Perez waits out major delay, leads CIMB Classic

May 13, 2019

646

A weather delay of nearly four hours couldn’t damper Pat Perez on Day 2 of the CIMB Classic. Perez shot 7-under 65 and leads Xander Schauffele by a shot entering weekend play. Here’s how things played out on Day 2 in Malaysia:

Leaderboard: Perez (-13), Schauffele (-12), Sung Kang (-9), Cameron Smith (-9), Thomas Pieters (-9), Keegan Bradley (-8)

What it means: A year ago at this time, Perez was one of the eight players who received an invitation to compete. He tied for 33^rd in the 78-man field, but won two starts later – his first Tour title in eight years – at the Mayakoba event and resurrected his career. Perez is now 31^st in the Official World Golf Ranking and a legit threat to close the deal over the final 36 holes.

Round of the day: Perez’s 65. Perez was shocked to learn that he didn’t have a bogey in his opening round. He had one in Round 2, but also had eight birdies. For the record, that’s 14 birdies and one bogey over two days at TPC Kuala Lumpur. Not bad for a 41-year-old in some intense heat.

CIMB Classic: Articles, photos and videos

Full-field scores from the CIMB Classic

Best of the rest: Perez may have grabbed the lead with his 65, but it wasn’t the lowest score of the day. Paul Casey shot 9-under 63 on Friday. He was 14 shots better than in his opening 77. Casey had 10 birdies and one bogey, going from near the bottom of the ‘board to the cusp of the top 20.

Biggest disappointment: Players champion Si Woo Kim continued to display poor form, shooting 78. But it was a pair of players near the top of the Day 1 leaderboard who were the biggest disappointments. Kevin Na and Gary Woodland went from two back to eight back after a pair of 73’s. Two-time defending champion Justin Thomas is at 3 under, 10 back, following a 71.

Shot of the day: After waiting about four hours for his eagle attempt on the par-5 third, Schauffele did this immediately upon the resumption of play:

He's in the lead thanks to putts like this. @XSchauffele starts strong in Round 2. #QuickHits
Par
Par
Eagle
Par
Birdie pic.twitter.com/RC6THcYrcc
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 13, 2017

Shot of the day, Part II: Luke List found the water off the tee at the par-5 fifth. He still made birdie.