LIV Golf hopeful moves step closer to joining breakaway league despite setback

John Catlin has strengthened his position at the top of the Asian Tour's International Series standings,

Catlin has been the man to catch throughout the International Series campaign, and put in another impressive showing at the Black Mountain Championship despite agonisingly missing out in a playoff. Having finished his fourth round at 23-under-par for the week, tying with his fellow countryman Michael Maguire.

Having tied the opening hole of their playoff, it was Maguire who came away with the title in Thailand, as he made par, bettering Catlin who could only make bogey.

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Despite the setback, there was still reason to be positive for the former DP World Tour star, who remains on top of the International Series Order of Merit with five events to play, the season-ending leader promoted to “I mean, I gave it everything I had, I went bogey free,” Catlin said in the aftermath.

This is not the first time he has lost out in a playoff, having felt to the same felt at the International Series event in Morocco earlier this year. “I mean it kind of feels like Morocco," he added.

"Like I really didn’t do that much wrong, and here I am standing on the wrong side of it, so it is what it is," Catlin said. “I kind of kept telling myself I was like, Michael’s kind of pushing me, like I could feel that. Like he kept holing good putts and hitting good shots in there, and I kind of used that.

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"I was like okay, he’s gonna push me on, I gotta keep staying strong.” Catlin knows that if his impressive run continues, then he will be a LIV golfer come 2025, a target that has been at the forefront of his mind throughout his 2024 season on the Asian Tour.

And the American has already proven his worth on the breakaway circuit too, having competed as one of LIV's injury reserve players on six occasions this season. For the most part, he filled in for Crushers GC, after Charles Howell was ruled out of a large chunk of the campaign with injury.

Having filled in, Catlin has already caught the eye of one of LIV's most talented assets in DeChambeau. "He's a fantastic golfer," DeChambeau said of Catlin last month "I grew up playing some with him in northern California, and we had some battles early on in our careers, in junior golf even. He's a stellar player. He's shot in the 50s and won a few times this year now."