Malaysia fertile ground for Thomas

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Justin Thomas returns this week to the scene of his first PGA Tour win in 2015, and where he repeated as champion a year later.

The American, fresh from winning the PGA Tour money title for the second consecutive year, begins play today in the CIMB Classic aiming for his third win in four years at the tournament, and his 10th on tour.

“This is always going to be a special place for me,” Thomas said Wednesday of the TPC Kuala Lumpur West Course. “This is always going to be the place I got my first PGA Tour victory and that’s very, very special.

“Every time I look at that trophy in my office at home, it brings back a lot of memories,” he said.

Thomas won the tour money title this year with $8,694,821 US, the first back-to-back winner of the award since Tiger Woods in 2006 and 2007.

He likes his chances of beating 2017 champion Pat Perez, Brandt Snedeker, Keegan Bradley and 2013 and 2014 winner Ryan Moore, who are among the starters in the CIMB field this week.

“I feel fresher and I would like to hope that’s from the work that I’ve put in off the course or off-weeks, in my work in the gym and making sure I’m staying rested,” Thomas said. “I think I have an opportunity to play well and hopefully knock off a win or two.”

Perez picked up more than half — 56 per cent — of his FedEx Cup points from the three tournaments in Asia last year.

Those included stops in South Korea and Shanghai.

“I played phenomenal last year, I putted incredible and I’m going to have to do that again,” Perez said.

“Every year the field gets better and better and the players get better.”

Prize money at Kuala Lumpur totals $7 million US, with $1,620,000 to the winner.