KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Justin Thomas overcame a double bogey on the 14th and some nervous moments on the final hole Sunday to win the CIMB Classic for his first PGA Tour title.

The 22-year-old American holed a 6-foot par putt on the par-5 18th for a one-stroke victory over Australian star Adam Scott. Thomas shot a 6-under 66 for a tournament-record 26-under 262 total at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

Thomas, who had a course-record 61 in the second round, seemed to have blown his chances when he hit into the water at 14, but immediately rallied with three consecutive birdies to take the outright lead.

Scott, playing two groups ahead, had an eagle and seven birdies in his closing 63.

Thomas led by a stroke coming to the par-5 final hole, which he had birdied on Saturday, but the required par did not come easily. He drove right of the fairway and his approach found the bunker short of the green. He blasted out to 20 feet, raced his first putt past the hole and holed the comebacker for the breakthrough victory.

“I still can’t believe what happened,” Thomas said. “I made that par to clinch the title. “I don’t care how I got it done, it just feels awesome,”

Thomas, a close friend of second-ranked Jordan Spieth, continued the early season trend of players in their early 20s claiming their first PGA Tour victories, after Emiliano Grillo at Silverado and Smylie Kaufman in Las Vegas.

The former Alabama star from Kentucky said he had been struggling with downhill lies, and that’s what caused the double bogey at 14.

“I had a big body of water in front of the green, but I told myself I’ve been controlling the tournament so I should not worry too much,” Thomas said. “I knew I had four more holes to try to make some more birdies and was fortunate enough get birdies in three of the last four holes.”

Scott had a shot at eagle on the last, but the putt was well off target, and that cost him a chance of forcing a playoff.

“Look, 35-footers breaking 4 feet are not gimmes. I threw everything I could at it today. I’m playing well, and that’s nice, because I haven’t played that well for a while,” Scott said.

He was aiming to take his form in Malaysia into next week’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China.

“It’s motivating for sure. I want to get up there and play and show them that the old dog’s still got something,” Scott said.

American Kevin Na and Brendan Steele tied for third at 24-under. Na had a 67, and Steele shot 68.

Na lipped out short putts at 16 and 17. He lost a playoff at Silverado and tied for second in Las Vegas in the previous two events. He also tied for second last year in Malaysia, and has eight seconds and seven thirds on the tour against just one win.

Two-time defending champion Ryan Moore had a 69 to tie for 10th at 17 under.

David Hearn finished as the top Canadian. He tied for 29th at 11 under.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Justin Thomas birdied the final two holes to shoot a 5-under 67 at the CIMB Classic on Saturday and a share of the lead with American compatriot Brendan Steele going into the final round of the PGA Tour’s Malaysian event.

Second-round leader Thomas had an eventful round of eight birdies and three bogeys at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to reach 20-under 196, level with Steele, who had a bogey-free 66.

They were a shot clear of last year’s runner-up Kevin Na, who had the equal-best round of the day with a 64.

With only four strokes separating the top nine players, including former No.1 Adam Scott, and the course offering plenty of opportunities to pick up strokes, a close finish looms on Sunday.

Scott (66) and first-round leader Scott Piercy (69) were tied at 16-under, a shot behind a group of four players: Americans James Hahn (64), Brian Harman (66) and Spencer Levin (68) plus Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (68).

Steele has 13 birdies, an eagle and no bogeys over the second and third rounds, and that flawless performance has put him position to push for his second victory on tour, after the 2011 Texas Open.

Earlier this month, he also led into the final round of the Frys.com Open only to slide out of contention with a final-round 76.

“I learned a lot from it,” Steele said. “Feel like I’m in a better place now, mentally. I’ll be trying to be a little bit more patient and a little bit more positive, not kind of put so much pressure on myself.”

Thomas, who is chasing his maiden tour title, rued a series of putts that came close but didn’t drop.

“This is where you want to put yourself at every event,” Thomas said. “I’m just going to use my past learning experiences in the other events I’ve played in and just try to go out there and hit a bunch of fairways.

“I’m not driving too well and if I can hit more fairways, I can attack a little bit more. That is what I’ll aim for tomorrow. I’m just going to focus on that and try to go make as many birdies as I can.”

Na, the 32-year-old Korean American who has a history of coming close to tournament titles but missing the big prize, feels his luck may have turned after an extraordinary recovery at the par-5 10th hole.

He drove into the rough, his next shot hit a tree than a cart path and bounced back among the trees, but his approach shot to the green found the hole for a remarkable birdie.

