On Monday, LIV Golf hosted a unique qualifier to see who the fourth member of the Iron Heads would be for this week's LIV Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club. The team's regular player, Jinichiro Kozuma, is out with an injury.
The qualifier consisted of four players: John Catlin, Samooja, Ollie Schniederjans and Wade Ormsby. The four players competed in a stroke-play event at Sentosa and John Catlin emerged from the pack.
The idea was certainly a unique and equitable one from LIV Golf and Kevin Na's Iron Heads.
Samooja, who was a full-time LIV player last year and was relegated, said he appreciated the chance to qualify even though he came up short.
“Didn’t really sleep much last night,” the Finn told LIVGolf.com. “Didn’t really drive it well today. Had a little jet lag. But it was a nice chance. This was a very good idea by the Iron Heads.”
Both Ormsby and Catlin agreed that the chance to earn a spot in an event was the right way to go about choosing the alternate.
“It was a great opportunity,” Ormsby said. “Completely different format from what we’re used to. It was intense out there. Guys were trying to play for that one spot.”
“I always love it when there's a chance where you can earn your spot," added Catlin. "Because then, nobody can take it away from you. So, I loved having the chance ... I was ready to play. I knew I had to go out and play good golf from the start.”
John Catlin (@JohnCatlin59) comes out on top of the first-ever reserve playoff for #LIVGolfSingapore 🙌🔥🙌🔥
— Iron Heads GC (@IronHeadsGC_) March 11, 2025
We can’t wait for you to join Iron Heads GC this week!@livgolf_league | #IronSharpensIron pic.twitter.com/dw8nYPcBrN
Catlin made six starts in 2024 as a LIV reserve player, with his best finish being a T7 in Nashville.
The Iron Heads will look to get their first team victory this week in Singapore.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as A LIV Golf Team Held a Unique Qualifier for Its Last Spot at Singapore Event.
