Golf-Clinical Catlin triumphs in Hong Kong Open

HONG KONG, Oct 25 (Reuters) American John Catlin showed nerves of steel as he held local favourite Matthew Cheung and Finnish opponent Kalle Samooja at bay to win the ​Hong Kong Open, hitting seven birdies in Sunday s final ‌round to finish five strokes ahead of his nearest challengers. Catlin, who won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2024, hit a six-under 64 in the fourth round to finish 20-under, earning his seventh title on the tour. Samooja led ‌Cheung ​by a stroke going into the tricky ⁠18th hole, but hit a ⁠bogey and had to settle for a joint second-place finish, as the latter secured the best finish for a Hong Kong player at the tournament in Fanling. It s very, very special. Any time ​you can be on a trophy with some of the greatest players that ever played the game, I just feel very ⁠humble and very grateful, said Catlin. The ⁠35-year-old was jointly leading the scoreboard along with Thomas ​Pieters and Caleb Surratt after the third round, where Cheung slipped ​from the to