The PGA Tour begins its two-week stint in Asia this week with the CIMB Classic from Kuala Lumpur. Here are a few early-round groups to keep an eye on at the 78-man, no-cut event in Malaysia (all times ET):
8:25 p.m. Wednesday/9:25 p.m. Thursday: Patrick Reed, Ryan Moore, Sergio Garcia
This group constitutes a bit of a Ryder Cup reunion, as all three men are making their first starts since Hazeltine. Fresh off a compelling individual performance, Reed will be joined by two men who know this event well: Moore, who missed out on a three-peat in Kuala Lumpur last year, and Garcia, who tied for second in 2014.
8:35 p.m. Wednesday/9:35 p.m. Thursday: Ian Poulter, Ryo Ishikawa, Rafael Cabrera-Bello
Poulter finished T-28 last week in Macau in his first competitive start since May after surgery for a foot injury. He served as an assistant captain at the Ryder Cup, where Cabrera-Bello had a strong individual performance despite Team Europe’s defeat. Rounding out the group will be Ishikawa, the former prodigy who has dropped out of the OWGR top 100 after missing five months earlier this year and hasn’t played a PGA Tour event since Phoenix in February.
9:05 p.m. Wednesday/7:55 p.m. Thursday: Brendan Steele, Russell Knox, Gary Woodland
Steele rallied for his second career victory Sunday in Napa, but he’ll have little time to reflect on his victory before getting back to work. He’ll be joined by Knox, who won last year in Asia but was noticeably absent from the European squad at Hazeltine, while Woodland finished second to Moore at this event in both 2014 and 2015.
9:25 p.m. Wednesday/8:15 p.m. Thursday: Adam Scott, Justin Thomas, Jeunghun Wang
At world No. 6, Scott is the highest-ranked player in this week’s field and he’ll play the first two rounds alongside Thomas, who edged the Aussie at this event last year to record his first career PGA Tour victory. Rounding out the group will be Wang, who won back-to-back events on the European Tour in May.
