John Catlin has set his sights on becoming a multiple European Tour champion after breaking his duck at last week's Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters.
American Catlin arrives at this week's Portugal Masters fresh from his sensational wire to wire victory at Real Club Valderrama, where he saw off two time Major Champion Martin Kaymer in a tense final round battle.
The 29-year-old is used to being in the winner's circle, having tasted victory four times on the Asian Tour, and now that he has made his European Tour breakthrough, he is targeting more silverware.
"It’s definitely sunk in now," said Catlin, who will begin his campaign at 08.05 on Thursday alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Li Haotong at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course. "It’s been about six or seven years coming, dreaming about winning a tournament of that magnitude so it’s definitely settled in.
"I took a few days off, didn’t really think about golf for the last few days just so I could be fresh for this week. I’m looking forward to this week and hopefully giving it my best and see where that puts me.
"I’ve won many times as a pro, even more than the five that’s been mentioned, but winning that one is the biggest win for me for sure.
"Playing with some of the best players, like Martin Kaymer, a former World Number One, all the way down the stretch to the last hole. Being able to hold him off is something I’ll always remember.
"My goal now is multiple wins, we’re always trying to win. Once you win one, you want to win two. It was the same for me on the Asian Tour, I won one and I wanted to win two, then I won two and I wanted to win three. I guess you become a little bit greedy in a sense. That’s my next goal, to win again.
"My mindset doesn’t change much from week to week. Different golf course, different week, but mentally it’s the same – just go out and give it your all on every single hole, try and make as many birdies as you can and hopefully it’s enough by the end of the week."
Former champion Lucas Bjerregaard returns to Vilamoura hoping to recover the sparkling form that helped him to a four shot victory here in 2017.
The Dane has made three European Tour appearances since golf returned after the hiatus, with his best result coming at the ISPS HANDA UK Championship, where he finished in a share of 58th.
He said: "I’ve always enjoyed coming here. I think this is the first time since I’ve been on Tour that my wife isn’t here with me, so it’s a bit strange, but I’ve always enjoyed coming here.
"I got the win in 2017 and a couple of decent results.
"Normally there is not a lot of rough around here, which suits me. That’s changed a bit this year. Just played nine holes and it’s brutal.
"That will be fun, it will be a different course to what we have seen the last few years. The wind is up today and if it stays like that I think we’ll see some different scores than what we are used to.
"I’ve been going through a rough patch and obviously the three or four months off makes it seem a lot longer than it has been.
"I’m seeing good tendencies, things moving in the right way, it’s just a matter of getting it all together and posting a score.
"I’m seeing some of the stuff that I would like to see and hopefully it will all come together soon."
