Another major, another Brooks Koepka show

Veteran Danny Chia secured his sixth appearance at the prestigious CIMB Classic after defeating rising star Gavin Green with a birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off at the CIMB National Championship on Friday. Overnight leader Chia battled to a final round of three-under-par 69 at TPC Kuala Lumpur after overcoming an early triple bogey with eight birdies for a tournament aggregate of eight-under-par 280. Trailing by three at the start of the day, Green forced extra time with a glorious 66 highlighted by seven birdies. After both players shot pars in the first extra hole at the par five 18th hole, Chia then claimed his third success at the qualifying tournament for the CIMB Classic with a birdie from six feet. With the CIMB National Championship, previously known as the SapuraKencana National Classic, offering a coveted spot in October’s US$7 million CIMB Classic only to the winner, the 23-year-old Green will take heart that he will likely earn a spot in the PGA TOUR tournament through the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit. Currently fourth on the money rankings, Green needs to remain in the top-10 as of October 9 to qualify for the CIMB Classic for the second successive year. The highest ranked Malaysian on the Official World Golf Ranking as of October 2 will also earn a spot in the CIMB Classic. Rookie professional Amir Nazrin Jailani finished a creditable third after signing off with a 69, which included a missed birdie attempt at the 18th hole which would have put him into the play-off while Ben Leong, who held a one-shot lead at the turn, settled for fourth position following a 70 to finish two back of the play-off duo.

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Rob Bolton lists five against-the-grain fantasy selections for this week’s event at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. John Huh … He’s performed his best on harder tracks where keeping one’s ball in play is at a premium. A T9 at Copperhead and a T22 at TPC San Antonio not only present evidence of that, those are also his top two results of 2017. While there’s an element of his game that suggests he doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well, it cannot be denied that he leads the PGA TOUR in scrambling. Within that angle, he ranks second (behind Sergio Garcia) in scrambling from inside 10 yards. Since TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm stretches just 7,107 yards and boasts smaller greens, Huh’s is a valuable skillset this week. David Hearn … Arrives having connected top 10s for the first time since he opened what was then known as the Fall Series in his rookie season of 2011 with a pair. With a T10 at TPC Southwind and a T8 at TPC River Highlands, the 38-year-old climbed from outside the top 150 in the FedExCup standings to his current slot at 122nd. Obviously not yet safe to plan for a Playoffs berth and to retain his card, he’ll be counting on the sum of his parts to carry him forward again this week. In each of his last two starts, he ranked inside the top 25 in the field in total driving, greens in regulation and scrambling. James Hahn … Closed out his last start at Muirfield Village like a boss with a third-round 65 that featured a pair of five-birdie bursts and a final-round 69 during which he walked off birdie-birdie. Finished that week seventh in birdies-or-better percentage but also T6 in scrambling. That latter performance was his best in relation to any field all season. His previous mark occurred just over a month ago at the AT&T Byron Nelson (T13 in scrambling) where he finished alone in third place. It’s also the safety net that will come in handy around TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms where he placed T36 in the Web.com Tour stop in 2012, but his tee-to-green game remains his most reliable asset. Sung Kang … It doesn’t hurt that he tied for sixth in the Web.com Tour event contested at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in 2013, but it’s not primary reason he’s included in this group. Rather, the 30-year-old has been a fixture on both weekends and on the minds of fans in recent months. Since a T12 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he’s 13-for-16 with six top 25s. He arrives at the Quicken Loans National with a modest consecutive cuts made streak of six in tow. Most comfortable on greens, but he’s turned a corner this season with his tee-to-green proficiency. Matt Jones … This close to keeping his head above water despite the challenge of procuring playing time on conditional status. The Aussie is 132nd in the FedExCup standings, but if he sat higher in the pecking order, he’d likely be coasting along. Five of his nine cuts made in only 13 starts have gone for a top 25, including a T18 in his last at TPC Southwind. Ranks 46th in adjusted scoring and 11th in scrambling.

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