“Eight times in my career I finished second,” Na said. “I got to keep the streak alive. Worst case, I win, right?” joked Na, who finished runner-up to Ryan Moore a year ago.

“I’ve been unlucky a few times. But you know what? The last few weeks I’ve never felt so comfortable coming down the stretch. I’ve been getting a lot of compliments from my friends and coaches and family members, friends, saying how comfortable I looked.”

Two-time defending champion Moore had his best round of the tournament with a 66 to be six shots off the pace and in contention to emulate Steve Stricker as the only player win a PGA Tour event three straight years. Stricker won the John Deere Classic from 2009-2011.

Canada’s David Hearn is tied for 37th at 7-under.

JUPITER, Fla. – Tiger Woods says he had a follow-up procedure on his back to relieve discomfort.

Charles Rich, the neurosurgeon who performed the procedure Wednesday in Utah, said on Woods’ website that he was doing well and a full recovery was expected. He did not say what the procedure involved.

Woods first had a microdiscectomy a week before the 2014 Masters that kept him out three months. He later said he returned too early. He had another microdiscectomy Sept. 16 that ended his year.

Woods said on his website that “it’s one of those things that had to be done.” There was no timetable on his return.

He canceled a press conference Wednesday for his Hero World Challenge, though he still plans to attend the Dec. 3-6 event in The Bahamas.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Justin Thomas had an eagle and nine birdies in shooting a course-record 61 at the CIMB Classic on Friday, taking the lead into the weekend at the PGA Tour’s event in Malaysia.

Thomas moved to 15-under 129 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club for a one-stroke lead on American compatriot Brendan Steele, who shot a 63 and matched Thomas by having an eagle at the par-5 3rd hole.

First-round leader Scott Piercy overcame two early bogeys to shoot a 69 and take a share of third place, two shots off the leader, along with Spencer Levin, who had a round of 64, and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who shot 66.

Former No.1 Adam Scott was at 10 under, and two-time defending champion Ryan Moore at 8 under.

 Canada’s David Hearn shot a 65 Friday to climb into a tie for 12th at 9-under.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Scott Piercy allied some crisp putting to solid tee-to-green play and shot a flawless 10-under 62 on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic.

The American made 10 birdies at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club to pull away from Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who had eight birdies and a bogey in his 65.

Piercy’s 10-under score matched the tournament record set by Nick Watney, who had a 61 at the par-71 Mines Resort and Golf Club in 2012.

Jason Gore was tied for third on 66 with American compatriots Keagan Bradley and Charles Howell III plus Germany’s Alex Cejka and Cameron Smith of Australia. Eight players shared eighth place on 67, including last year’s runner up Kevin Na.

Two-time defending champion Ryan Moore was again in contention, tied for seventh with seven others on five-under 67.

Adam Scott was tied for 16th on 68 in a group of 10 players including Padraig Harrington and Scott Brown, who made up for an earlier double bogey by sinking a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th and winning a BMW sports car as reward.

Piercy’s 10-under was his lowest round since a closing 61 at the Phoenix Open two years ago.

The Las Vegas native, who turns 37 next week, started brightly with birdies on the first three holes and also finished well with birdies on 17 and 18.

Piercy began the new PGA season with a tie for 25th at the Shriners Hospitals for Children, and blamed bad putting for disguising a game he otherwise felt “was in a good spot.”

“I made the putts I didn’t last week and got a little lucky as well,” Piercy said.

One of the “lucky” holes was the par-4 13th, where his approach shot dropped ten feet below the green, but he managed to chip in for birdie.

“It was good fortune, a good break and it was nice to see the ball go in,” said Piercy, who has three PGA Tour victories, including the Barbasol Championship in July and the 2012 RBC Canadian Open.

“I only missed three or four greens today so if you got 14 chances, you’re doing pretty good.”

Matsuyama said he aimed to get plenty of rest ahead of another round Friday in the draining tropical heat.

“In this weather, you can’t beat yourself too much. I’ll practice a little bit and head back to the hotel,” said the 23-year-old Japanese.

“I hit my driver really well today and that was the reason for my low score. This is my third time here and I love the course. Playing the last couple of years prepared me for that.”

Former world No. 1 Scott was satisfied with his 68 and being in a good position to challenge for the lead in the coming days.

The Australian, now 16th in the world, had an eagle on the par-5 5th but also bogeys at 7 and 12.

“The greens are rolling so you could really make some putts and I should have done better but overall, I’m happy,” Scott said.

“We have to hit good shots as there are some trick lies and you have to play solid. You need to play good shots to get a good score.”

