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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Watney’s closing 61 earns win

Associated Press

Nick Watney missed a chance for a 59 on Sunday in his CIMB Classic victory in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, closing with a course-record 10-under 61 at The Mines despite a bogey at the 18th.

Needing a birdie on the par-4 18th for a 59, Watney drove into the left rough, failed to reach the green with his approach and left his long birdie pitch just short of the putting surface.

The American finished at 22-under 262 and earned $1.3 million in the unofficial PGA Tour event, finishing a stroke ahead of 2011 champion Bo Van Pelt and Robert Garrigus and three ahead of Tiger Woods.

The tournament will become a full-fledged PGA Tour event next year when the tour begins its new season in October after the FedEx Cup.

Van Pelt and Garrigus tied for second, each carding 66 after starting the round tied for the lead.

Needing a birdie on 18 to force a playoff, Van Pelt saved par after hitting into a greenside bunker. On Saturday, needing a closing birdie for a 59, he made a double bogey for a 62.

Woods finished with a 63 to tie for fourth at 19 under with Chris Kirk and Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge. Kirk shot 67, and de Jonge had a 66.

The players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls in the fairways for the last three rounds because the course was soaked by tropical overnight storms.

Watney won the FedEx Cup opener at Bethpage Black in August for his fifth official PGA Tour victory.

LPGA

Suzann Pettersen won the Taiwan Championship in Yang Mei, Taiwan, for her second straight LPGA Tour victory, rallying to beat Inbee Park by three strokes.

Pettersen closed with a 3-under 69 in wind and drizzle on the at Sunrise course. The Norwegian finished with a 19-under 269 and earned $300,000 for her 10th LPGA Tour title.

Last week in South Korea, she beat Catriona Matthew in a playoff.

Local favorite Yani Tseng had a 71 to finish third at 15 under. The top-ranked Taiwanese player won the event last year. Matthew was fourth at 14 under after a 70.

Cristie Kerr was the only American in the top 12, shooting a 73 to tie for sixth at 9 under. Michelle Wie had a 76 to tie for 23rd at 1 under.

Champions Tour

David Frost won the AT&T Championship in San Antonio, beating Bernhard Langer with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff after overcoming a six-stroke deficit in the final round.

Frost and Langer each shot 6-under 66 to finish at 8-under 208 on TPC San Antonio’s Canyons Course.

Kirk Triplett, a Pullman High graduate, shot 3-under 69 to finish tied for fifth at 212.

Second-round leader Mark Calcavecchia had a 74 to finish two strokes back. He bogeyed four of the first 11 holes.

The 53-year-old Frost also teamed with Michael Allen to win the Legends of Golf in April and has three career Champions Tour victories. The South African won 10 times on the PGA Tour.

The tournament was the final full-field end of the year. The top 30 on the money list qualified for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz.