Q. How are you feeling?
JOHN CATLIN: I feel good. It's always nice to have a 1 on the scorecard, so that was pretty special.
Q. Tell us about your hole-in-one on 17 today. That was the shot of the day, no question.
JOHN CATLIN: Yeah, what's funny is I actually visualized it before it happened. I saw it coming in off that right-hand side, and once it landed and it started coming in, yeah, here it is. Once it pitches and it starts coming in off that right-hand side, right about there, I'm like, well, I think it might have a chance.
Q. Is that the biggest roar you've ever heard from one of your shots?
JOHN CATLIN: Yeah, I would say definitely, definitely up there, no doubt about it.
Q. That's No. 2 in tournaments?
JOHN CATLIN: Yeah.
Q. How many total?
JOHN CATLIN: Seven total.
Q. You told us you've got the ball in your pocket. You've got it show it to us.
JOHN CATLIN: I do have the ball in my pocket right here. Pretty awesome.
Q. What are you going to do with it?
JOHN CATLIN: Keep it somewhere safe in my house.
Q. Are you going to put it on your mantelpiece?
JOHN CATLIN: For sure, right next to the one in Denmark. Right there, I'm like, okay, that's got a chance, and then disappears.
Q. When did you start thinking, this may have a chance?
JOHN CATLIN: About eight feet in. You're not even thinking about what you're doing when that happens. It's just a natural reaction.
Q. No birdies until then; how was the course playing out there today?
JOHN CATLIN: It was playing difficult. It's a difficult golf course. Some of the guys are taking advantage, playing some good golf, but if you're a little bit off like I have been, it's definitely going to expose you.
Q. Last year you really struggled. I think I counted 16 missed cuts, and now you're here playing LIV, and you're leading the International Series. What clicked for you, coming from a player who was really struggling? I want to know the secret.
JOHN CATLIN: I wish there was a secret. I think you have to go through the ups and the downs. There's going to be times when you're playing great, and there's going to be times when you're not playing great, and you've just got to be willing to keep putting in the work, keep sticking to your process. You've got to know that better times are ahead.
Q. You are an inspiration I think to all players that are struggling at the moment.
JOHN CATLIN: Well, just keep working hard because everyone is going through that, and it'll turn.
Q. This year you've had a lot of success. You won in Macau, you shot a 59 there. You were robbed in Morocco, I have to say that, somewhat. But that's an important series for you, isn't it, because you have one ultimate goal.
JOHN CATLIN: Yeah, that's my priority one, especially after being out here and playing out here. You just see how good it is. I want to win that. I want to solidify my spot, and I want to be out here full-time.
Q. Talking about Morocco, when you left that 18th green after losing in the playoff, what did you feel?
JOHN CATLIN: I mean, you just have to hand it to the guy. He flat-out went out there and got it done. I would have liked to have hit a better putt in regulation on 18, but outside of that, I can pretty much hold my head high knowing I played some darned good golf. He just beat me.
Q. I was on the fairways with you; you had a three-shot lead with two holes to play, and you didn't mis-hit a shot. In fact, your two best shots of the week maybe were the 18th where you hit a perfect drive and incredible 2-iron to the middle of that green.
JOHN CATLIN: 100 percent. That's a difficult par-5, especially to get on in two. I hit two really good shots, and I was feeling very confident. Ben hit a great one back there. That's a tiny little window to get it into, and he hit one in there to about 12 feet, and it still wasn't a gimme. That was a tricky putt there, as well, so to hole that just to stay alive was pretty impressive.
Q. Let's pull out the International Series standings. Obviously give us what you think about as we pull these standings up. You're in a great position. You do not want to lose this lead whatsoever. You're doing everything you can to stay on top there.
JOHN CATLIN: 100 percent, 100 percent. I'll be ready to go, ready to bring it, and we've still got six more after that. Keep going.
Q. We've got seven International Series events left. It's going to be a really busy end of the year for you. How are you going to schedule the way -- are you going to take breaks or are you going to be full on right from the end of the LIV season right through to basically December?
JOHN CATLIN: I mean, I'm definitely going to play every single International Series. As I said, that's priority one. But you have to take breaks. You have to give yourself time to recover. We're out here grinding giving it everything we've got. I want to be fresh. I want to be ready to go. But you've also got to grit it down sometimes.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports