Hong Kong SAR, China: John Catlin produced exhibition golf of the highest calibre to win the Link Hong Kong Open by the emphatic margin of five shots – on the timeless Composite Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club (HKGC).

The American fired a closing six-under-par 64 for a tournament total of 20-under, to finish ahead of second placed Matthew Cheung from Hong Kong and Finland’s Kalle Samooja.

Cheung, bidding to become the first local player to win the tournament since its launch in 1959 and roared on by huge crowds, returned a 67, while Samooja carded the same score.

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond (66) and New Zealand’s Nick Voke (68) were equal fourth, another two shots back.

Hong Kong’s famous golf tournament never fails to disappoint, as it joined Catlin’s Asian Tour roadshow. It is the seventh Asian Tour victory by a player who won the Order of Merit (OOM) in 2024.

The result, which earned him a cheque for US$360,000 and 787.5 OOM points, moved him into fourth place on the 2026 Merit list to give him an outside chance to finish number one with one more event remaining: the Philippine Open presented by Philippine Sports Commission in two weeks.

It also secured him a first invite to next year’s Masters Tournament and The Open – where he will make his fifth appearance.

The 35-year-old, who has a base in Hua Hin, Thailand, when playing in the region, started the day in a tie for the lead.

His only bogey of the day came on hole five before he pulled away from the field with birdies on six, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 17. On the par-four 18th he reached the green in two but had a long downhill putt from the back of the putting surface.

On the pacy green he could have rolled his first putt a long way past the cup, potentially finishing off the green, so he laid up with his first attempt to 12 feet. Showing just how much confidence he is playing with he made the putt and raised both arms in triumph.

“Hard to put it hard to put it into words,” said the Californian. “It was an event that I felt like I could do well at that I hadn’t really done well in the previous years.

“So, to come out and play some really, really solid golf and get the job done it’s very special. Anytime you can be on a trophy with some of the greatest players to ever play the game … I just feel very humbled and very grateful.”

Remarkably it’s his sixth national Open title, as he has also claimed the Austrian, English, Irish, Saudi and Thailand Opens.

He said: “Anytime you win a national Open, it just adds a little bit of extra prestige. You look at the guys that have won this tournament in years past. I think that also kind of speaks to it as well. Winning a national Open is incredible, it’s amazing for this to be my sixth. If you’d told me that 10 years ago, I probably would have laughed at you. So, it’s truly special.”

Australians Peter Thomson and Greg Norman, Welshman Ian Woosnam, Germany’s Bernhard Langer and American Tom Watson have all won here.

Spain’s Jose-Maria Olazabal, Padraig Harrington from Ireland, Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, plus Englishmen Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Aaron Rai have also savoured Hong Kong Open success at the venerable Fanling venue.

While Catlin’s win was extremely popular, so was the performance of Cheung – who posted the best performance by a local player in the event.

Dominique Boulet, the Chairman of the Asian Tour, finished fourth in 1996 – the previous best result by a Hong Kong golfer. 

Cheung led after the second round and carded a disappointing 72 on Saturday but bounced back with a closing round consisting of four birdies and one bogey.

Said the 31-year-old: “Soaking this all in. It’s fantastic to see so many people out here, and people calling my name. I had a chill going down my spine, walking onto 18 green when they called my name. That was really cool.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the win, but it’s been unbelievable overall. I just told myself to keep playing free. That’s when I played my best golf in the first two rounds. I played really good today. Unfortunately, John played really well as well.”

Thai Pavit Tangkamolprasert came in with a 73 to tie for 73rd to keep the OOM lead. He is in a strong position at the top with Australian Travis Smyth second and Ian Snyman from South Africa third but with plenty of points on offer at the US$1 million Philippine Open the race is far from over.

*The Hong Kong Golf Club is a member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.