John Catlin wins the Hong Kong Open by five and earns a first Masters invite

John Catlin won the Link Hong Kong Open on Sunday by five shots, closing with a 6-under 64 at Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling to finish at 20-under 260. The 35-year-old American takes home $360,000 and his first invitation to the Masters, next April.

Catlin went into the final round in a four-way tie for the lead with Anirban Lahiri, Thomas Pieters and Caleb Surratt. He bogeyed the par-3 fifth, then made birdies at 6, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 17 to pull away. On 18 he faced a fast downhill putt from the back of the green, deliberately left his first effort 12 feet short and holed the next one for par. He shot 65-66-65-64 for the week.

Hong Kong's Matthew Cheung and Finland's Kalle Samooja tied for second at 15 under after both closed with 67. Cheung's finish is the best ever by a local player in an event that dates to 1959. Jazz Janewattananond and Nick Voke tied for fourth at 13 under.

What the win gets him

The Hong Kong Open is one of six national opens whose winners get spots in both the 2027 Masters and the 2027 Open Championship, under a pathway Augusta National and the R&A set up in 2025. Catlin will make his Masters debut and his fifth Open start when the championship goes to St Andrews in July. His best Open finish so far is a tie for 16th at Royal Troon in 2024.

He went into the week at No. 447 in the Official World Golf Ranking. The OWGR now lists him at No. 249.

The title is Catlin's seventh on the Asian Tour and his sixth national open, after the Austrian, English, Irish, Saudi and Thailand Opens. He won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2024. The 787.5 points he earned in Hong Kong move him to fourth on this season's list.

"Anytime you can win a national open is incredible, it's amazing for this to be my sixth. I mean, if you'd told me that 10 years ago, I probably would have laughed at you," Catlin said.

What to watch next

The Asian Tour season ends in two weeks at the $1 million Philippine Open, where Catlin has an outside chance to finish No. 1 on the Order of Merit. Thailand's Pavit Tangkamolprasert leads, with Travis Smyth and Ian Snyman second and third. After that, his next big date is the Masters in April 2027. On a simulator, his finish on 18 is worth copying: on a fast downhill putt from the back of a green, leave the first one in a safe spot short of the hole instead of racing it past.