Brantford, Ont.’s David Hearn carded a 70 and has a share of 33rd, while Abbotsford, B.C.’s Nick Taylor had a 74 to sit T72.

LAS VEGAS – Smylie Kaufman won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on Sunday in his fifth PGA Tour start, shooting a 10-under 61 and waiting more than two hours while rival after rival fell short.

Kaufman played the final 11 holes in 9 under with an eagle and seven birdies. He set up the eagle with a 3-wood drive to 15 feet on the par-4 15th and closed with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to post 16-under 268 at TPC Summerlin.

Kevin Na, third-round leader Brett Stegmaier, Patton Kizzire, Cameron Tringale, Jason Bohn and Alex Cejka tied for second, a stroke back.

Na, coming off playoff loss last week to Emiliano Grillo in the season-opening event in Napa, California, made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-5 16th to tie for the lead, but bogeyed the par-3 17th after flubbing a chip, and missed a 15-foot birdie try on 18.

Stegmaier had the last chance to force a playoff, but hit his approach on 18 into the left fringe and came up short on a 20-foot birdie try.

Kaufman became the second straight rookie winner on the tour, earning $1,152,000 and a spot in the Masters. The 23-year-old former LSU player from Birmingham, Alabama, began the year with no tour status, won a Web.com Tour event in May and earned a PGA Tour card with a high finish on the money list.

Na, the 2011 Las Vegas winner for his lone PGA Tour title, finished with a 67. Stegmaier shot 69, Kizzire 63, and Tringale, Bohn and Cejka 66.

William McGirt and Chad Campbell tied for eighth at 14 under. McGirt had a 62, going 9 under in a nine-hole stretch that ended with an eagle on the par-5 16th. Campbell had a 68.

Rickie Fowler finished with a 68 to tie for 25th with Canada’s David Hearn and Nick Taylor at 9 under. Jimmy Walker, playing alongside Na in the second-to-last group, had a 78 to fall into a tie for 50th at 4 under.

LAS VEGAS – Brett Stegmaier birdied the final hole Saturday for a 3-under 68 and a one-stroke lead in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Making his fifth career PGA Tour start, Stegmaier rebounded for a bogey on the par-3 17th with a 13-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to reach 13-under 68. The 32-year-old former University of Florida player completed a second-round 66 on Saturday morning for a share of the lead.

“It played a little tougher, so played a little more conservatively,” Stegmaier said. “Certainly happy to make four birdies and one bogey and be in the lead.”

He’s sticking with a simple approach.

“Just do the same things, not really look at leaderboards until maybe the last three holes,” Stegmaier said. “I’ve played really well the last two months. Been doing the same things, just try and read the greens well. I feel like if I read the greens well, I’ll play well. That’s the main goal tomorrow.”

Morgan Hoffman was second after a 66. After making four birdies in a four-hole stretch, he hooked his drive on 18 into the desert rocks and ended up saving bogey with a 10-foot putt.

“I was just saying if I could see the ball in there and it wasn’t in the bush, I’d give it a shot,” Hoffmann said. “Yeah, lucky to get out of there with bogey.”

Jimmy Walker, former UNLV player Chad Campbell and 2011 winner Kevin Na were tied for third at 11 under. Walker had a 69, Na shot 68, and Campbell 70.

“I think that the pins are a lot more difficult than they normally are, a lot of tough pins,” Walker said. “It’s like they don’t want us to make birdies. A lot of holes, par is pretty good here.”

Campbell agreed.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of low scores,” Campbell said. “It was pretty hard to get to those pins. But I feel like I played OK, and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Alex Cejka had a hole-in-one on the 212-yard 17th in a 66 that left him at 10 under along with Canada’s Nick Taylor (67), Jason Bohn (69) and Cameron Tringale (70).

Cejka won the Puerto Rico Open last year for his first PGA Tour title. The 44-year-old Czech-born German lives in Las Vegas.

“It was a good 6-iron for me, perfect yardage,” Cejka said. “I tried to hit it a little bit right. I struck it well, and pitched pretty good and was rolling toward the pin and then suddenly disappeared. It’s a great bonus, especially in front of the home crowd here, and then to top it off with a birdie on 18, that’s fabulous.”

Rickie Fowler was tied for 28th at 6 under after a 70, playing the last four holes in even par without making a par. He eagled the short par-4 15th, hitting a drive to 5 feet, then hit into the water on the next two holes for a bogey on the par-5 16th and a double on the par-3 17th. He birdied the par-4 18th with a 12-foot putt.

