The exciting action on the golf course last week at the International Series Japan was matched by some strong talk off it that helped the new season on The International Series get off to a memorable start.

ROUND ONE

American John Catlin when asked if he’s close to getting back to his best after the first round:

• “I think there’s even better ahead. As I said at the start of 2024, no one goes through life or golf with everything going exactly to plan. I went through some challenges, but I’m stronger for it, and I believe my best golf is still to come.”

Lin Yuxin from China on his outlook and goals for his first Asian Tour season:

• “The Asian Tour is a great platform, and I feel very honoured to be playing here. I’m really grateful for the opportunity. In terms of goals, I’m just focused on doing my best each week and seeing where that puts me at the end of the season.”

New Zealand’s Nick Voke after playing through the worst of the weather and shooting four-under-par:

• “I’m probably as surprised as anyone. We knew it would be cold, wet and windy, we’re about a month earlier than last year—but I didn’t expect it to hit straight away. I don’t get to play in the rain too often, so it took some adjusting, but I managed it pretty well.”

ROUND TWO

Korean Yubin Jang on if he’s getting back to his form of the 2023–24 season on the Korean PGA Tour after a season on the LIV Golf League:

• “I played very well during that period, which helped me earn opportunities to compete at a higher level at LIV Golf. Last year didn’t go quite as I hoped, but I’m working hard to get back to that level and improve my performance this season.”

Karandeep Kochhar from India about his first time playing in Japan:

• “I think it’s awesome. I think obviously, playing on bent grass, like I think it’s amazing. Especially where I come from, obviously the course hasn’t been in the greatest of shape lately, so just to come here and play was just amazing. Like, it’s my first time to Japan obviously, so I’m really enjoying myself. The people are lovely; the course is amazing.”

On if he learned anything after disappointing final rounds in the Philippines and New Zealand, after leading in the former and being in contention in the latter:

• “I mean definitely, I think you learn more about yourself every time you fail, and you know, kind of come back up again. So, I think the most important part for me over this weekend will be to not get ahead of myself, and treat it like any other round. Obviously, it’s easier said than done, because every round is final rounds and weekends are obviously different. The pressure level is higher, but you know, I’m glad I put myself in that position. I want to feel the pressure, and even if I fail, that’s okay.”

ROUND THREE

Korean Hongtaek Kim on if he was targeting a win after being tied for the lead after three rounds:

• “To be honest, I didn’t have the best preparation coming in because my second child was just born. So, I was a bit unsure about how I would play this week. I’m just really pleased with how things have gone”.

Travis Smyth from Australia on his bounce-back after a double-bogey on the ninth hole:

• “Yeah, like, I just have a lot of belief in what I’m doing at the moment. You know, coming into this tournament, I was pretty unprepared. Like I didn’t practice much at all in those two weeks off, and felt very rusty at the start of the week, and even the first two rounds. And I just, I don’t know, I’m just taking it one shot at a time. I’m not really thinking too much about the result, and just, as cliche as it sounds, it’s literally just one shot at a time. And trying to sort of get my feels back, honestly, because it doesn’t feel like the same me as it did, like, sort of last month.”

ROUND FOUR

Australian Cameron John on his debut on The International Series:

• “I’m loving it. I’d honestly like to play as many of these as I can. I even messaged my wife earlier this week saying how great it would be to play the full schedule. There’s obviously a big opportunity at the end of it, so to start well gives me a lot of confidence going into the next events.”

Pavit Tangkamolprasert from Thailand describing his final round 62, nine-under-par:

• “Today I played pretty much like perfect golf. I drove the ball very well, I hit my irons very good and I was putting well. So, everything was like on the momentum. I sunk putts and had like a streak on the first nine, so I gained confidence with my putting.”

When asked if he thought he had a chance to win the tournament when he woke up this morning, he said:

• “Honestly, I didn’t feel that I was in contention, I just hoped that I wake up with no rain, not cold. The weather is perfect today, so yeah, it’s like moving day.”

American Austen Truslow on his eagle on the 16^th hole after his tee shot hit an overhanging cable and he got to play that shot again without penalty:

• “I mean, that was a crazy situation, I hit the telephone pole line, got to re-tee, and then I drove it to 36 feet and made the putt. And the first ball was going probably 20 yards right of the green, so that was insane. That’s the craziest eagle in my life.”

Ryosuke Kinoshita from Japan when asked about his final round:

• “I shot some good scores in the third and final rounds, and I started thinking about a win halfway through. However, it is really disappointing that I could not sink a short putt on the 15th. Overall, I am happy to have finished with three birdies in a row. Anyway, Travis was very impressive today.”

Travis Smyth on finishing with an eagle on the 72^nd hole to win his second Asian Tour event and first International Series title:

• “That’s what dreams are made of right there. As a young kid, you know, you’re on the putting green having putting comps with your mates, you’re trying to chip in to win, you’re trying to hole 25 footers to win. And that was unbelievable. You know, I won a tournament two weeks ago, probably a pretty similar putt downhill, left to right, just draw upon that. But yeah, for it to go in like that, it’s the best feeling ever.”

On his outlook for the 2026 season after winning twice now early in the year, after being winless since the 2022 Yeangder TPC:

• “Yeah, man, look, I’ve had a hard time trying to win tournaments. People don’t understand how hard it is to win, you know, like it’s such a mind game with yourself out there, you’re trying to… In the past, like you’re always trying to come up with excuses as to why you might not be leading, or why you might not be hitting the shots under pressure that you want to, but I don’t know, I’ve been able to turn a corner. I started working with a psych in Melbourne, Dan Diamond, it’s been amazing. Haven’t really changed anything with the swing stuff, just been chipping away at that, but I feel like mentally, I’m just getting a little bit closer to where I need to be.”

Asked if he had a target score in mind at the start of the final round he said:

• “I mean, I got off to a good start. The conditions were very favorable; I thought the flags were pretty easy. I don’t know who set up the pins, they were pretty easy. That’s why there were so many good scores. And pretty early on, you know, I saw Pavit like seven under through 12 holes, and another person was maybe six under through about 10 holes, so I thought I’m going to need to do something pretty special here. And I got a little bit ahead of myself, sort of, throughout the middle of the round, and was getting a little bit frustrated not making birdies. But I just sort of, I don’t know, as cliche as it sounds, I brought myself back to the present, you know, one shot at a time, and literally, that’s all it was. And then, you know, just to finish the way I did was unbelievable.”

On his previously stated goal of getting onto the LIV Golf League after playing three events in the 2022 inaugural season:

• “Yeah, I mean, the goals are still the same. Ever since I got a taste of LIV golf, I’ve wanted to get back there. So that’s still always at the back of my mind when I wake up in the morning and when I go to bed at night. I definitely want to finish out the season as good as I can and get back to where I feel like I belong.”