John Catlin and Ben Campbell, two of the leading lights on The International Series Rankings race this season, have backed themselves to produce the goods at this week’s LIV Golf Promotions event as they go in search of a golden ticket onto the 2025 LIV Golf League roster.
The duo go into round two of the three-day, four-round tournament alongside Richard T Lee, Lee Chieh-Po and MJ Maguire as champions on The International Series this season.
They will face a real challenge, with relegated LIV Golf League players, 2024 winners from a range of Tours, and the top 20 and ties from round one all vying for a place in the top 20 going into the 36-hole final day on Saturday that will have one LIV Golf League place up for grabs.
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American Catlin is in bullish mood after claiming two wins and the Asian Tour Order of Merit in a stellar season that also brought major appearances and successful outings as alternate on the LIV Golf League.
The 34-year-old has form here, having won the Saudi Open presented by PIF on the same Riyadh Golf Club course in April - a month after his stunning play-off victory at International Series Macau presented by Wynn. He also shot a final-round 65 in last week’s season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
He said: “Whenever we tee it up, we are trying to win. That is why you put in all the hours, the practice, and you see what you have got when it comes down to those last few shots on Saturday afternoon.
“I like my chances. I think it comes down to playing good golf, and I have done a lot of that this year, and hopefully I can keep doing it.
“I played really well here in April, and they made some changes to the course, so it was good to have a strong finish on that back nine (last week in Riyadh). To shoot five-under on that back nine, for a 65, I was like, yeah, it is nice to build on for this week. I showed that I can still play pretty well here.”
Campbell also had a storming campaign, with a thrilling play-off win over Catlin at International Season Morocco part of a sensational run that generated five top 10 finishes including outright second in the defence of his Link Hong Kong Open title and fourth last week in a nailbiting season-ender.
That last performance in Riyadh saw Campbell post consecutive seven-under rounds on the weekend in a storming finish, leaving him just one shot off a play-off involving the LIV Golf trio of Joaquin Niemann, the eventual winner, 2022 Open champion Cam Smith and rising star Caleb Surratt.
The result denied the New Zealander the chance to claim top spot on the rankings and an automatic spot on the LIV Golf League in a thrilling climax to an incredible rankings race. Despite the obvious disappointment, the 33-year-old is in positive mood as he looks for a second chance on the same course.
Campbell said: “It was very close, it wasn’t far away (losing out on a play-off place by a single shot). There are still things to build on and there are things to improve within my game for next year so that is exciting.
“I just need to reset after some rest and practice and get ready to go again. You put in the practice and then you go out there and play - you either play well or you don’t. Overall, it has been a solid year for me, and I feel I have learned a lot, and to me, my game is still going in the right direction which is a positive.”
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of 10 elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings leader promotion to the LIV Golf League
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