>>Kuching: John Catlin of the United States sank a clutch birdie putt on the last hole to win his second Asian Tour title in a thrilling final round at the US$300,000 Sarawak Championship yesterday.
The 27-year-old held his nerve before rolling in a five-foot putt on the par-four 18th hole to edge his closest challengers Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand, Danthai Boonma and Paul Peterson of the United States by a single shot at the Damai Golf and Country Club.
There was very little breathing space for Catlin in the final round but he eventually prevailed after returning with a bogey-free six-under-par 66 for a 22-under 266 total in the inaugural Asian Tour event.
A fast charging Jazz birdied 16 and eagled 17 for a superb 64 to set the clubhouse target on 21 under before settling for second place with countryman Danthai (66) and overnight leader Peterson, who also birdied the last to finish with a 68.
With Jazz safely in the clubhouse, the Sarawak Championship looked likely to enter extra time before Catlin stepped up to sink the crucial putt under immense pressure.
"It was crazy! It was a grind all week long. People keep making birdies and I asked myself 'when is my birdie going to be enough!' I finally did it on the 18th hole and that's what I needed," said Catlin.
"Danthai, Peterson and I were tied after the 12th hole and suddenly on 17 we saw that Jazz was one ahead of us! Honestly I wanted someone to go ahead because I figured it would push me and put a little fire under me. That's probably why I birdied the last hole.
"The putt on the last hole was huge because I missed all the putts from that distance this week. The win in China was monumental because if I had to go through what I did today without winning earlier this year, I'm not sure if I could have pulled it off. It was nice to have that little bit of winning experience to calm me down."
Jazz failed to win back-to-back titles but the result will give him and Danthai the much needed confidence ahead of their Major debut at The Open in a couple of weeks.
"I didn't think I had a chance today! I didn't think I could come close and I started really slow on the front nine. I'm happy that I continued to play this well leading into The Open," said Jazz.
The 30-year-old Peterson was disappointed not to win the Sarawak Championship where he held the lead since the opening round. He piled the pressure on Catlin with a cool birdie finish on the last but eventually settled for second place.
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