American Justin Thomas won the CJ Cup by two shots from Danny Lee after shooting a final round 67 for a 20-under-par total at Nine Bridges Golf Club in South Korea.
In what was a virtual match play final round to decide the title, Thomas and Lee entered the final round tied for the lead, and it stayed that way through the front nine.
It took a Thomas birdie at the 14th to break the deadlock, and the American then went up by two when Lee bogeyed the 15th after missing a 10-foot par putt. After going from greenside bunker to bunker, Lee bogeyed 16 and fell three behind. But Thomas bogeyed the 17th, after his 12-footer for par lipped out, reducing the deficit to two. Both players birdied the 18th, with Lee’s eagle attempt lipping out to see him finish with a 69 to Thomas’s 67.
“It was a very, very tough day,” said Thomas, who also won this event in 2017. “Danny made it extremely difficult. He really made a lot of putts, a lot of unbelievable up and downs to kind of keep me from getting all the momentum.”
Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland and Cameron Smith finished tied for third, five shots behind Thomas. Jordan Spieth closed with a 71 and was tied with four others at 12 under, including Tyrrell Hatton. Ian Poulter tied for 16thwith Graeme McDowell and Tommy Fleetwood finished 20th.
The PGA Tour’s second of three tournaments in Asia continues this week at the Zozo Championship in Japan, and ends with the World Golf Championship event in Shanghai.