John Catlin is an American professional golfer who has built his pro career on victories throughout the DP World Tour and Asian Tour before temporarily moving over to the LIV Golf League in 2024. Yet, he is still relatively unknown by many people, so we've highlighted some facts about Catlin that you may not already know.
John Catlin facts
1. Catlin was born on November 15, 1990 in Sacramento, California.
2. He credits Tiger Woods as his inspiration, after watching him win the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach. Catlin watched Tiger's performance as a nine-year-old, but had been playing golf with his older brother since the age of three.
3. Catlin won consecutive NCGA State Match Play Championships in 2010 and 2011, while also winning the Memorial Amateur Championships in 2011 and 2012.
4. While playing for the University of New Mexico, Catlin became an Academic All-American and an honourable mention NCAA All-American in 2012. 2012 also saw him named University of New Mexico Student-Athlete of the year, after winning the Arizona Intercollegiate.
5. Catlin turned professional in 2013, starting his first season playing on the PGA Tour Canada. However, with his coach Noah Montgomery a big proponent of joining the Asian Tour, Catlin went to Bangkok for the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School in 2015.
6. He played on the Asian Development Tour for two years, while also attempting to play on the Canadian Tour as well, racking up plenty of air-miles. However, Catlin lost his card in Canada and nearly lost his status in Asia at the end of 2016.
7. Catlin suggests that winning the 2016 Combiphar Golf Invitational on the Asian Development Tour saved his career, because he nearly flew home to America to start a new life. Following this win, Catlin decided to move to Thailand permanently, where he lived up until the start of the Covid pandemic.
8. He earned Asian Tour status at the start of 2017, though still won the 2017 PGM EurAsia Perak Championship on the Asian Development Tour that same year.
9. Since joining the Asian Tour, Catlin has won six tournaments, including the 2018 Asia-Pacific Classic, 2018 Sarawak Championship, 2018 Yeangder Tournament Players Championship and the 2019 Thailand Open. His two most-recent victories were arguably his biggest, though, with triumphs at the International Series Macau and Saudi Open in 2024.
10. During his victory at the International Series Macau, Catlin shot the Asian Tour's first-ever 59.
11. Catlin received the 2018 Asian Tour's player of the year, while also earning European Tour status for the 2019 season.
12. While playing on the European Tour, Catlin has three wins to his name, the 2020 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and 2021 Austrian Golf Open.
13. Catlin first broke into the OWGR top 100 after winning the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. The win saw him ranked 84th. He briefly dropped out at the beginning of 2021, before climbing to 76th - his highest ever ranking - after finishing fifth at the 2021 Tenerife Open over April and May.
14. In August 2020, Catlin broke the European Tour's Covid-19 safety protocols. This made him the first player to be withdrawn by organisers due to the pandemic, missing the England Championship.
15. Citing travelling as the reason for his success in golf, Catlin has played golf in Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, South Africa, Morocco, while living in Bangkok for three-and-a-half-years.
16. Catlin has made several starts for Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC in the LIV Golf League while covering for Charles Howell III in 2024. After making his debut, the American admitted he would "love" to join the Saudi-backed tour full-time.
17. He has competed at three Major championships during his career but missed the cut in each (2021 PGA Championship, 2021 Open Championship, 2022 Open Championship).
18. Catlin has career earnings of over $3 million.
