{"id":6788,"date":"2020-09-07T09:07:25","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T09:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ladiesingolf.com\/?p=6788"},"modified":"2020-09-07T09:11:48","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T09:11:48","slug":"cool-catlin-conquers-kaymer-for-maiden-win-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ladiesingolf.com\/en\/cool-catlin-conquers-kaymer-for-maiden-win-in-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Catlin conquers Kaymer for maiden win in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"
Photo: Real Club Valderrama<\/pre>\n
John Catlin claimed his maiden European Tour title at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andaluc\u00eda Masters after overcoming two-time Major Champion Martin Kaymer in a thrilling battle for a one-stroke victory at the famous Real Club Valderrama.<\/strong><\/p>\n
The American showed nerves of steel as he fended off the challenge of his playing partner, the former World Number One from Germany, down the stretch and a four over 75 was enough for a two over winning total.<\/p>\n
Catlin had started the day two shots clear at the top but bogeys at the fifth, tenth, 12th and 14th meant Kaymer \u2013 who birdied at the second, fourth and 12th \u2013 pulled level to set up a dramatic finale at the Sotogrande venue.<\/p>\n
Kaymer missed a golden opportunity to take the lead at the 17th, missing a six foot birdie putt, and Catlin kept his composure with a delightful lag putt at the final hole to two feet. Kaymer had to hole his chip from the edge of the green to keep his chances alive and he almost did just that, but his bogey meant Catlin\u2019s tap-in par sealed a victory which moved him to 35th in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.<\/p>\n
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Player Quotes
\nJohn Catlin: <\/strong>\u201cI think it\u2019s still setting in, the nerves were going nuts the whole of the final round. It\u2019s a very difficult golf course, the greens are firm and fast and the wind was no easier than it has been the previous three days.<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t think it\u2019s quite sunk in but that was my goal at the start of 2019, to win on the European Tour so to have actually accomplished that is pretty hard to put into words right now.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s very difficult, the hardest part was hitting the fairways. The wind is cross-breeze on most of them, down right to left or down from left to right, into left to right so if you get any kind of wrong spin going you can end up in the rough and the greens are just getting firmer and firmer.<\/p>\n
“So fairways are a must, and I managed to make the fairway on 18 and that might have been the difference.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m massively excited to play the big events. That\u2019s what we play for, we all want to play against the best. That\u2019s why playing with guys like Martin, and I played with Rory, Brooks, playing with those guys just shows you you can do it so having the opportunity to play those events is just fantastic.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019d planned on playing everything for the rest of the year, but being able to pick and choose \u2013 the one event that has stuck out is having the chance to play Wentworth. That\u2019s such a world-class event, I\u2019ve been watching it on TV for the last 15 years. To have the opportunity to play that tournament, I\u2019m very excited about that. \u201d<\/p>\n
The Estrella Damm N.A. Andaluc\u00eda Masters<\/strong>, an event in the European Tour\u2019s Race to Dubai made possible by the essential contribution of the Real Club Valderrama, is sponsored by Estrella Damm and the Consejer\u00eda de Turismo, Regeneraci\u00f3n, Justicia y Administraci\u00f3n Local of the Junta de Andaluc\u00eda, jointly funded by the EU, declared Event of Exceptional Public Interest by the Spanish Government. This tournament is also supported by Rolex, Exterior Plus, Santander Private Banking and Shell. Callaway, Coca-Cola, Enterprise, Grupo Raga, Kyocera, Marca, Maui Jim, the Real Federaci\u00f3n Andaluza de Golf, Riversa, Varma and Volvo are official suppliers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Photo: Real Club Valderrama John Catlin claimed his maiden European Tour title at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andaluc\u00eda Masters after overcoming two-time Major Champion Martin Kaymer in a thrilling battle for a one-stroke victory at the famous Real Club Valderrama. The American showed nerves of steel as he fended off the challenge of his playing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[]},"categories":[45,881],"tags":[1078,1066,1067,905,1064,1068,1061,1069,1070,1062,1071,907,1073,1063,1077,1076,1074,1075],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t