“It’s pretty crazy. It hasn’t totally sunk in yet.”
John Catlin has three wins on the DP World Tour and four Asian Tour wins. But his latest feat is why his name will be known by more golfers now than ever.
Catlin, a 33-year-old American, shot 11-under 59 after holing a 20-foot eagle putt on the final hole Saturday at the Asian Tour’s International Series Macau event in China. He became the first player to break 60 in Asian Tour history, and his bogey-free performance helped him take the lead heading into the final round at Macau Golf & Country Club.
“Yeah, I’m pretty much speechless,” Catlin said, who later said all of his passwords end with 59. “It’s pretty crazy. It hasn’t totally sunk in yet. Wow. Yeah, the emotions are hitting me for sure. Just everything I’ve been through over the last two years. To be here. It’s pretty special.”
Catlin sits at 18 under for the tournament, beating LIV Golf’s Jason Kokrak by two shots. Kokrak and Lucas Herbert each shot 62 on the par-70 layout.
The purse is $2 million at the second International Series event of the year.
After making double on the par-5 last on Friday, McIlroy opened his Saturday stroll with a bogey. He would bounce back quickly, however, making three birdies before making the turn with a 3-under 33. The four-time major champion would add three more birdies and a bogey to his scorecard coming home for a third-round 5-under 67.
“Thought I did well considering the start. I hit a nice little snap-hook 3-wood off the first tee,” McIlroy said with a smile following a birdie on 18 Saturday. “After the bogey on one, responded well with birdies on two and three.”
The highlight of the Irishman’s round was what he called “a good bogey.”
“I just thought it was important to make birdie at the last, to get into the final group as well. I knew that putt was probably to get into the final group, and I wanted to do that.”
McIlroy has the chance to be the first player to ever win this championship for the third time.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m right where I want to be, I want to be contending on Sundays in golf tournaments. I feel like I’m back to playing the way I should, and the way that will get me back contending. I’m excited.”
Rory McIlroy poses with the trophies for winning the Race To Dubai and DP World Tour Championship in 2015.
Just one shot back of McIlroy is Sam Horsfield, who admittedly didn’t quite have his A-game on Saturday.
“It was a little sloppy, it wasn’t my best stuff. It was nice to make that eagle on 14, made like a 60 footer across the green, so that was nice,” Horsfield said after his round. “I got a little aggressive on 18 trying to hit driver up there in the narrow part and it bit me in the butt.”
Horsfield will look to win for the third time on the European Tour, and first since August 2020.
Two back of McIlroy sits Alexander Bjork, and Robert MacIntyre. 36-hole leader Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, John Catlin, and Joachim Hansen sit three back at 11 under.
John Catlin was assessed a one-stroke penalty after receiving his second bad time during the first round of the 103rd PGA Championship.
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — John Catlin received a one-stroke penalty during the first round of the 103rd PGA Championship for a breach of the pace of play policy.
Catlin, a 30-year-old American who competes regularly on the European Tour and was awarded a special exemption into his first major, was timed taking 74 seconds to play his second shot at the 16th hole, his seventh hole of the first round at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort. The first bad time resulted in a pace of play warning. His second bad time took place while playing Hole No. 3 (his 12th hole), where he took 63 seconds for his second shot, resulting in a one-stroke Pace of Play Penalty.
The PGA of America has adopted a Pace of Play Policy under Rule 5.6b(3) of the Rules of Golf to encourage and enforce prompt play. Asked to comment on the penalty, Catlin said in a text, “Honestly, just moving on.”
He shot 3-over 75.
Pace-of-play penalties are rarely called on the PGA Tour. In fact, the last time a player was docked for slow play at a major was at the 2013 Masters. On that occasion, 14-year-old Tianlang Guan was the guilty party.
John Catlin went five extra holes with Max Kieffer at the Austrian Open to win his third European Tour title.
John Catlin’s third European Tour title in eight months didn’t come easily. In fact it took five extra holes against Maximilian Kieffer at the Austrian Open for Catlin, a 30-year-old from California, to come out on top.
Catlin played the final round at Diamond Country Club near Vienna, Austria, in 7-under 65, which was one better than Kieffer’s closing 66. Catlin was bogey-free in the final round, but Kieffer tossed in a pair of bogeys offset by an eagle at the par-5 fourth.
By the end of the day, when both were locked in at 14 under, they returned to par-3 18th for sudden death. After trading two pars, both made birdie the third time down the hole. The two both parred again on the fourth extra hole, with Catlin getting his with an up-and-down from a bunker. Finally, Kieffer found water off the tee and twice from the drop zone to allow Catlin to win with bogey.
Catlin’s European Tour resume also includes victories at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the Andalucia Masters in 2020. This makes it three wins in his last 13 starts and moves him into the top 25 on the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex after finishing 35th in the season-long standings last year.
“I’d love to crack that top 50 in the world,” said Catlin, who started the week ranked No. 124 in the Official World Golf Ranking. “Just get a chance to play in some major championships – I’ve actually never played in a major. I’m thinking this gives me a very good chance to play in the U.S. PGA Championship, that was kind of my goal.
