During a 2024 season in which he won the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit and became its first golfer to shoot 59, John Catlin also made six starts as a LIV Golf reserve player. He enjoyed a champagne celebration as part of the winning Smash GC team in Greenbrier and even competed in the Team Championship in Dallas as the replacement for the league’s best player, Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm, who withdrew due to illness.
Thus, Catlin has seen up-close some of the innovative approaches that LIV Golf is taking both inside and outside the ropes. But even he wasn’t prepared for the latest variation Tuesday – the four onsite reserves competing in an 18-hole qualifying playoff with a step-ladder elimination process, with the winner earning a starting spot in this week’s LIV Golf Singapore presented by Aramco.
“They’re kind of trying to shake things up – and this definitely shook us up,” Catlin said. “We weren’t ready for it. It’s a cool concept and, hey, I obviously liked it.”
