CHIA QUALIFIES FOR CIMB CLASSIC

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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