It’s a word that pretty much sums up what John Catlin is doing right now after finding the light at the end of the tunnel following the loss of his DP World Tour playing privileges last season after finishing a disappointing 151st on the Race to Dubai Rankings.
A three-time winner on the European circuit in the space of eight months between 2020-21, Catlin is now finding similar form on the Asian Tour, securing back-to-back triumphs in Macau and Saudi Arabia, with the former an International Series event – the Tour’s most prestigious series of tournaments.
With only two top 15 finishes to his name on the DP World Tour last season, it marks quite the turnaround in form for the American.
“There’s no secrets, it’s just hard work,” Catlin says at the recent UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.
“I just keep just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I think you have to go through the downs in order to experience the ups.
“I’ve been playing really nicely for five or six months and it just happened to kind of culminate in the last few months.
“I had a chance to win in Malaysia, played pretty well to finish 20 under par and generally that’s good enough to win, but I finished tied third!
“I just kept going, just kept plotting and then suddenly, I’m 23 under in Macau and 24 under in Saudi. It’s funny as I make it sound simple, but it’s not. It’s funny how things spiral that way.”
After earning his playing privileges on the Asian Tour through Qualifying School at the beginning of the year, Catlin has certainly made the game look simple on the Tour where he first came to light following four victories between 2018-19.
After his aforementioned near-miss in Malaysia, the 33-year-old emphatically announced his return to form at the International Series Macau, where he became the first player in Asian Tour history to card a 59.
The Californian backed that spellbinding round up with a final round 65, before clinching his first title since the 2021 Austrian Open after defeating red-hot talent David Puig in a play-off at Macau Golf and Country Club.
“I mean, if you had told me I would finish minus 23 for the tournament, and I still have to be in a play-off, I’d be like, you’re kidding,” he says.
“It was special all week, I fought really hard. To shoot a 59 was very special. You think about it and dream about it every now and then, but you don’t know if that’s ever going to happen.
“That’s a very small group of people that have ever done that. To be a part of that group is something I’ll always cherish. It’s pretty cool.”
Catlin continued that fine form at Riyadh Golf Club in his next start, carding a men’s course record 62 en route to a wire-to-wire victory at the Saudi Open, where he finished an emphatic seven shots clear of his nearest competitor.
Golf has its ups and downs, that’s simply part of the game. But for Catlin to have such an emphatic turnaround in fortunes, from missing 27 DP World Tour cuts between 2022-23 to winning back-to-back Asian Tour events with emphatic scores, it begs the question, what went so wrong the last two years?
“I don’t know what happened, I wish I could put my finger on exactly what it was,” he says.
“Golf is a difficult game, you’re always kind of searching, finding and trying to get better.
“I thought I was playing really well and putting really well during those wins on the DP World Tour, but I felt like I could improve.
“I was still trying to work on the things that I thought I could improve upon. Maybe that just took me longer than I thought it was going to take to implement into my game. That’s probably the best answer I could give.”
While Catlin’s record over the last two years is a pretty dismal one, he never remained in doubt that he would once again get back to the winners’ circle.
“I bogeyed two of my last three holes at DP World Tour Qualifying School to miss out on a card,” he says.
“It’s funny as I played well that week. I played decent in Spain and had a great round in Qatar shooting a 63 on Friday, so I was starting to see glimpses of my game.
“Obviously, it was a low blow not to get my card, but I could see the positive momentum coming. I was like ‘okay just keep pressing, just keep going’.
“I played decent at both events in Australia at the end of 2023. I was actually one stroke back off the lead at the Australian Open at one point, so things were building and building.
“Finished inside the top ten in Mauritius and then went to Asian Tour Q School where I finished top 15. Things were moving in the right direction, but the timing of it all was tough.
“I wish I had been moving in the right direction a little more towards the end of 2023 so I could have kept my card. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.”
While Catlin does still hold certain playing rights on the DP World Tour, he is unlikely to get into many events due to his exemption category.
The Asian Tour is clearly now the primary focus given his strong start to the season, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be venturing elsewhere in search of playing opportunities.
He did just that in April, flying from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi to compete in the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, where he finished in a share of 34th as he sought a third successive victory.
“The Challenge Tour is great,” he says. “You just walk up and down the driving range and there’s plenty of talent. There always will be out here. There’s a very fine margin between playing full time on the DP World Tour to losing your card and playing on the Challenge Tour or just missing out at Q School. It’s fine margins at the top of professional golf.
“I would say the DP World Tour is one of the premier Tours in the world, so it’s fine margins.”
With Catlin currently leading the way on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and second on the International Series Order of Merit, it remains a very real prospect that he could be playing on the LIV Golf League next season if he were to continue his fine form.
While the thought of guaranteed cash in the pocket surely excites him, the six-time Asian Tour winner is not thinking that far ahead.
Instead, it’s about the here and now, and more importantly, what playing opportunity he can take advantage of next. He’s also recently qualified for next month’s Open Championship at Royal Troon which will be his fourth Major appearance.
“One thing that’s been nice this year is because I haven’t been able to think more than a month in advance, as I don’t know where in the world or what Tour I’ll be playing, I’ve just played the tournament that’s in front of me,” he says.
“If I had a chance to play it was really exciting. I just didn’t know where I was going to be. I feel that’s kind of played into my form as it’s really hard to get ahead of yourself when you don’t know where you’re going to be next month. I’ve just been enjoying competing and I think that’s key to the success I’ve had.”