“It was a little irritating,” Fowler said. “Sixteen and 17 cost me a lot of shots this week. It would be nice to possibly get some back there. I haven’t made particularly bad swings, just hit it kind of the wrong directions at the wrong time.”

LAS VEGAS – Brett Stegmaier topped the leaderboard Friday in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in only his fifth career start on the PGA Tour.

The 32-year-old former University of Florida player was 6 under for the round and 11 under overall with three holes left when second-round play was suspended because of darkness. He will resume play Saturday morning with a 14-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh.

“It was kind of downhill and the greens were bumpy,” Stegmaier said. “They’ll be better in the morning. It was a no-brainer.”

Stegmaier eagled the par-5 16th on his opening nine and had four birdies on the 15 holes he was able to finish at TPC Summerlin. He earned a tour card in the Web.com Tour Finals series.

“A month ago I wasn’t even guaranteed Web.com status for next year,” Stegmaier said. “Just kind of turned it on at the end of the year, figured a couple things out.”

Former UNLV player Chad Campbell was a stroke back along with Morgan Hoffmann and Tyler Aldridge. The 41-year-old Campbell had a 4-under 67. He won the last of his four PGA Tour titles in 2007.

“This course, you’ve got to keep making birdies,” Campbell said. “You know, there’s a lot of par 5s out there that are reachable. I think in the past it’s been at least 20 under wins, so you’ve got to keep making birdies and keep being aggressive.”

Aldridge birdied three of the last four holes, hitting a 134-yard shot to inches on the par-4 18th.

“Honestly, I was just playing a little right and had a little bit of a draw and landed right next to the hole,” Aldridge said. “I’ve been hitting it well all week. I was playing a little conservative, a little right of it, and the wind was off the right, and I just hit one in there close.”

Arriving at the course at 5:30 a.m., the Web.com Tour graduate completed a 64 in the morning for a share of the first-round lead.

“I’m tired,” Aldridge said. “I’m going to go home, get some rest, and be ready for tomorrow.”

Hoffmann shot a 66, and Aldridge had a 68.

“The greens got kind of firm. They got bumpy, too,” Hoffmann said. “But the fairways are great and the greens will roll true in the morning, so looking forward to the morning.”

U.S. Presidents Cup player Jimmy Walker topped the group at 9 under after a 67.

“I like the golf course. I like the town and the weather is great,” Walker said. “I have just fun memories of the place. It’s nice to have a place that you enjoy showing up to and look forward to playing more golf.”

Mark Hubbard was 9 under with two holes left. He got into the field as an alternate when Matt Every withdrew.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was the top Canuck at 7-under.

Rickie Fowler followed his opening 72 with a 65 to reach 5 under. He eagled the par-5 13th in a back-nine 30.

“I started to play a little bit more aggressive, tried to kind of get after some pins and give myself some chances at birdies,” Fowler said. “Been swinging all right, didn’t hit the center of the face a whole lot yesterday. I started to get a little bit of that on the front nine today and made a couple good swings, 10, 11, got things going, made a few putts, and finally got a few things going my way. Nice to have a tee time tomorrow.”

Defending champion Ben Martin was 4 under after a 68.

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, a playoff winner Sunday in the season-opening Frys.com Open in Napa, California, missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 70.

LAS VEGAS – Canada’s David Hearn birdied his final three holes in perfect morning conditions for a 7-under 64 and a share of the lead Thursday in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Michael Thompson, Mark Hubbard and Tyler Aldridge also topped the leaderboard at TPC Summerlin. Aldridge had two holes left when first-round play was suspended because of darkness.

Hearn, of Brantford, Ont., had eight birdies and a bogey.

“The course was playing pretty much perfect as it’s going to get,” Hearn said. “The greens were great this morning. I think that there’s a reason there’s a lot of good scores on that board. It’s because the course is in such good shape.”

Patrick Rodgers, Patton Kizzire, Chad Campbell, Ryan Palmer, Ricky Barnes, D.H. Lee, Ryo Ishikawa, Greg Owen, Shane Bertsch and Brendon Todd shot 65, and Henrik Norlander also was 6 under with two holes left.

Lee birdied six of his first seven holes, then bogeyed the next two.

Kizzire is making his first start as a PGA Tour member after winning twice last year on the Web.com Tour and topping the regular-season and finals-combined money lists. He was married Saturday.

Jimmy Walker opened with a 66, and U.S. Presidents Cup teammate Rickie Fowler had a 72. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 66 while fellow Abbotsford native Adam Hadwin had a 70. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot 72.

