SME-Coverage/Samir Boussad
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, April 20, 2024 – American John Catlin was crowned champion of the Saudi Open Golf Championship presented by the Public Investment Fund, which concluded its competitions on Saturday at the Riyadh Golf Club.
Catlin was able to lead the tournament over four days that witnessed a lot of challenge and fun, and he was the best performer after finishing with seven shots, scoring 24 under par, to present himself as a new champion of the tournament, in which the value of the first prize amounted to 180 thousand dollars, while the value of the entire tournament prizes amounted to one million dollars.
Returning to the final competitions, it witnessed a great challenge between the players for the positions, but Catlin maintained his lead throughout and decided the victory early without caring about the results of the rest of the competitions, so he set a record and moved away from the lead to score the sixth title in the Asian round and the second in a row after he defeated the Spaniard David Puig in the final. Play-off match in the International Series in Macau last March.
Following the win, Catlin said: “I’m tired, but I’m very, very happy. It’s very special to finish back-to-back events holding the trophy. It’s just been a special week and I feel very lucky to be the champion.”
He added: “I hope that my victory will show the fans that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.” I have dreamed of being a professional golfer since I was eight years old and have continued to work hard. “I never let anything get in the way of what I wanted to do and I would say that to anyone: If you want to follow in my footsteps, you have to do your best and be willing to sacrifice, then great things can happen.”
Regarding the organization of the Saudi Open Golf Championship, presented by the Public Investment Fund, Catlin praised the level of organization and stressed that it is a global organization and looks forward to defending its title next year.
He added: “It was very well organised. The tournament was fantastic. From start to finish we were looked after amazingly well and the people were friendly. The hospitality was fantastic and I look forward to returning in the future.”
The final day saw Wade Ormsby take second place, two ahead of Peter Ohlin and Kiradesh Avenbarnat in third.
“John was going big, it was tough, you just want to go out and play as much as you can. There were a couple of potential little openings there, but he closed the door straight away. I’m really happy with the way I played,” Ormsby said.
The defending champion of the last tournament, the Thai Dinwit Boribonsop, finished amidst many challenges that made his chance of retaining his title disappear.
The 20-year-old said: “I enjoyed being the last defending champion. It helped me a lot with a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour, which takes a lot of pressure off, and the win means a lot. Yesterday was not good, but I made amends on the last day.”
