Thai Open win ‘means a lot’ to Catlin
American sinks Pavit and Kapur in play-off
CHACHOENGSAO: American John Catlin secured his fourth Asian Tour victory in style after his spectacular approach on the first play-off hole yielded a birdie and saw him defeat India’s Shiv Kapur and local hotshot Pavit Tangkamolprasert at the Thailand Open yesterday.
The 28-year-old Catlin, who claimed three victories over a span of five months in 2018, had missed a birdie chance by an inch on the 72nd hole after chipping from off the green to settle for a closing four-under-par 67 at the Thai Country Club.
Catlin, who is based in Hua Hin, had to go the distance with Kapur and Pavit, who returned with matching 65s, after they were all tied at the top on 11-under 273 total in regulation play at the US$300,000 full-field event.
The sudden death play-off, which was held on the par-four, 466-yard 18th hole, saw Catlin finding the fairway on the left side with his tee shot while Kapur and Pavit hit into the left and right rough respectively.
“This win means a lot to me. It means a lot to me winning in Thailand,” said Catlin. “I have lived here for three years. The people here has been so kind and this place is starting to feel like a second home to me. To win the national Open here means the world to me. It’s like a dream come true.”
Kapur sent his second shot through the trees and onto the green but left himself a long birdie putt from about 80 feet which he did not manage to convert. Pavit’s second shot found the left bunker, where he hit a 35-yard shot from there to about 12 feet.
Despite failing to pip Catlin to the title, Kapur and Pavit took pride with their runner-up finishes in the Kingdom’s national Open, which would mark their best results yet on the Asian Tour so far this season.
“I am very happy with my result this week. I didn’t expect myself to play so good and give myself a chance to win the tournament for my country by getting into the play-off. I am pleased with the way I played even though I didn’t win,” said Pavit, who enjoyed a tied13th place finish at the Thailand Open last year.
“Hats off to John [Catlin] really. That second shot into 10 feet was just incredible. This result should boost my Order of Merit ranking quite a bit and take some pressure off my back now.”
Kapur said, “I had a lacklustre season prior to this week so this result will give me a lot of confidence heading into the remainder of the season. It’s a great boost for sure.”
American Trevor Simsby recorded a hole-in-one on the par-three 11th hole after his 7-iron from 176 yards found the bottom of the cup. He signed for an eventual 63 to match the course record set earlier by Kapur in the second round of the tournament.
Catlin took home the winner’s prize purse of $54,000 following his victory and propels to 31st place on the latest
Order of Merit.
Local amateur Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul shot a final round 71 to finish tied sixth on 275. The 19-yearold was the leader and co-leader in the first two rounds and began yesterday’s round one shot off the pace.
LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES
(par-71, a denotes amateur,
* won in sudden death play-off)
273 — John Catlin* (USA) 67-70-69-67, Shiv Kapur (IND) 74-63-71-65, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 70-70-68-65
274 — Wang Wei-lun (TPE) 70-67-70-67, Andrew Martin (AUS) 67-68-68-71
275 — Ben Leong (MAS) 71-67-71-66, Kim Joo-Hyung (KOR) 68-71-68-68, Phachara Khongwatmai (THA) 65-72-69-69, a-Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul (THA) 64-70-70-71, SSP Chawrasia (IND) 68-67-68-72 277 — Kim Tae-Woo #1468 (KOR) 69-70-71-67, Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 68-67-73-69, Suradit Yongcharoenchai (THA) 68-68-70-71
278 — Danthai Boonma (THA) 73-69-69-67, Jake Higginbottom (AUS) 70-69-71-68, Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 71-72-67-68, Miguel Tabuena (PHI) 70-70-69-69, Nicholas Latimer (USA) 69-71-68-70
279 — Shinichi Mizuno (JPN) 68-72-70-69, Lee SooMin (KOR) 66-72-71-70