Catlin captures second title at Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
John Catlin of the United States receives the trophy from Sinead El Sibai, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Dubai Duty Free, following his victory in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in Ballymena, Northern Ireland
John Catlin overturned a four-stroke deficit at Galgorm Castle Golf Club, firing a sublime final round 64 to win his second European Tour title of the season at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
The American golfer, who held off the challenge of former World Number One, Martin Kaymer, to win the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters earlier this month, began the day four strokes behind 54-hole leader, Aaron Rai, but quickly moved up the leaderboard as he made the turn in three under par.
Rai birdied the 17th to move to nine under, needing a birdie to force a play-off, but an errant second shot found trouble on the left hand side of the green and a dropped shot handed Catlin his second victory in four weeks – elevating him to 14th in the Race to Dubai presented by Rolex in the process.
Australia’s Maverick Antcliff and Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond shared third place on seven under par, while the Swedish duo of Joakim Lagergren and Oscar Lengden finished tied for fifth.
"It’s pretty hard to describe. So many years of hard work have gone into this moment. It was my goal to win again at the start of this week, to have accomplished it is something truly, truly special…I’ve always wanted to play in the Majors, that’s the only level of golf I haven’t played at. Hopefully, one day I can win one of those as well. To have gotten inside that top 100 is a big leap forward,” says Catlin.
Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free, offered his congratulations to John Catlin. “Despite the fact that this tournament was played behind closed doors there was certainly no shortage of excitement on the golf course. It is great to see golf returning and we would like to thank the players, the European Tour and the team at Galgorm Castle Golf Club for their hard work.
This has been a challenging year for everyone but we are happy to have retained our sponsorship support for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open despite the challenges. This sponsorship promotes our brand to a huge TV audience and helps promote the fact that Dubai is very much Open for Business,” adds McLoughlin.
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