Linkou: John Catlin of the United States became the fifth player to win three titles in a single season on the Asian Tour when he signed off with a flawless seven-under-par 65 to claim the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship yesterday.
American Kim Si-Hwan tussled with Catlin for the outright lead right until the 16th hole where a costly bogey pegged him back to second place in the US$500,000 event.
The local hopes of seeing another home winner were dashed as Taiwan's Hung Chien-yao could not surmount the late charge needed and ended his week in third place at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.
India's Viraj Madappa enjoyed a welcome return to form by finishing fourth after missing three cuts since his maiden breakthrough victory at home in in August.
Catlin, who held a share of the lead since the second round, made a decisive birdie on 16 that gave him a two-shot cushion heading into his final two holes.
That advantage provided him with much needed relief as two straight pars on 17 and 18 saw him close with a winning total of 15-under-par 273 and emerge as the newest winner.
"This win means a lot to me. All the pressure of trying to qualify for CIMB next week and not knowing where I was standing. And to be able to stand up to that is just awesome. That's why you work so hard for. That's why you put in all those hours in preparation for rounds like today," said Catlin.
"I told myself to hit the fairways and the birdie putt on 16 was huge. It was massive having a two-shot lead going into the last two holes. Because if you only got one-shot lead, anything can happen on the 18th hole. I made a lot of really good putts and that's what's you got to especially when someone is chasing you."
Thai duo Panuphol Pittayarat (72) and Prom Meesawat (71) finished tied sixth with Ireland's Niall Turner (70) and Ben Leong (67) of Malaysia on seven-under 281.