Tie-break draw thwarts David Puig's comeback in Macau

A par on the second playoff hole prevented David Puig from fighting for the win In the Macau International Series, he scored for the Asian Tour. The Spaniard made a birdie putt from two meters and the ball after touching the hole went to the right. The victory in the former Portuguese enclave went to American John Catlin, who hit a second, horrific shot on the first playoff hole, which ended in a path behind the stands, but he managed to drop it in an empty area to correct it. The mistake and prolonging the tournament. This is the Sacramento golfer's eighth title, three of them from the DP World Tour, including the 2020 Estrella Dam Andalusia Masters, a title won during the pandemic.

To reach the playoff, Puig, 22, had a lively Sunday, with long drives and a great game around the green. 60 casualties occurred On 18 standard holes, with nine birdies, an eagle and a bogey for a total of 23 under par. He couldn't capitalize on any of the three pars on the city tour of the Pacific Game, which is anecdotal. He had to wait nearly an hour for Catlin, who played 65 strokes — the day before at 59 — to miss a five-foot putt for birdie on the par-5 18th hole, the scene of the playoff, so he could give himself a shot. Victory option.

However, Puig achieved the secondary goal he was looking for. “I should come first or second,” he said Thursday. His calculations were scheduled to hover around the 100th position in the world rankings, which he would not reach very often, and attract the attention of the PGA Championship to invite him, as happened with Joaquin Niemann, and also become the second Spanish golfer in the rankings. Olympian, the position that Pablo Larrazabal now has and which he will be very committed to. That's why he plays on the Asian Tour, the circuit he now leads after Macau.

Behind them was a platoon of players With whom the Catalan shares tournaments in LIV Golf, relevant players such as Patrick Reed, Lucas Herbert and Jason Kokrak. Sergio Garcia, saddled with 72 shots on day one, finished 21st after firing 65 shots in the final round without mistakes.