Ryan Moore wins CIMB Classic in playoff
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- The rain and the delays were all worth it for Ryan Moore, who seems to play his best golf this time of year.
Moore won the CIMB Classic in a playoff with Gary Woodland on Monday, birdieing the first hole for his third PGA Tour victory.
Thunderstorms, resulting in about 3 1/2 hours of delays, and fading light Sunday forced organizers to complete the tournament the next day.
Moore scrambled just to make the playoff, hitting an awkward 60-yard wedge shot on the 18th hole Sunday that dropped within several feet of the hole and allowed him to salvage par. He and Woodland finished regulation at 14-under 274.
In the playoff, Moore hit a strong approach with an 8-iron to the same green. The ball stopped about 5 feet from the cup, setting up his winning putt.
''I had a great opportunity there on 18 with my third shot and it was just an absolute perfect number,'' he said. ''It was coincidentally the exact shot I was working on on the range.''
It had been about a year since he won his second title, at the 2012 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.
''I've always enjoyed playing in the fall. I'm not sure why,'' he said. ''It's actually kind of funny. I won a week before my son (Tucker) was born last year. I won a week after (his birthday) this year.''
Woodland, also trying to win his third PGA Tour title, had a chance to end things as dusk was descending in a steady rain Sunday evening. But he missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have given him the title.
''I hit it where I wanted to,'' Woodland said. ''It just broke more. I can see it now. It was a little lighter out right now. I can see it broke a little more, but it is what it is.''
He pulled his approach shot to the 18th green wide Monday, leaving himself a difficult chip from the rough that he couldn't hole for birdie.
Still, it's been a remarkable turnaround the past few months for the American. He has struggled with wrist injuries in recent years and his world ranking plunged to 268th this summer.
Woodland began making changes to his game last January when he started working with new swing coach Butch Harmon. He later switched to Harmon's son, Claude, hired a new short-game coach, Pat Goss, and then added a new psychology coach, Julie Elion.
The results finally started to come in August: Woodland won his second PGA Tour title at the Reno-Tahoe Open and a couple of weeks later shared second place at The Barclays.
Starting the new wraparound PGA Tour season this month, Woodland also added a new caddie, Tony Navarro, who previously worked with Greg Norman and Adam Scott.
''I put a lot of hard work in,'' he said. ''It's been a process with the changes I've made, switching to Butch and his son, and it's finally starting to come together, which is nice. I put a lot of work in on the short game, a lot of work on the middle game, and we're starting to put it together now.''
Moore is also hoping to build on the victory at the $7 million Malaysian tournament, which became an official PGA Tour event this year, awarding FedEx Cup points and a spot in the Masters.
Given how well he has played at this time of year, he's glad the new wraparound season is starting in October.
''Now that it counts, now that it's a full FedEx Cup event and counts as a win on the PGA Tour, it does so much for you,'' he said. ''To get a win this early in the season, it's just incredible, to be able to get some FedEx Cup points racked up.''
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