ROCESTER: Two years ago, American Andy Ogletree was part of the inaugural LIV Golf field in London. It did not go well. Fighting through lingering hip and back injuries from the previous year, he finished last and was left scrambling for playing opportunities.
This week, Ogletree is again playing at a LIV Golf event in England, and again he is bouncing back from injury. But this time, his position on the leaderboard is distinctly different.
Shooting a bogey-free 6-under 65, Ogletree is at 12 under and will take a two-shot lead as he enters Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf and Country Club. On the team side, Smash GC and Legion XIII share a four-shot lead over Ogletree’s HyFlyers GC, Stinger GC and Torque GC.
Not only is Ogletree seeking his first LIV Golf title and the biggest victory of his career, but he also hopes to complete an amazing story of redemption.
“Complete the journey,” said Ogletree, who joined Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers after earning a LIV Golf spot this season as the 2023 International Series champion.
“It’s been a crazy road. I don’t know exactly what it will mean. We’ll see. But for now, just focus on tomorrow, focus on taking care of the things that I can control, and we’ll go from there.”
Ogletree, forced to adjust his swing this season to compensate for an injured left wrist, cannot afford to look too far ahead — his closest pursuers are two of LIV Golf’s top players.
Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith is hoping to take a LIV Golf title in England for the second consecutive season, having won last year’s London event at Centurion Club. Legion XIII star Tyrrell Hatton recently won his first LIV Golf title in Nashville and has been one of the league’s most consistent players since he joined.
Smith and Hatton are each at 10 under, but neither seemed completely pleased with their second round 5-under 66s.
Smith appeared to be separating from the pack after his eighth birdie of the day left him leading by two. But an errant drive at the 16th hole followed by a water ball at the island-green 17th produced consecutive bogeys.
“Probably the most disappointing 5-under I think I’ve ever had,” said the three-time LIV Golf winner. “Was feeling really nice until a couple of loose swings.”
Hatton, like Ogletree, was bogey-free on his round and striking it well from tee to green, as he missed just two greens in regulation. But his putter didn’t heat up until his final 10 holes.
“Played some really nice golf and just felt like I was putting to thin air,” he said afterwards. “Didn't feel like there was actually a hole out there. It took until the 10th hole for a putt to drop.”
Smith and Hatton will play in the final group on Sunday with Ogletree, but there are seven other players within five shots of the lead. These include Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm and Crushers GC’s Paul Casey, who are tied for fourth; 2023 Individual Champion Talor Gooch, tied for sixth with Stinger GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen; and Gooch’s Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, who is tied for eighth with the RangeGoats duo of Matthew Wolff and Peter Uihlein.
It will be a big task for Ogletree to hold them all off, but given the journey he’s taken to reach this point he is ready for the challenge. He currently lies 38th in points but a win would move him inside the top 24 Lock Zone with just two regular-season tournaments remaining.
“I think I’ll be nervous, but I’ll look forward to that,” he said. “I’ll run towards that pressure and embrace it, and I think everyone is going to be nervous coming down the stretch. Whatever happens, I’ll accept it and learn from it and move on.”
Standings and counting scores for Saturday’s second round:
The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
T1. SMASH GC -21 (Gooch 66, Koepka 68, Kokrak 69; Rd. 2 score: -10)
T1. LEGION XIII -21 (Hatton 66, Surratt 68, Rahm 70; Rd. 2 score: -9)
T3. TORQUE GC -17 (Niemann 67, Ortiz 67, Munoz 68; Rd. 2 score: -11)
T3. STINGER GC -17 (Oosthuizen 67, Schwartzel 67, Grace 70; Rd. 2 score: -9)
T3. HYFLYERS GC -17 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 70, Mickelson 72; Rd. 2 score: -6)
T6. CRUSHERS GC -16 (DeChambeau 65, Casey 66, Catlin 71; Rd. 2 score: -11)
T6. FIREBALLS GC -16 (Puig 68, Chacarra 70, Garcia 70; Rd. 2 score: -5)
T8. RANGEGOATS GC -15 (Uihlein 67, Wolff 68, Watson 72; Rd. 2 score: -6)
T9. CLEEKS GC -13 (Bland 68, Samooja 68, Meronk 69; Rd. 2 score: -8)
T9. RIPPER GC -13 (Smith 66, Ormsby 71, Herbert 72; Rd. 2 score: -4)
T11. MAJESTICKS GC -10 (Poulter 68, Stenson 69, Horsfield 70; Rd. 2 score: -6)
T12. IRON HEADS GC -8 (Vincent 66, Kozuma 69, Na 70; Rd. 2 score: -8)
T12. 4ACES GC -8 (Reed 68, Perez 69, Johnson 69; Rd. 2 score: -7)
