Howell ‘mending’ but Crushers not rushing his return, thanks to reserve player Catlin

ROCESTER, England – John Catlin will make his fourth start as a replacement for injured Crushers GC veteran Charles Howell III at this week’s LIV Golf UK by JCB.

It could also be Catlin’s last LIV Golf start – at least for this league season.

Crushers Captain Bryson DeChambeau said Thursday that Howell is hitting golf balls and “mending in the right direction” after suffering a tibia injury in his left leg in early June. 

With the next LIV Golf event set for Aug. 16-18 at Greenbrier in West Virginia, Howell has three more weeks before he has to decide whether he’s fit enough to return.

“We don't want him to come back too early to hurt anything and want to make sure he's fully ready to go, so when he does come back, he's comfortable and has the support from everybody that he needs,” DeChambeau said. “If he comes out Greenbrier and doesn't feel comfortable, I'm more than willing to say, 'dude, take your time. You need to be healthy.' It's important. 

“This is one of his first injuries of his career, so it's a little scary for him. But he wants to come back, and I said, 'we've all had our fair share of injuries, and you've got to do this right.' We want him to be feeling 100%.”

Howell was ranked 19th in the season-long Individual points race when he was sidelined, providing the kind of consistency that Crushers, last season's team champions, have leaned on to win two team titles this season and race to the top of the overall standings again.

Catlin, a contemporary of DeChambeau’s during their junior days in Northern California, has performed admirably as a reserve player to fill out the four-man lineup.

He has finished inside the points (top 24) in all three of his starts, and was in contention at LIV Golf Nashville, playing in the final leaders group with DeChambeau and eventual winner Tyrrell Hatton of Legion XIII, tying for seventh. He’s averaging 4.43 points per start; Howell’s average this season is 4.86.

In Catlin’s three starts, the Crushers as a team tied for fourth in Houston and finished as runners-up in the last two events, at Nashville and Andalucía. When Howell went down, the Crushers led by 11.5 points; they now lead by 33.5 points.

Catlin has given the Crushers the luxury to allow Howell to return without feeling rushed. Just as important, his presence has not led to any degeneration in the team’s chemistry, a key ingredient in their success.

“John has fit in quite nicely,” said Anirban Lahiri, “and I think he's comfortable now, and that's a good thing for us.”

DeChambeau is not surprised.

“Watching him play in Nashville, I just saw how great his game is,” the captain said. “And I've known how great of a player he is even from junior golf days. We played a lot of junior golf together, played the California State Amateur in 2013, I believe. That's how long it goes back to.”

For Catlin, getting a taste of LIV Golf has confirmed his desire to make the league his primary objective for 2025. 

Currently 42nd in points at 13.28, Catlin would likely move into the top 24 Lock Zone with a victory this week, possibly even a podium finish depending on how others fare. But even if he does move up the standings, he would fall back in the ensuing weeks if this were his last start.

Of course, if he continues to play – and play well – he could claim one of those guaranteed top-24 spots for next season.

Meanwhile, he leads the International Series points standings on the Asian Tour by a healthy margin (more than 150 points over Ben Campbell). The points leader at the end of the season earns a LIV Golf spot for 2025.

Just three events have been played, though. On Thursday, the Asian Tour announced its final two International Series events, both in Thailand, to take place in October. After next month’s event in England, the final six tournaments are set for late in the year during an eight-week sprint to the finish, culminating in Saudi Arabia the first weekend in December. Those fields are likely to be enhanced by current LIV Golf players who are either relegated or in the Open Zone without a contract.

“I think I have a great chance of winning that,” Catlin said of the International Series. “That's high on my priorities. I definitely want to be out here after seeing it. I think it's awesome. I'm going to give it everything I've got.”

For now, he’s giving everything he has to the Crushers. Even if he earns a spot for 2025, the Crushers don’t expect to have an opening on their roster for him. So, in essence, while he’s playing for one team, he’s trying to impress other teams who may have vacant roster spots after this season.

“It's been a pretty crazy run,” Catlin said. “It's been nice to be able to see the hard work I've been putting in kind of paying off. These guys have been awesome. They've made this transition to LIV really easy. Been very supportive, and hopefully I can keep it going. Hopefully I can keep playing well and see what the future holds.”