A David Puig (-13) has found the victory in the International Series of Macao very complicated. He went out to play the third round as a leader and ended up five strokes from the first place. No, the moving day has not been especially generous with the Spaniard. An irregular golf and a historic performance have made things very difficult for him.
John Catlin (-18) has signed this Saturday the first 59 of all time in the Asian Tour and has taken the lead by storm. It was a masterful performance, with nine birdies and a final eagle on the 18th, holed from the antegreen to finish the job. He has done everything that needs to be done to put an eleven under par in the clubhouse: play exceptional golf, leave a handful of given balls and put another handful of cans along the way.
The response to such a display had to be forceful, but Puig has fallen a bit short. He has made 68 strokes and has dropped to the eighth position, on a day where low, and very low, cards have been seen aplenty. He confessed yesterday to Ten Golf, after making a fabulous 64 and taking the lead, that the gas tank was practically on reserve. The seven consecutive weeks competing (with a victory in between in Malaysia) are taking their logical toll.
5️⃣9️⃣ ✅ @JohnCatlin59 eagles the 18th to shoot the first 59 on the Asian Tour 👏🏼 #whereitsAT #ThisISEverything #InternationalSeries @intseriesgolf pic.twitter.com/RV9gYy1SIp
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 16, 2024
Without sounding like an excuse, today the lack of freshness has been noticeable. It has been a day in tow. He missed four of the first five greens in regulation and made two bogeys. From there, he reacted with the claw he is used to. He made three birdies between the 6th and the 11th, well supported on the putter, and again set his sights on the head of the tournament.
However, where he really left ground and a clearer opportunity to fight for the win, was on holes 13 and 14, two par fives where the first two days he delivered a partial of three under par and today he made +1. There are those two or three strokes that would allow him to go out on Sunday in a more comfortable position.
Be that as it may, not even that stop on the round has discouraged him. He pulled out a sensational birdie on the 14th and another one on the 15th, which could well have been an eagle. He hit a spectacular drive on this short par 4 and left himself a putt of about five meters. From there, more suffering than anything else. He didn’t hit a good second shot on the 16th, perfectly placed in the street, he missed the shot on the 17th, par 3, and made a bogey, and on the 18th he was about to lose the ball with his second shot, very to the left. Finally, luckily, it was there, he could even drop without penalty and pulled out a birdie that at least gives him hope for tomorrow.
Puig must be counted on. He has it difficult and the battery is at the limit, but he knows that it is the last round before a well-deserved rest and if there is someone who can go very low at this Macao Golf & Country Club it is the golfer from La Garriga. If the driver works well this Sunday, at the level of the last days, he can leave many birdie options.
Catlin has a two-stroke lead over the uncomfortable rival like Jason Kokrak (-16), who has not won since November 2021, and three over Lucas Herbert (-15), another one to watch closely, and Jbe Kruger (-15). Up there with options also appear Carlos Ortiz (-14), Patrick Reed (-13), Andy Ogletree (-13) and Pat Perez (-13).
Sergio García (-9) has delivered another good card of 66 strokes, but somewhat insufficient to really move up in the classification. He has placed himself in the 33rd position, without options for victory, but with a window open to the top 10. He is four strokes from that goal.
Carlos Pigem (-7) has made 68 strokes, with five birdies and three bogeys, and is in the lower part of the table, but also with options tomorrow to do something more than just make up the result, as the classification is very compact and with a very low round you can win many positions.
