NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers in taking down the tandem of Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. Koepka and DeChambeau were teammates on the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team two weeks ago, and, at the behest of U.S. team member Justin Thomas, even embraced in a playful embrace following the team’s final media session. As for more details on The Match? We’ll have to wait for those. “I think we’re excited,” Koepka said. “It’s going to be good. You’ll see it.”

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