World No. 124 John Catlin tees it up for a second straight week in Spain at this week’s Andalucia Masters, looking to defend his title from 2020 and rebound from a missed cut last week at the Acciona Open de Espana.
The 30-year-old California native shot 70-72 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid to miss his second cut in his last three starts and his 10th cut in 22 starts overall this season. Last year at Real Club Valderrama, Catlin arrived at for his second start in the event without full playing privileges but finished at 2-over 286 to beat Germany’s Martin Kaymer by a stroke. Catlin entered the final day with a two-shot lead and as the only player under par, but difficult conditions turned Sunday into a boxing match with Kaymer, who made bogey on his 72nd hole to come up short. “It was a battle, Martin and I were kind of in a boxing match,” he said. “It felt like it was one punch this way and a counter punch back that way and it just happened that I was up after the 18th hole. If we had to keep going it might have flip-flopped.” Catlin won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open three weeks later and won his third title in April at Austrian Golf Open to establish himself as a contender on the European Tour. “This was a special win for me last year being my first win out here in Europe, especially on a golf course like this,” he said of the 1997 Ryder Cup venue. “It’s a spectacular place to come back to. The memories start coming back. Each hole I think about some of the shots that I’ve hit, and it definitely makes me smile, so I’m looking forward to a great week. I always knew I could win. I had won quite a few times before, but the European Tour is a whole other level, and it definitely gave me a lot of confidence.”