Catalan finishes second in WAGC's WAGI in Thailand

MANILA, Philippines – Former junior golf champion John Catalan carded a final round of five-over par 77 that capped an impressive performance to finish second overall in Division 1 of the World Amateur Golfers Invitational (WAGI) category of the World Amateur Golfers Championship (WAGC) last Friday, November 10, in Phuket, Thailand.

Catalan put together a four-day total score of 293, just a stroke behind Finland’s Klmmo Hyvarinen, who finished with 292. Mariusz Czerkawski of Poland placed third overall at 296.

Catalan matched the 2017 first runner-up finish of Tonito Payumo in Division 1 of WAGC. However, he fell short of becoming the second Filipino to win the WAGC, which Payumo did in 2017.

“Masarap sa pakiramdam knowing that you represented the country well. It was bittersweet, however, because I came up short of winning the championship,” said Catalan, son of former Acting Prosecutor General of the Philippines and former Chief Prosecutor of Makati City Jorge Galvez Catalan Jr.

“It was a tough tournament because all participants played in four tough golf courses. We actually played six straight days, which included two days of practice rounds. Still, it feels good that the efforts were rewarded by making it to the podium,” added Catalan.

A registered nurse in the United States, the 28-year-old Catalan had an opening round of three-over par 75. Then he came through with a 71 the next day and a 70 the following day to move up to the top spot of the leaderboard for four-shot lead on James Oliver Yeomans of United Arab Emirates.

However, a pair of double bogeys on 14 and 15 had him seven-over on his final round score. He finished strong though as he birdied on 16 and 17 before he saved par on 18 to close with a 77. Participants played in four golf courses in Phuket, including Laguna Golf, Red Mountain Golf Club, Blue Canyon Country Club, and Aquella Golf and Country Club.

Hyvarinen, who was five strokes behind going to the final round after a 68-81-71 rounds, matched his third round one-under 71 to win the title by one stroke — and deny Catalan the title.

By falling short, Catalan said he will come back and try again next year.

“That’s for sure. I will try again