“Hopefully it’s good enough and to get into those events and to have the chance to win a major, that’s been my goal since I was a kid.
“Winning is never easy, it doesn’t matter what tour you’re playing on and to have gotten this one is definitely something special.”
Martin Kaymer finished the third round of the Austrian Open with a 69, and has a piece of the 54-hole lead at Diamond Country Club.
Martin Kaymer overcame a pair of bogeys to finish the third round of the Austrian Golf Open with a 69, giving the 11-time European Tour champ a piece of the 54-hole lead at Diamond Country Club near Vienna.
Kaymer is nine under, as is Alejandro Canizares, who shot a 70 on Saturday to grab a share of the lead.
American John Catlin is two shots back after struggling a bit en route to a 71. The University of New Mexico product held the lead after the second round, but suffered through a rough three-hole stretch in the middle of his round that dropped him out of the lead. He rebounded with birdies on three of the final seven holes to get close to the top again.
As for Kaymer, he made bogey on the 15th hole, but followed by burying a long putt on No. 16 to get back into the lead.
Aside from Kaymer, the only player from the world’s top 100 within seven shots of the lead is American Kurt Kitayama, who is at 2 under for the tournament after a 71 on Saturday.
John Catlin birdied three of his final four holes on Sunday to win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
It has been a fine fall for John Catlin. The former University of New Mexico player birdied three of his final four holes on Sunday to win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. He rose seven spots on the leaderboard with his final-round 64 at Galgorm Golf Resort in Northern Ireland on a day when the players he was chasing couldn’t seem to get anything going.
Third-round leader Aaron Rai finished second after a closing even-par 70. Jazz Janewattananond and Maverick Antcliff tied for third at 7 under.
Catlin then joined Rai at the top with an 18-footer for birdie on No. 15. He stuck his approach to four feet at the next and made the putt to get to 9 under.
The third birdie, the one that sealed the win, came at the par-5 18th, where Catlin hit the green in two and two-putted as Rai bogeyed the 18th from a tough lie on his second shot.
Catlin is a four time winner on the Asian Tour but entered this season without full playing privileges after finishing 155th on the 2019 Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex. Now, only Catlin, Rasmus Hojgaard and Sam Horsfield have won multiple European Tour titles in 2020.
Interestingly, only two other Americans have won this event before Catlin. Ben Crenshaw won in 1976 and Hubert Green followed with his title the next year.
Roughly a month after he was removed from the European Tour for breaching COVID-19 protocols, John Catlin won the Andalucia Masters.
Roughly a month after he was removed from the European Tour for breaching COVID-19 protocols, former University of New Mexico star John Catlin has something to celebrate.
Catlin outlasted Martin Kaymer down the stretch to win the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama.
Kaymer finished with a bogey on the final hole, barely missing an effort from off the green, and Catlin tapped in for par to take the title.
In early August, Catlin and his caddie Nathan Mulrooney were removed from the English Championship after the pair dined a local restaurant outside the tournament bubble, “hence compromising the Tour’s health guidelines, and were withdrawn from the tournament with immediate effect as a result.”
The Sacramento, California, native had previously won four times on the Asian Tour, but never on the Euro Tour. In difficult conditions, Catlin finished with a 75 on Sunday to win the event at 2-over-par. Kaymer was stroke behind while Antoine Rozner, Wil Besseling and Justin Harding were all two off the top spot.
John Catlin took the early lead at European Tour Qualifying School, but there’s a lot of golf left at Lumine Golf Club in Tarragona, Spain.
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New Mexico graduate John Catlin will take a one-shot lead into the second round of the final stage of the European Tour Qualifying School after returning a bogey-free 6-under 65 over the Lakes Course at Lumine Golf Club in Tarragona, Spain.
Catlin needs another five good rounds to take one of the 25 cards on offer for the 2020 European Tour season.
“It’s only one of six rounds and it’s definitely a nice way to start, but there’s still a long way to go,” the Sacramento native said.
The 29-year-old switches to the Hills Course for Round 2. Catlin is in good form after winning last week’s Thailand Open on the Asian Tour.
“Winning my fourth title on the Asian Tour and to win in Thailand where I’ve been living for the past three years was a great feeling. I know if I can take care of what I can take care of then I’ve got every chance of contending, and I’ve given myself the best chance possible.”
Catlin is keen to find a permanent home on the European Tour after honing his skills in Europe. In 21 starts this year, Catlin made 13 cuts with a best finish of 12th in the Made in Denmark tournament. However, he finished the season 155th on the Race to Dubai.
“It’s been absolutely fantastic to compete in Europe,” Catlin said. “It’s made me a better golfer for sure. You can see the difference coming from the Asian Tour to the European Tour which is the next step up and the margin of error is just that much smaller.”
Spain’s Alejandro Canizares is one of a group of six in second place. Canizares, who won the 2003 NCAA individual title while at Arizona State, returned a 5-under 66.
France’s Gregory Havret is tied for eighth at 4 under after a 68. Havret, runner up to Graeme McDowell in the 2010 U.S. Open, is a three-time European Tour winner.
Matteo Manassero’s travails continued with an opening 78. The four-time European Tour winner sits in 155th place, next-to-last out of the 156-man field.
