• CIMB Classic

Moore wins Kuala Lumpur play-off

Ryan Moore had to fight to get into the play-off © Getty Images

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Ryan Moore birdied the first hole of a play-off with Gary Woodland on Monday to win the CIMB Classic after an overnight wait caused by thunderstorms in Kuala Lumpur.

Moore had to fight just to get in the play-off, hitting an awkward 60-yard wedge shot on the 18th hole on Sunday that dropped within several feet of the hole and allowed him to salvage par.

He and Woodland finished at 14-under 274, with the play-off postponed until Monday because of fading light.

In the playoff, Moore hit a similarly well-placed approach with an 8-iron to the same green that stopped around five feet from the hole, 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 was Moore's third PGA Tour title and came nearly a year after he won his second 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 was born last year; I won a week after [his birthday] this year."

Woodland, who was also trying to win his third PGA Tour title, had a chance to end things as dusk was descending in a steady rain on Sunday evening but he barely missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have given him the title.

"Obviously, I'd like to make that putt," Woodland said. "I hit it where I wanted to, 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."

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 also 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. To get a win this early in the season, it's just incredible, to be able to get some FedEx Cup points racked up," he said.

This story originally appeared on espn.com

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