John Catlin, from reckless with the Covid to lead the Estrella Damm Valderrama Masters

A

paid dearly for

dinner last Aug. 5 in the previous dispute of the

, one of the first tournaments around golf to the European Tour after the break by Covid-19.

The American golfer and his

had no better idea than to go out to dinner outside the official hotel, thus abandoning the bubble conscientiously created by the European Tour.

The response was immediate, disqualification and public reprimand to the player.

Castlin apologized to his teammates and the European Tour and was able to rejoin the dynamics of the European Tour.

Just a few weeks after the ill-fated evening, Catlin enjoyed the European Tour bubble more than ever on the night before the biggest day of his sporting career, which could be today.

Why?

Because he has his first triumph on the European Circuit in sight, in addition to one of the most prestigious venues of the year, such as the

.

The European Circuit establishes very strict health controls on its return to golf and strictly enforces the regulations that prevent players and any member of the European Circuit from leaving the bubble that takes them from the hotel to the field and field to the hotel.

Leader on the last day

Catlin will start on Sunday as leader of the

, two strokes ahead of the German, former world number one and major winner,

.

"I was about to not come," acknowledged the globetrotting North American golfer, who had no problem confessing his sufferings with "the complications of the course."

But if anyone is justified in talking about difficulties, it is Catlin himself, who has forged his career thousands of miles from his native California.

He first tried it on the Canadian circuit and after not being too successful, he embarked on the Asian adventure, alternating the second division of the Asian Tour, with the Thai Circuit and finally the Asian Circuit, considered the third major tour in the world, after PGA and European Tour. .

In all,

in his nearly three-year Asian exile.

At 29, he will try to be crowned for the first time in Europe.

In his favor, the experience of his seven previous victories to overcome the pressure of leading on the last day at Valderrama.

At the moment he is the only player who has been able after 54 holes to prevail over the harsh conditions of the Cadiz course and the Levante wind, the protagonist in the first days of competition.

the first three days.

The chances of a Spanish victory are remote, with

being

the best Spaniard thanks to his 68 shots on Saturday, the lowest card of the day, leaving him with a cumulative score of +3.

On Sunday he will come out five strokes from the head of the tournament.

With Valderrama at stake and the trump card of the wind, everything is still possible.

Madrid's Pedro Oriol occupies the 12th position, while Pablo Larrazábal (suffered on Saturday with 78 strokes), Álvaro Quirós and Jorge Campillo share the 17th position with +6.

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