John Catlin has backed himself to produce the goods at this week’s LIV Golf Promotions event as he enters the last-chance saloon in Riyadh, in search of a place on the 2025 LIV Golf League roster.
The American is one to watch going into the three-day, four-round tournament at Riyadh Golf Club that gets underway on Thursday, after claiming two tournament wins and the Asian Tour Order of Merit in a stellar season that also brought major appearances and regular successful outings as alternate on the LIV Golf League.
Catlin sparked his incredible campaign by winning The International Series Macau presented by Wynn in March, and he backed that up with victory on the Asian Tour in the Saudi Open presented by PIF next time out at this week’s venue.
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Throw in two narrow play-off defeats in Morocco and Thailand, a T6 and two other top 20 finishes across The International Series season, and its clear to see why he was favourite for the rankings title for a large part of the season.
The 34-year-old didn’t quite manage to secure top spot however, ultimately finishing fourth after late season surges by Peter Uihlein and Ben Campbell, and a 1000-point victory for Joaquin Niemann in the $US5 million season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Catlin is still confident in his ability as he enters the second round on a bye alongside tournament winners from the Asian Tour, The International Series and other tours, relegated LIV Golf League stars plus top 20 and ties from round one.
He said: “Whenever we tee it up, we are trying to win. I think that is why you practice. That is why you put in all the hours, and you see what you have got when it comes down to those last few shots on Saturday afternoon. I like my chances. I think it comes down to playing good golf, and I have done a lot of that this year, and hopefully I can keep doing it.
“I am happy with where the game is at. I have been playing nicely... the hardest part, you've got to make sure you have that chance on Saturday. I guess it is somewhat similar to how LIV Golf does it where each day it kind of resets as far as the team goes. You have got to kind of go out there and play well each day.
“I think it is going to be a great opportunity, and it is going to be a little bit of a battle of attrition. You are going to have to stay in it for the whole day.”
Catlin won the Saudi Open presented by PIF by a comfortable seven shots on the same course, and managed a six-under 65 last weekend in the final tournament of the season. He is hoping course knowledge will stand for something as he looks to get into the last 20 for a 36-hole shootout on Saturday where one person will win a ticket to the LIV Golf League.
“I think it definitely helps, seeing the course and the new tee boxes. I played really well here in April, and they made some changes to the course, so it was good to see it under tournament pressure. It was nice.
“It was nice to have a strong finish on that back nine (last week). I turned in one-under and it was like the previous three days, I just had not really gotten much out of my game. Then to shoot five-under on that back nine, 65, and I was like, yeah, it is nice to kind of build on for this week. It is nice. It took a little getting used to, but I think I showed that I can still play pretty well here.”
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of 10 elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings leader promotion to the LIV Golf League
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