LIV GOLF NASHVILLE

June 22, 2024

John Catlin

The Grove

Crushers GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome John Catlin, the reserve for Crushers GC. John, wow! You are currently sitting at 10-under. You've shot two 5-under rounds in a row. You are battling it out with some of the best players in the world right now. You will be in the featured group tomorrow on the first tee. Tell us about what this week has been like for you and what's going through your mind right now.

JOHN CATLIN: I mean, it's been an awesome week. I got a little bit of a taste of it in Houston, and I feel like I came into this week a lot calmer. I kind of knew what to expect. The party hole in Houston kind of got me a little bit. I've never played with that much noise, so that was something I had to kind of get used to. But once I was able to get over that, yeah, I felt very calm, as calm as I could be, and I've been putting in a lot of hard work, been playing some good golf this year, and I feel like it's just kind of showing.

I'm looking forward to the challenge tomorrow, and we'll see what happens.

Q. The nerves on that first tee tomorrow, standing there knowing that you have a chance to actually win this thing, are you going to have a lot of nerves, or are you able to keep that in check and under control?

JOHN CATLIN: It's funny, they asked me the same question on the 18th green, and I'm like, I don't know. I might be on that tee and I might be nervous, or I might be very calm and enjoying it.

Today was my first experience of it, and I loved it. Keep I was like, this is where you want to be. I was able to stripe a 3-wood down there, and off I went.

We'll see. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but I'm looking forward to the challenge for sure.

Q. How have the other players on LIV been welcoming of you last week and this week with all the excitement also going around with Bryson and the Crushers? Has the LIV family embraced you and helped you navigate this?

JOHN CATLIN: 100 percent. Everybody has been very, very welcoming. It's felt like a pretty easy transition. I knew most of the guys coming in. I've been a pro for 11 years. I've played on pretty much every tour in the world. I've had a chance to meet all these guys before, and coming back, it just kind of felt like, hey, I haven't seen you in a while.

It's been pretty good, and obviously being part of the Crushers has been good. I've known Bryson since we were junior golfers. I've known Anirban for probably 10 years, and I know Paul from Europe. Again, it just kind of felt like, oh, we haven't seen you for a while, welcome back. It's been nice.

Q. Are you enjoying this style of golf and the atmosphere and the team component?

JOHN CATLIN: I'm loving it. I like the music. I've always liked playing golf with music. Whenever I'm at home playing golf with my friends we always have music, so it kind of feels like that again. The team part is really awesome. I think that's really cool. Nowhere else do we have that. I feel like I'm on a really good team. We kind of have a lot of team chemistry, team camaraderie, and I feel like that's helped make the transition easier.

Q. Tomorrow you're going to have Jon Rahm hunting you down, Bryson hunting you down, Cam hunting you down, and obviously Tyrrell at the top. Does that give you extra motivation going into tomorrow knowing you're competing with the best players in the world?

JOHN CATLIN: Yeah, I think that's what we all want. That's why I practice so much. That's why I put in so many hours into my game. I constantly think about how I can do things better, and you do that because you want to be in these situations.

You back yourself. I've been here before, and I can honestly say I've won before, and I can do it again. I'm going to go out and control what I can control, and we'll see what happens come Sunday at 5:00.

Q. You talked about having played all over the world. How many professional events have you started in the U.S.?

JOHN CATLIN: Maybe 10, 10 or 12 probably, somewhere around that.

Q. Is it nice to actually play in the U.S.?

JOHN CATLIN: Absolutely. It's great. Everybody speaks the same language. You know where you can get food. You know what to expect. It feels like home. I grew up here.

But I relish the opportunity to go travel the world, and I think it's made me a more well-rounded player and a more well-rounded person. Yeah, I think that side of it has been really cool, as well.

Q. Going back to your relationship with Bryson, how much have you guys spoken in say the last few weeks, obviously him calling you or you getting a call for Houston, but last week and then obviously getting another chance this week?

JOHN CATLIN: Yeah. I mean, having that previous relationship has been really awesome. It was really cool to watch him at the U.S. Open, and I was cheering him on, obviously. To see him get it done was really, really cool.

I think the coolest part is I look at him, even in Houston, it just seems like he's happier. It seems like he's -- I don't want to say growing up, but it seems like he's genuinely happy with what he's doing, and I think it's shown in his game. He's been really happy with me. He's been very cordial. I just saw him when I came into the media center, and he was obviously thrilled with how I played, and he's like, hey, let's go get it tomorrow. That's all you can really ask of somebody, especially at that level of the game.

Q. Obviously you've got a tournament that you can win tomorrow, but how much are you also playing to, say, showcase what you're capable of for whatever may happen in the future with LIV, maybe another team, whatever? Is that in the back of your mind, whatever?

JOHN CATLIN: I'd be lying if I said it didn't creep in there, but again, I don't really have any control over that. That's up to the captains. That's up to managers. That's up to the team organization.

If I just keep doing what I'm doing, things are going to work out, and I'm going to keep putting in the work, and I hope I get more opportunities to showcase what I can do. We'll just have to wait and see.

I hope so. I can tell you that right now; I would love to be out here.

Q. We talked a little earlier this week, and I asked you how comfortable you were with zoysia, and you said this is definitely a grassy enjoy. Is that what we can attribute to this week so far?

JOHN CATLIN: I mean, it definitely helps. Short game has always been a strong part of my game. The greens are rolling beautifully, so that helps.

But yeah, it helps when you know that you missed the green and you can still get the ball up-and-down.

Hitting off zoysia from the fairways, it's really easy to hit your number, so as long as you're making good swings and picking the right numbers, you can hit some shots in there close, and I've been able to do that. I'm looking forward to doing that again tomorrow.

Q. I walked with an older gentleman today, and he was complimenting you on how your swing is kind of an old-school swing, you play that draw in there. Is that how you learned to play, or you've never gone to the fade? Is that your predominant --

JOHN CATLIN: Yeah, I mean, I grew up hitting a draw. Me and my coach work really hard on being able to hit the draw and being able to master that shot. But I can work it any way I have to. I think you have to have any shot in your arsenal.

But if I don't have to hit the cut, I'm probably going to hit the draw. I just feel very, very confident in that. Yeah, to answer your question, yes, I have always played a draw, but I think part of being a professional golfer is you have to be able to play every shot.