They have a task for this pleasant pre-spring Sunday. Write a hundred times on the blackboard: “I will never stop believing in David Puig“. Yes, the golfer from La Garriga has done it again. Another colossal day of golf. Another superlative comeback. 60 strokes. Ten under par. A memorable performance that left him on the verge of victory in the International Series of Macau. Only the marble-like resistance of John Catlin prevented his triumph and an elusive tiebreaker relegated him to second place.
Puig set off this Sunday from the eighth position in the tournament five strokes behind Catlin. He had options, of course, but they were remote. He needed a great round and a good dose of help from the golfers who were ahead. Well, Catlin has not collaborated at all (65 strokes) and, even so, David was a whisker away from taking the victory.
It was the last round of competition for the Spaniard after seven consecutive weeks of hard work. He gave it his all. He left every last gram of his being in making a splash. He started with two birdies in the first three holes, marking the territory, sending a first message that the sorpasso was possible. However, there were still a pile of birdies to be made to have options. A bogey on the 5th was no brake. Not for him. Nothing and no one was going to take away his enthusiasm. He made two more birdies on the 6th and 9th and prepared the ground for a second nine holes of anthology.
There he unleashed. Partial of seven under par. Five birdies and an eagle. Six less in the last seven holes. What a capacity to believe. What a capacity to subtract strokes from the field. Catlin walked proudly through Macao as he passed the 10th hole. He had already reached the result of -23, six ahead of Puig at that time, and thought that the tournament was his and that there was just a pleasant military walk left to receive the champion’s honours. Ha!
Puig had set the harvester in motion. His birdies were falling and the noose was tightening on Catlin. Well, on Catlin and all those who aspired to win the tournament, which were not few, nor maimed: Patrick Reed, Lucas Herbert, Jason Kokrak or Carlos Ortiz, for example. None was able to resist Puig’s attack. Only Catlin and he suffered immensely.
In the last seven holes of the Macao Golf & Country Club there are three par 5s and a reasonably affordable short par 4, especially in the conditions that have been experienced this week, receptive greens, possibility of placing the ball, little wind… But of course, when a tsunami comes over you, the birdies don’t come out so easily. Catlin got stuck. And he suffered. Boy, did he suffer. Suddenly, a triple winner of the European Tour (Valderrama among them), with eleven total victories in his record, found himself in deep water.
With the -23 placed in the clubhouse by an exceptional Puig, Catlin saved a great par on the 17th hole, sinking a putt of about three and a half metres. He had the 18th hole, par 5, ahead of him, and was tied with David, who watched him relaxed and smiling on television accompanied by his caddie and Carlos Pigem. The American had to make an approach and putt from about twelve metres to get the birdie and win the tournament. But there his pulse trembled. His approach was discreet. He left himself a two-metre putt and missed it. Tiebreaker. To play the 18th hole again.
Puig and Catlin hit two very good drives. To the fairway. The Spaniard longer. Both had options to shoot to the green in two. Problems for both with the second shot. Catlin, with wood, goes long to the right, to the rough, to the public area, with the short flag on the right. Bad place and bad angle. But he is very lucky. The ball runs down the path and ends up behind the grandstand. They allow him to relieve himself in front in the drop area. Night and day. Puig, with iron, goes to the bunker on the left. It doesn’t sit perfectly in the sand, a bit downhill, but his angle is better, he has green to work with.
Puig’s shot comes out a bit loose, but goes straight to the flag, touches the mast and stays given for birdie. What a close eagle. David put his hand to his mouth in astonishment and laughed. Here luck was a bit compensated. Pressure for Catlin. The American’s approach was not bad, but he left himself a birdie commitment of almost two metres, similar to the putt he had to win on the 18th. This time he made it and another tiebreaker hole had to be played.
On the second hole, they signed the same drive as the first, but Catlin was more accurate with the second shot. Puig left himself an eagle putt coast to coast of about 20 metres, perhaps more, and the American put it in the rough on the right, well placed, about eight metres from the flag. David left himself a birdie putt similar to Catlin’s on the first tiebreaker hole and his opponent left it given. Roles changed. But this time, Puig missed it. First three-putt of the week. The most inopportune. A pity. That’s where the excellent battle of the Spaniard ended. Victory for Catlin against a David who pushed him to the limit.
On the other hand, Sergio García (-14) finished with another very good round of 65 strokes and finished in 21st place, while Carlos Pigem (-8) shot 69 and finished in 55th place.
