KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 ― Veteran golfer Danny Chia secured his sixth appearance at the CIMB Classic after defeating rising star Gavin Green with a birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff at the CIMB National Championship yesterday.

Overnight leader Danny battled to a final round of three-under 69 at TPC Kuala Lumpur after overcoming an early triple bogey with eight birdies for a tournament aggregate of eight-under 280.

"It was by far the hardest event I had to fight back. Getting into the tournament again is great, and winning this event, beating Gavin in a playoff is very satisfying,” said Danny, a brand ambassador for MRCB.

The 44-year-old, who is also sponsored by Malay Mail, admitted he usually has trouble reading the greens at TPC KL but had no such problems this week.

"The last two days, something unusual happened — I putted really well!” he joked.

Trailing by three at the start of the day, Gavin forced a playoff with a glorious 66 highlighted by seven birdies. After both players parred on the first extra hole at the par five 18th, Danny claimed his third success at the qualifying tournament for the CIMB Classic with a birdie from six feet.

Only the winner earns an automatic ticket to the Classic but the 23-year-old Gavin will take heart he will likely earn a spot in the PGA Tour tournament through the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit as he is placed fourth.

Gavin needs to remain in the top-10 as of October 9 to qualify for the CIMB Classic for the second successive year. The highest ranked Malaysian on the Official World Golf Ranking as of Oct 2 will also earn a spot in the CIMB Classic.

Meanwhile, rookie professional Amir Nazrin Jailani finished a creditable third after signing off with a 69, which included a missed birdie attempt at the 18th hole which would have put him into the play-off.

Ben Leong, who held a one-shot lead at the turn, settled for fourth following a 70.