LIV Golf desperately need a win, and they just got one via one of their reserve players.

Right now, things could not be going much worse for the rebel golf league. The tour is bankrupt; most of its biggest stars are leaving to play elsewhere next season, and LIV Golf’s future looks incredibly bleak. 

LIV is scrambling to find players to sign up for LIV 2.0. They have even reached out to players who were relegated last season. They say they have 25-30 verbal commitments from players, but only four have gone public. 

Perhaps they should look toward one of their 2026 reserve players, who recently earned a Masters invitation. 

John Catlin earns Masters and Open Championship invite

John Catlin was a LIV Golf reserve in 2026, but next season he’ll play at Augusta National and St Andrews for The Masters and The Open. He earned these invitations by winning the Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour, shooting a final-round 64 to claim victory. 

This was his seventh Asian Tour victory, adding to his three wins on the DP World Tour. Catlin is a two-time winner of the Asian Tour Player of the Year award, earning this honour in 2018 and 2024. 

He is also no stranger to the major championship stage. This will be his fifth Open Championship, with his best result coming in 2024, when he finished T16. He missed the cut in his other three appearances. 

He also qualified for the PGA Championship in 2021 and 2025, missing the cut both times, but this will be his first time playing The Masters at Augusta.

Catlin first joined LIV Golf as a fill-in player in 2024 and played a handful of tournaments for the breakaway golf league in each of the past three seasons.

And since LIV Golf is desperate for players to fill roster spots next season, Catlin may well have earned himself a starting role on LIV 2.0 if he wishes to take it on.