LIV Golf reserve Catlin’s success the result of recovering from career lows

John Catlin says the lows he experienced in 2022 and 2023, when he endured two of the worst seasons of his career, have played a huge part in the highs he is currently enjoying on the Asian Tour and The International Series.

Catlin, who has been subbing in for Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC in the LIV Golf League this season, has been dominant this year, leading both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings, and starts as hot favorite at this week’s International Series England at Foxhills, in Surrey.

In five starts this season he has triumphed twice, one of those being an International Series event in Macau; lost a play-off in Morocco, another International Series event; registered a third-place finish; and missed just one cut – an aberration considering his electric form.

It’s all a far cry from two troubled seasons in Europe when – after an incredible run which featured two victories in 2020 and a runner-up spot the following year – his game deserted him, and he opted to return to play in Asia, where he first made his name.

“I would say this season is the most consistent I have played in my career," Catlin said. "I have been up there a lot. The ones I have not won I have been right up there. It is the most consistent, solid play in my career.

“I had to go through what I went through in 2022 and 2023 to become mentally strong enough to be able to go through what I am going through now to enjoy it. It is all part of the process.

“You get down on yourself a little bit, but then you realize that is not going to help you and you just move forward. You learn what there is to be learned. You process through what you are not doing well, and you put in the hours on those parts of your game, and you know it’s just going to take time.”

The 33-year-old, now a six-time winner on the Asian Tour, also arrived here fresh off a brilliant performance in The Open, where he made the cut for the first time in a major and tied for 16th.

“It was nice to make my first cut in a major,” he said.

“It was just gravy to play really good over the weekend. I would have liked to have finished under par on Sunday but was a lit bit unlucky there. I was a little bit unlucky on 18. I drove it right in the middle of the fairway in a divot again – the second time that week.

“It was awesome event, it’s so amazing. You really had to strike it, you really had to be hitting it good because the wind was so strong. If you mis-hit it a little bit, you had no chance.”

The Californian has a healthy lead on both rankings – Spaniard David Puig is in second place on the Asian Tour merit list and Ben Campbell from New Zealand is one place back in The International Series Rankings. With the second half of the season coming up, Catlin has targeted a top-placed finish on both boards, a feat which American Andy Ogletree achieved last year.

“I feel good. I feel fresh. Nice having a week off last week,” he added.

“I have recharged the batteries a bit. I have been on a pretty long stretch there. Four events in a row, five of six weeks, and the four I did were not the easiest of courses.

“Morocco was difficult and Valderrama is always a challenge. The Open especially with the weather, you have got to be ready to give it your all there. JCB was tricky, you really had to place your shots.”

Difficult golf courses have done little to halt the charge for a player who looks like he is just getting going, rather than ready for a breather.