The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
ROARINGTOSUCCESS
CatlinoverjoyedtofollowinTiger’sfootstepsatValderramaandpostfirstEuropeanTourwin
Amonth after he was removed from an event for breaching Covid-19 protocols, John Catlin won his maiden European Tour title in the Andalucia Masters as Martin Kaymer squandered the chance to end a six-year victory drought.
Catlin, who was withdrawn from the English Championship for a visit to a restaurant outside the tournament bubble, carded a birdie-free closing 75 at Valderrama to finish two over par, a shot ahead of former world number one Kaymer.
Kaymer missed close-range birdie chances on the 16th and 17th then bogeyed the last when he found sand with his approach and his long par putt pulled up just short of the hole.
Playing partner Catlin, who took a two-shot lead into the final round, got up and down for par from over the back of the 17th green and held his nerve to par the last and seal victory by a single shot.
“It’s awesome,” said Catlin, who joins Tiger Woods as the only American players to win at Valderrama. “Tiger is the guy that I grew up idolising. I hope one day
I can play against him, that’s my dream.
“I don’t think it’s quite sunk in that I’ve finally actually won but that was my goal at the start of 2019 to win on the European Tour.
“I wasn’t able to do it last year so it’s very, very nice to be able to get it done this week, especially on a beautiful
golf course and one that’s very, very demanding.
“It’s the biggest win of my career for sure. ”
Asked about the incident that led to he and his caddie being withdrawn before the start of the English Championship at Hanbury Manor, Catlin told the PA news agency: “There’s no real excuse
for what happened, I should have known better and I used it as a kind of wake-up call.
“I’d finished a practice round at about 8.45pm and we were staying at a hotel by Stansted Airport which was about 45 minutes’ drive away.
“I didn’t want to drive all the way back and not have them serve food so I
made a very poor judgment call and stopped in a pub. I believe the restaurant is the one that sent footage.”
Kaymer, whose last win was his second major title at the 2014 US Open, took the outright lead with a birdie to Catlin’s bogey on the 12th, but bogeyed the 13th.
Both players were unable to convert birdie chances on the 16th and Kaymer also missed from six feet on the par-five 17th.
The 35-year-old bogeyed the 17th at The Belfry seven days ago and missed out on a play-off place for the ISPS Handa UK Championship by a single shot.