American Justin Thomas produced a stunning final-round performance to climb the leaderboard and successfully defend his CIMB Classic title in Malaysia.

A round of 71 on Saturday had seen Thomas start Sunday’s round three shots behind overnight leader Anirban Lahiri.

Both he and Russell Knox started on 15-under par but the latter eventually fell away, while Thomas continued to produce the goods.

Lahiri’s quadruple bogey nine at the third cost him dear, but Thomas produced a final round of 64 to finish on 23-under par, three clear of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (66).

Thomas claimed his second PGA Tour title relatively comfortably in the end, 12 months after tasting success at the same course.

After getting the new season off to a solid start, the 23-year-old is now determined to climb the world rankings.

He told reporters: “I got a great start and I really was very pleased with how I felt like I handled myself and how I felt out there.

“I feel like I just need to continue to build on this momentum and try to use this as kind of a springboard to the start of the year.

“To try to move up in the world rankings and get in that top ten, get in that top five.”

Thomas’ win secured him 500 FedEx Cup points and an invite to the winners-only 2017 Tournament of Champions.

He will now head to Shanghai ahead of next week’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.