John Catlin may have lost out in the Black Mountain Championship play-off to surprise package Michael Maguire at the weekend, but the result in Hua Hin consolidated the American’s place at the top of The International Series Rankings.
Catlin lost out to his compatriot on the second play-off hole after the pair finished tied in regulation at 23 under, but still earned 220 priceless points to stay at the top of the table while Maguire roared in at No.5 after his first ever professional win.
Maguire had been flying under the radar, at No.77 on the rankings up until his stunning win in Thailand, his first as a pro at the age of 31. And after the win, he was eager to point out exactly why he had been plying his trade on The International Series and Asian Tour since earning his place at Q School in 2023.
He said: “Obviously the goal always from the last two years has been to chase down a LIV Golf card and get on the LIV Golf League. So this puts me in that position to really go after it and I now feel I can compete with those guys out there.
“It's amazing, being able to compete against the best players in the world on world-class venues. It's incredible. It has been a blessing and I’m just very grateful to play on The International Series.”
Ben Campbell, Catlin’s nearest challenger, remains in second place after earning 82 points for a T4 finish.
The New Zealander, who also beat Catlin in a play-off after storming back from three down with two to play in a thrilling conclusion to International Series Morocco, said: “I put myself in contention - I could have easily been a couple lower, but I will now take it tournament by tournament.
“For the next five tournaments, I know what I have to do, but I can't sort of force it. You have to play within yourself, which I think I did well this week. The first two rounds, I didn't have my best golf, but I sort of just got a score on the board, and sort of just kept chipping away and found it on the range.
“And the putts got better and better every day. So I just have to keep building on that going into these last five events. There's so much to play for, ahead of the end of the season, and it is pretty clear what I have to do.”
Behind Maguire, Chinese Taipei’s Max Lee Chieh-Po was the next biggest mover of the week, jumping from 44 up to No.9 courtesy of a third-place finish which earned an invaluable 136 points. Stefano Mazzoli of Italy moved up to 11 in the rankings after his T4 alongside Campbell and Suteepat Prateeptienchai.
The race continues this week with the third edition of International Series Thailand - held at Thai Country Club for the first time. Four events in a short six-week spell then follow, culminating in the $US5 million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers in Riyadh from 4-7 December. With another 13,500 rankings points at stake in the final run in, this race still has a long way to run.
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of 10 elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings leader promotion to the LIV Golf League
