John Catlin is on the verge of securing his third victory on the Asian Tour this season and his second title in The International Series, having taken the lead in the third round of the $2 million International Series Morocco. The 33-year-old American, who currently tops the Asian Tour Order of Merit and ranks second in The International Series Rankings, scored a five under par 68 in the third round, totaling 205, 14 under, leading by one stroke over New Zealand’s Ben Campbell. Catlin previously won the International Series Macau presented by Wynn and the Saudi Open presented by PIF consecutively earlier this year, and recently performed well in his debut on the LIV Golf League, finishing joint 24th in Houston and tied seventh in Nashville.
When asked if his goal is to win The International Series Rankings, currently placing him second behind Mexican Carlos Ortiz, to secure a spot on the LIV Golf next season, Catlin responded enthusiastically: ‘Oh 100%!’ Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), 36, and a recipient of the Dubai Golden VISA Award, shot a 72, placing him at 210, nine under par, and tied for ninth. After his round, Bhullar commented, ‘I didn’t hit the ball that great today but managed to save lots of pars. Tomorrow, I will concentrate on my routine and the process.’
Rayhan Thomas (Ind) of Dubai shot a third round four under par 69, following his initial rounds of 69 and 73, placing him alone in 12th at eight under on 211. At 24, Thomas started his round with a bogey on the par 3 second hole but then regained his form, making five birdies and no bogeys in the remainder of the round with scores of 35 and 34. Thomas noted, ‘I did a lot of good things today, I’ve been hitting the ball well and took some chances. The course setup is a good challenge – you need to drive well, hit your irons accurately, and position yourself correctly, or it can be quite punishing.
For the final round, I need to maintain my strategy – be aggressive off the tee, position myself well, and hopefully make some putts for a strong finish.’ The final round is scheduled for today (Sunday) with play in three-balls, with the leaders teeing off last at 10.30 am local time. Bhullar and Thomas will be paired together along with Charlie Lindh (Swe) at 9.57 am from the first tee. This week’s event marks the eighth of the season on the Asian Tour and the third of 10 stops on The International Series.