Thompson and Hubbard eagled the par-5 16th, with Hubbard holing 30-foot putt and Thompson a 25-footer in their morning rounds. Thompson also had seven birdies and a double bogey.

“It definitely helps when there’s no wind and real calm and sunny,” Thompson said. “The only thing that we really have to consider is the cold in the morning. … It helps when the greens are a little bit receptive and they’re rolling perfect.”

Hubbard had the eagle, six birdies and a bogey. He played a three-hole stretch in 4 under with birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 and the eagle on 16, but bogeyed the 17th and closed with a par.

“I’ve kind of just taken a little bit of a chill pill recently, and I’m playing a lot better golf,” Hubbard said.

He got into the field as an alternate when Matt Every withdrew.

“It’s a nice opportunity to have,” Hubbard said.

Walker closed with a bogey on the par-5 ninth.

“It stings a little bit, bogeying nine, but just didn’t hit a very good tee ball,” Walker said. “I played real solid all day, made a lot of great putts. A lot of good par putts. It was a nice, solid day. Just kind of kept the ball out in front of me. I also felt like they had some pretty tough pins today, actually. It wasn’t like you were just throwing darts.”

Fowler had a double bogey after hitting into the water on the par-3 17th.

“It wasn’t playing very tough by any means,” Fowler said. “You just had to hit a 7-iron out right of the hole. You can’t hit it left. I hit it left. … I just made a bad swing. I didn’t hit my irons and wedges very well today.”

Defending champion Ben Martin shot a 70.

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, a playoff winner Sunday in the season-opening Frys.com Open in Napa, California, had a 74.

U.S. Walker Cup teammates Denny McCarthy and Hunter Stewart made their pro debuts. Stewart had a 72, and McCarthy was 3 over with one hole left. McCarthy played at Virginia, and Stewart at Vanderbilt.

MEXICO CITY – Tiger Woods has not started rehabilitation for a second back surgery he had a month ago, and he said Tuesday he would face another “tedious and long” process that suggests it might be awhile before he competes again.

Woods last played at the Wyndham Champion on Aug. 23, where he tied for 10th for his best finish at a PGA Tour event in nearly two years.

In a surprise announcement Sept. 18, he said he had a second back surgery after doctors during a routine check discovered a fragmented disc pinching a nerve. Woods had his first surgery just before the 2014 Masters and missed nearly three months. He said later he came back too early.

“Rehab will be soon, and it will be tedious and long,” Woods said at the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup, an exhibition he was supposed to play with Matt Kuchar until the second surgery. “The last one, it took me awhile to get back. Some players on tour have done the same procedure and to be back pain-free it took them over a year.”

Woods hasn’t won since the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational for his 79th career win on the PGA Tour, just three short of the record held by Sam Snead.

For most of his career, the record with which he was compared was Jack Nicklaus and his 18 professional majors. Woods won his 14th major at the 2008 U.S. Open, and had reconstructive surgery on his left knee a week later.

Woods turn 40 in December. Nicklaus won only three of his 18 majors after he turned 40.

Woods, who dropped to No. 334 in the world ranking this week, has not given up on catching Nicklaus. He just figures he will have to play like Vijay Singh, who won 22 times (but only one major) in his 40s.

“It’s important for me to have more than 18 majors when all is said and done,” Woods said. “It took Jack his whole career to achieve it and mine is not done yet. I believe that I have a very good record for 20 years on the tour. The main thing is to get fit and to reach my 40s with good health to be as successful as Vijay, who won most of his tournaments at that age.

“It’s something that I hope I will be able to do,” he said. “I want to play at an elite level with the new kids for a long, long time.”

What might help this time around is that Woods said he won’t be changing his swing. After returning too early in 2014 from back surgery, he took off the final three months to get stronger and left his swing coach, hiring Chris Como as a consultant.

Woods doesn’t think he’s that far off from 2013, when he won five times and was PGA Tour player of the year.

“But to achieve it, I need to be healthy again,” he said. “This year I tried to play after the back surgery and it wasn’t fun because all of the pain. Also after my last surgery, I was changing my swing and to be able to do that successfully you have to practice a lot, and I could not practice because I was doing the rehab.

“It was a very complicated situation because of that.”

There was no timetable on when he would start rehabilitation or when he would return. Woods typically doesn’t start a new year until the Farmers Insurance Open, which starts the last week of January. That appeared doubtful.

The Masters, which he missed in 2014 for the first time, is April 7-10.

“I need to return with my explosiveness, and to do that, I need to practice for longer periods of time,” he said. “It’s going to take several months of hard work”.