Im, Ramey lead Shriners Open; Burns 1 back

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Pat Perez proved Sunday that, on a PGA TOUR dominated by lithe, young superstars with physiques crafted in the gym and clubhead speed that can overheat a TrackMan, there is still room for a 41-year-old who prefers late nights with a beer (or a few) over early-morning workouts. He shot 24-under 264 at this week’s CIMB Classic to win by four shots over Keegan Bradley and finish seven shots ahead of Sung Kang and the reigning Rookie of the Year, Xander Schauffele. Perez started his 17th PGA TOUR season with the third win of his career, and his second in the past 11 months.  “I’m such a different person than I was 17 years ago, even like five years ago,â€� he said. “I’m learning how to play the game and learning how to play my own game and stay within myself and that kind of stuff. I’m a late bloomer.â€� Perez took the 36-hole lead at TPC Kuala Lumpur and never relinquished it. He started Sunday with a four-shot lead and won by that same margin. He shot four consecutive rounds in the 60s (66-65-64-69) and made just three bogeys all week. He hit 62 of 72 greens but said it was the putter that carried him to victory. “If I didn’t putt well I probably would have finished 40th,â€� he said Perez is coming off a career-best finish in the FedExCup (15th) and the first TOUR Championship appearance of his career. He’s second in this season’s early FedExCup standings, 56 points behind Safeway Open champion Brendan Steele. Steele followed last week’s win with a 13th-place finish in Malaysia. Perez, who’s been on the PGA TOUR since 2002, now has two victories in his past 25 starts after winning once in his first 378. He was one of just five players in their 40s to win last season. Compare that to a record-setting 18 victories by players under 25, a group that includes FedExCup champions Justin Thomas (2017) and Jordan Spieth (2015). Last year’s lengthy layoff after shoulder surgery has inspired his good play, giving him a new perspective on the game. Perez, who won the 1993 Junior Worlds over Tiger Woods, was always known for having tons of talent but also a hot temper. “It took me a lot longer to probably mature, if you can even use that word for me,â€� he said. He may give up yards off the tee to today’s young stars, but he makes up for it with a strong short game. His winning score this week was just two shots off Thomas’ tournament record. “It’s frustrating because I see these guys, perfect builds, they’re tall and they’re skinny and they’ve got all this strength, and then there’s me who kind of waddles around,â€� Perez said at the TOUR Championship. “I don’t like working out, I like to sit, kind of do nothing, so it’s kind of my own fault, I guess, on the strength. “But when those guys go, they just keep running, like Justin Thomas. They just have those extra gears that can get them on the par-5s in two. I can’t get to the par-5s in two so my short game’s got to be sharp.â€� This week’s win came a continent away from home, but at a place that is special to him. Last year’s CIMB Classic was Perez’s first start since surgery that March to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He’d been dropped by his equipment sponsor and thought his return to the PGA TOUR was still months away. Then the CIMB Classic’s executive director, Todd Rhinehart, called and offered him an invitation. Perez’s wise-cracking ways apparently have international appeal. A middle-of-the-pack finish (T33) may not have looked impressive on paper, but it was an encouraging return after several months on the sideline, and it set the stage for the best year of Perez’s lengthy career. He finished seventh in his next start, at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, and then won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. His second win came nearly eight years after his first one, at the 2009 CareerBuilder Challenge “If he hadn’t given me the spot, the funny thing is I don’t know if I would have started the TOUR until January,â€� Perez said Sunday. “So all those chain of events might not have happened. So I can’t thank him enough for doing that. I really can’t explain it, it’s been an amazing 12 months.â€� Perez said he starts every season with two goals, to win and qualify for the TOUR Championship. He has the win under his belt. Now he wants to get back to East Lake. He estimates that he’ll need another 800 FedExCup points to accomplish that.  Today’s game emphasizes distance, but Perez has had success despite ranking 112th in driving distance (290.9 yards) and 130th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee last season. He was fourth in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and 37th in Strokes Gained: Putting. “They’re just different type of players than I am,â€� Perez said of the TOUR’s 20-somethings. “I try to get mine where I can and that’s what it is.â€�

