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Van Pelt wins CIMB Asia Pacific Classic by six thanks to late birdie run

By Associated Press
Published on
Van Pelt wins CIMB Asia Pacific Classic by six thanks to late birdie run

Bo Van Pelt ran away with the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic on Sunday in hot and humid conditions, birdieing five of the last eight holes for a 7-under 64 and a six-stroke victory over the 47 other players in the small field.

"I've watched other guys coming down 18 with a big lead and I thought, `That would be fun some day if I could do that.' And it was," Van Pelt said, "I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I get to do what I love to do for a living."

The winner of the PGA Tour's 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, Van Pelt finished at 23 under at The Mines Resort and Golf Club, and earned $1.3 million in the second-year event sanctioned by the PGA Tour and Asian Tour.

"I've had a couple of chances to win this year, but didn't come out on top," Van Pelt said. "Canada was a tough pill to swallow. I just wanted to learn from that and do a better job when I had the lead. I take a lot of satisfaction in how I played today."

Fellow Indiana player Jeff Overton was second after a 69.

"That was one of the best rounds of golf I've seen," Overton said about Van Pelt. "I didn't play a great round. I played a solid round. I kind of had a couple of hiccups. He birdied some holes that I bogeyed and those were huge momentum shifters."

Van Pelt pulled away with birdies on Nos. 13-15, hitting within a foot on the par-4 13th and par-3 14th and holing a 4-footer on the short par-4 15th after driving into a greenside bunker. He added a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th.

"I played well all day," Van Pelt said. "I didn't make any bogeys. I just tried to play to game plan all week."

The 36-year-old former Oklahoma State player opened with rounds of 66, 64 and 67 to take a one-stroke lead over Overton into the final round.

"My swing felt good right at the first warmup and I kind of continued that all week and had confidence with what I wanted to do with my golf swing," Van Pelt said.

Fredrik Jacobson had a 68 to finish third at 16 under, and Cameron Tringale (64), Camilo Villegas (66) and Mark Wilson (69) were 15 under.

"I had a hard time getting the putter going yesterday and the front side today," Jacobson said. "I was lucky that I still shot 4 under on the back nine to finish third. Overall, a very good week after a month break."