Catlin wins three titles in Asian Tour single season

TAIPEI: American John Catlin shot a seven-under-par 65 to become the fifth person to win three titles in a single season on the Asian Tour at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Taiwan Sunday.

Catlin, who held a share of the lead since the second round, had a decisive birdie on 16 which gave him a two-shot lead going into the last two holes.“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,” Catlin said, referring to the upcoming CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur.

“If you told me I was going to play in a PGA Tour event six months ago, I would be like, it’s not going to happen. But now that I’ve got in, it’s amazing and I’m so excited to go there,” he added.

Sihwan Kim, another American was fighting with Catlin for the lead until the 16th hole where a bogey pegged him back to second place.Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao finished third at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club, a disappointment for his local fans.

Leading scores at the Yeangder TPC (par 72):

273 - John Catlin (USA) 70-68-70-65

275 - Sihwan Kim (USA) 69-71-69-66

276 - Hung Chien-yao (TPE) 66-74-68-68

277 - Viraj Madappa (IND) 76-66-67-68 280 - Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 73-70-71-66.