CIMB Classic Recap: Takes Title in Malaysia

Marc Leishman got out of the gate fast in 2018 with five top-10s in five months. He tied for ninth at the Masters and was runner-up at the Byron Nelson. Over the next five months … crickets, zero top-10s. Heck, Leishman didn't even finish top-10 in the 30-man Tour Championship, or for that matter in the top-20. He had fallen from 12th in the world to 24th.

So coming into the CIMB Classic, you'd be forgiven for bypassing Leishman. But you, and us, also would've been left shaking our heads, as that very same Leishman bludgeoned the field at TPC Kuala Lumpur. He won by a whopping five strokes over the trio of Emiliano Grillo, Chesson Hadley and Bronson Burgoon.

Leishman ran off four straight birdies from Nos. 2 to 5 on Sunday and, after connecting on a long-range birdie on No. 9 to go out in 31, Frank Nobilo on the Golf Channel said that putt was a "dagger." It surely at the time seemed premature but proved to be spot on, and the competitive portion of the tournament was in fact over. The announcers valiantly did their best, saying things along the lines of: If Leishman bogeys here while so-and-so bogeys … two-shot swing … blah, blah, blah." It was over.

You could say that coming into the week Leishman had been slumping, at least for a golfer who spends his days residing between No. 10 and No. 25 in the world. And you'd be correct. Sort of. All the guys in that general vicinity in the OWGR have off weeks, maybe even more off than on. It's only the truly elite – such as Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, maybe Rory McIlroy – who consistently notch double digits in top-10 finishes and reach multiple wins over the course of a season. The first three did it in 2017-18, but McIlroy didn't, though he limited himself to 18 starts (seven of them top-10s).

Leishman hadn't won in more than a year, since the BMW Championship during the 2017 playoffs. Interestingly, that also was less than a standard field (it was 100), as was his win earlier that season at Bay Hill (120). In fact, only one of Leishman's four PGA Tour victories has come with what could be considered a full field, and that was his maiden title at the 2012 Travelers. What does all that mean? Probably nothing.

But if it does mean something … Leishman and a good chunk of the CIMB field continue on this week with the Asian Swing moving to another limited-field event, the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges in South Korea. It also boasts a 78-man field, and last year, in the inaugural edition of the tournament, Leishman came close, falling to Thomas in a playoff. He arrives back there at No. 16 in the world.

One last note about the CIMB. They changed the grass for this year's tournament, going away from the slow paspalum to Bermuda, faster and more familiar to PGA Tour players. But it did nothing to slow down the birdie-fest. Leishman notched an amazing 29 birdies (actually 28 with one eagle) to match Thomas' total from 2015 and two better than winner Pat Perez's total from last year.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Gary Woodland
After Woodland won for the first time in forever at Phoenix back in February, he fell off the rails for about six months. It's understandable to take a step back after a win, but this was pronounced. Since late July, however, Woodland has ripped off top-25s in seven of his eight starts, including his tie for fifth in the CIMB. He shot an 11-under on Friday and was contending for the title until Leishman broke free. So it wouldn't surprise if Woodland won again soon. Just watch out for what could happen afterward.

Shubhankar Sharma
As Sharma headed to the back nine on Sunday, the announcers said he could gain special temporary membership on the PGA Tour with a solo second. He was close. Then he rinsed his tee ball on No. 11 to start a string of three straight bogies, never recovered and wound up tied for 10th. We hear a lot about Sharma, and some people think he will be great. He's only 22, but this was his first worldwide top-25 since May – even while playing lesser, non-PGA tournaments. He's not even inside the top-100 in the OWGR. Sharma may be great one day, but he's not close yet.

Bronson Burgoon
Burgoon couldn't get his Tour card till he was almost 30 years old, for the 2015-16 season. He promptly lost it. He returned last season and remarkably finished 78th in points, thanks to a runner-up at the John Deere and five more top-25s. He still missed half his cuts, which of course is far from ideal. Burgoon tied for second on Sunday, all but ensuring he'll keep his card for next season as well. At 31, he's clearly playing the best golf of his life and will become more and more popular in DFS play.

Abraham Ancer
For many golf observers, Ancer announced himself when he contended for the Dell last month. But a closer look shows he has been coming on for some time. His T7 at the Boston playoff stop was his fifth top-10 of last season and his ninth top-25. Ancer opened his 2018-19 season with another top-10, tying for fifth in Malaysia. At age 27, he appears to be a golfer turning a corner.

Charles Howell III
Howell's next birthday will be his 40th. He's never been anything but mediocre. But he's been mediocre for so long – more than 500 PGA Tour starts – that he's made more than $35 million in prize money. Howell makes a lot of cuts but manages very few high finishes. He got one of them on Sunday in his season debut, tying for fifth. He's really the aging utility infielder, the Chase Utley, of the Tour. Occasionally he'll get a big hit. Like Sunday. You just have to figure out when.

Austin Cook
It surprises few observers when a top rookie takes a step back, or two or three, the following season. Cook was one of the top rookies last season. He tied for 13th in Malaysia – a good sign, and it would've been even better, a top-10, without a bad bogey on the par-5 18th on Sunday. Cook did not have a strong finish last season, and it appeared he was taking his step back even before his sophomore season began. His play at the CIMB is a promising sign for him.

Keegan Bradley
Bradley tied for 19th at the CIMB, and that was with two killer double bogeys during the week – both on par-5s. They didn't track Shot Link stats at TPC Kuala Lumpur, but Bradley did finish 15th in putters per GIR (putting average), even after they added speedier Bermuda grass since last year's tournament. As we've said numerous times, if Bradley could improve his putting from horrid to simply bad or even mediocre, he'd become a much more intriguing fantasy option. He appears to be doing just that.

Gaganjeet Bhullar
The 30-year-old Indian plays primarily on the Asian Tour. What caught our eye was that he tied for 27th after closing with a 7-under 65. Asian Tour players hardly ever finish that high in the CIMB, but Bhullar appears to be a cut above many of them. He's not that far behind his more famous countryman, Sharma, in the world rankings. Bhullar has seven top-10s in the second half of 2018, including a win in Fiji. Those were all weaker fields, but we just saw he could hold his own amid a stronger group of golfers, at least for one week.

Peter Uihlein
It's early, and things can turn around fast, but Uihlein has had two dreadful starts to begin the new season. He tied for 69th in the 78-man field in Malaysia, unable to break 70 any day on the uber-easy track, and he missed the cut two weeks ago at the Safeway. Just something on which to keep an eye.

Ollie Schniederjans
Same as Uihlein, only worse. He contended for dead last at both the Safeway (MC) and CIMB, at which he tied for 74th.

Eddie Pepperell
Three months ago, the Englishman was ranked well outside the top-100. Today, Pepperell is ranked 33rd, after winning the British Masters on Sunday. He also was runner-up at the Scottish Open, which gets a great field the week before the Open Championship, and the Portugal Masters a few weeks ago. Pepperell is 27, and he's coming.