American John Catlin makes Asian Tour history, shoots 59 at International Series Macau event
- Catlin fires 11-under-par in third round at Macau Golf & Country Club, to move to 18-under overall
- American is the second golfer this year to manage rare feat, after Joaquin Niemann’s score at LIV Golf Mayakoba
John Catlin shot the first sub-60 round in Asian Tour history on Saturday, firing an 11-under-par 59 in the third round of the International Series Macau.
The American was left speechless after eagling the par-5 18th to reach the magic number, which moved him to 18 under after three rounds of the US$2 million event.
On another day of low scoring, Jason Kokrak carded an eight-under 62 to sit just two shots off the lead, with Lucas Herbert and Jbe Kruger in a tie for third at 15 under.
“I’m pretty much speechless,” Catlin said. “It hasn’t totally sunk in yet. Just everything I’ve been through over the last two years, to be here, it’s pretty special.”
The Asian Tour player of the year in 2018, Catlin put together seven wins over the course of three years between the circuit and the DP World Tour, but has struggled over the past 24 months, and lost his card on the European tour last year.
He needed a special invitation to play in Macau this week, and said he would not have been there if it wasn’t for his coach, Noah Montgomery.
“You sacrifice a lot and you put in a lot,” Catlin said. “I definitely want to thank my coach, he’s been with me now for 10 years and he really helped me through it.”
Catlin got off to a blistering start in his third round, draining six birdies for a front nine of 28 on the par-70 coastal layout at Macau Golf and Country Club.
He sank three more on the 11th, 13th and 17th before his beautifully judged eagle on the 564-yard, par-five 18th capped a historic round of golf.
“I didn’t realise I shot 28 on the front nine so the magic number wasn’t really in my head until the 17th,” Catlin said. “It’s a 239-yard par three, downhill 41 yards, so you’re not really trying to make a birdie.
“It actually got a little closer than I was trying. I was able to bury that one and I figured, well, three down the last. And just hit two beautiful shots in there.
“The putt was a big, left-to-right swinger and I just happened to get the pace and the line right.”
The 59 was the second of the year, after Joaquin Niemann shot the same score at the opening LIV Golf tournament of the season in Mexico.
Still, sub-60 rounds are extremely rare, with only 16 previously recorded on the men’s and women’s main tours. There have been 12 on the PGA Tour, one on the LPGA Tour and European Tour, and two on LIV Golf.