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HAIKOU, CHINA—Sweden’s Oskar Arvidsson carded a third-round, 2-over 74 to stay on course for a wire-to-wire win at the PGA TOUR Series-China International Qualifying Tournament No. 1, the first of two successive 72-hole qualifiers at Mission Hills Haikou. With difficult pin positions adding to the challenge on another cold day, Arvidsson finished 8-under, one ahead of playing partners Lucas Herbert (73) of Australia and American Jeffrey Kang (72), who will all play together again in Sunday’s final round. American Kurt Kitayama, a Web.com Tour player in 2016 and 2017, shot 69 to move to 5-under and tie for fourth with Australia’s Kevin Yuan (68) and Canada’s Richard Jung (71). Luke Toomey, formerly New Zealand’s top amateur, made a strong move as a 68 moved him into a tie for 15th, at even-par. The top-15 finishers will earn full cards and the next 25 will be conditionally exempt for this year’s PGA TOUR Series-China, which will reward the top-five money winners with places on the Web.com Tour, the path to the PGA TOUR. Arvidsson, 26, will start in pole position despite a difficult Saturday in which he dropped his first shots of the tournament after opening with two bogey-free 67s. The Bangkok-based Swede bogeyed No. 2 but bounced back with three straight birdies before dropping shots at Nos. 8, 9, 11 and 18. “It was quite tough out there today. The pins were a little difficult, it was windy, so I think we all played pretty good, but it was hard to get it going. I’m still aiming to win, and I’m looking forward to playing some great courses on this Tour,â€� said Arvidsson, who had even considered withdrawing after suffering stomach pains on Friday morning. Herbert, 22, cut a slightly frustrated figure after mixing four birdies with five bogeys, including on the par-5 18th but still heads a strong Australian contingent that also includes Yuan, DJ Loypur (4-under) and Andrew Schonewille (3-under) in the top-10. As high as third in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before turning pro in 2015, Herbert is on an impressive run of form that has steered him to eighth on the 2017 PGA TOUR of Australasia Order of Merit and a place at The 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie through a tie for eighth at last month’s SMBC Singapore Open, won by Sergio Garcia. “I try to win, anyway. I think it’s one of those events that if you keep the mentality, if you want to win, then you don’t settle for laying up. Your vision tends to broaden a bit more if you just aim for the top 15, so I’m going to try and win and just prove to myself that my game’s still got it,â€� said Herbert, who at World No. 228 is the highest-ranked of the final group. “Eventually, it would be great to play on the Web.com Tour. I have a card on (PGA Tour of) Australasia so I’m looking for Tours to play for the rest of the year, so I’ll also look to play (PGA TOUR) Canada Q-School. If I can get a card here, that would give me some security and I won’t be too stressed out going to Canada Q-School.â€� Kang, 26, also admitted that victory, not a top-15 finish, would be his focus Sunday. The Los Angeles resident, who graduated from the University of Southern California in 2014, recorded his fourth birdie of the day on the 18th to tie Herbert and offset two bogeys and the double bogey he posted on No. 13. “Any tournament you play, you want to win it. I think that’s the mentality you start the tournament with, and why change it going into the last day?â€� asked Kang, who played on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada in 2016 and around Asia last year. “I’ll try to do what I did today, although the back nine was really hard today. I’ll just try to minimize the mistakes and see how it goes.â€� This week’s 120-player entry list features players from 16 countries and territories across Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America, with the largest contingents from the U.S. (34) and South Korea (29). After a one-year hiatus, PGA TOUR Series-China resumes in March with a 14-tournament schedule, with each tournament offering RMB 1.5 million, a 25-percent increase over purse levels from 2016. The Mainland China Qualifying Tournament for China passport holders will be held at Wolong Lake Golf Club in Liuzhou City in Guangxi from February 27-March 2 (Tuesday-Friday). The PGA TOUR established PGA TOUR Series-China in 2014 as its third international developmental tour, following in the footsteps of PGA TOUR Latinoamerica and the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. Since its inception, PGA TOUR Series-China players have received Official World Golf Ranking points for top finishes at official tournaments. Previous International Qualifying Tournament Winners

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