American golfer John Catlin claimed his first Link Hong Kong Open title on Sunday (Oct. 25), finishing five shots clear of the field, while HK's Matthew Cheung secured a historic joint-second place to record the best-ever finish by a local player in the tournament's 65-year history.
Catlin carded a four-round total of 20-under-par 260 at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling, pulling away from a four-way tie for the lead at the start of the final round with five birdies on the back nine.
The victory marked a breakthrough for Catlin, who had competed in the tournament four times previously without winning. As champion, he earned an automatic invitation to the Masters at Augusta National and a place in the Open Qualifying Series at St Andrews in 2027.
"It's hard to put it into words," Catlin said. "To come out and play some really, really solid golf and get the job done is very, very special."
Cheung, meanwhile, finished with a three-under-par 67 in the final round to share second place with Finland's Kalle Samooja. The HK golfer's result surpassed the previous best local finishes of Dominic Boulet, who tied for fourth in 1996, and Taichi Kho, who tied for sixth in 2024.
The 31-year-old Cheung, a bronze medalist in the men's team golf event at the 2022 Asian Games, had held a share of the lead after the second round. However, a two-over-par third round left him two shots behind the leaders heading into Sunday.
Despite missing out on the title, Cheung said he was pleased with his overall performance.
"I just told myself that I had to keep playing freely. That's when I played my best golf in the first two rounds, and I know I can do it," he said. "I played really well today. Unfortunately, John played really well as well, so it is what it is. But I'm really happy overall."
Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand and Australia's Nick Voke finished a further two shots behind the joint runners-up, while mainland China's top finisher, Sampson Zheng, tied for sixth at 12-under-par 268.
This year's tournament also set a record, with five HK players making the cut and advancing to the weekend rounds. Among them was Issac Lam, winner of the recent Fanling Classic, who finished tied for 36th. HK amateur Markus Lam also made the cut and carded a three-under-par 67 on Friday.
Bryant Lu, president of the Hong Kong Golf Club, said the strong performances by local players reflected more than a decade of cooperation between the club and the Hong Kong Golf Association in youth development.
The club has provided free access to its Fanling course for the association's junior squad to train and compete, he said, adding that this year's results demonstrated the benefits of that long-term investment.
Cheung's historic finish, together with the record number of local players making the cut, offered encouraging signs for the development of golf in HK, Lu said. He expressed confidence that local male and female golfers would continue to improve and achieve stronger results in future editions.
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