RACESTER: Two years ago, American Andy Ogletree was part of the first LIV golf course in London. It did not go well. Battling lingering hip and back injuries the previous year, he finished last and was left struggling to find playing opportunities.
This week, Ogletree is playing again in an LIV golf event in England, returning from injury. But this time, his position in the leaderboard is completely different.
With a bogey-free 6-under 65, Ogletree is 12 under and will hold a two-shot lead entering 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 stroke lead over Ogletree's HyFlyers GC, Stinger GC and Torque GC.
Not only is Ogletree looking for his first LIV Golf title and the biggest win of his career, but he's also hoping to complete an amazing story of redemption.
“Complete the journey,” said Ogletree, who joined Phil Mickelson's HyFlyers after winning LIV Golf this season as the 2023 International Series champion.
“It's been a crazy road. I don't know exactly what it's going to mean. We'll see. But right now, just focus on tomorrow, focus on taking care of the things I can control, and we'll go from there.”
Ogletree, who has had to adjust his swing this season to compensate for an injured left wrist, can't look too far ahead — his closest pursuers are two of LIV Golf's top players.
Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith is hoping to win the LIV golf title in England for the second consecutive season after winning last year's London event at the Centurion Club. Legion XIII star Tyrell Hutton recently won his first golf title in Nashville and has been one of the league's most consistent players since joining.
Smith and Hutton are each 10 under, but neither seemed entirely satisfied with their second-round 5-under 66.
Smith looked to be breaking away from the pack after his eighth birdie of the day put him ahead by two. But an errant drive on the 16th, followed by a bogey on the island green on the 17th, produced back-to-back bogeys.
“Probably the most disappointing 5-under I think I've ever had,” said the three-time LIV Golf winner. “I felt really good for a few loose swings.”
Hutton, like Ogletree, was bogey-free in his round, hitting it well from the tee to the green as he missed just two greens in regulation. But his putter didn't heat up until the last 10 holes.
“I played really good golf and I felt like I was running out of steam,” he said afterward. “I didn't feel like there was really a hole there. It took until the 10th hole to putt a ball.
Smith and Hutton will play Ogletree in the final group on Sunday, but seven other players are 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 singles champion Talor Gooch tied for sixth with Stinger GC skipper Louis Oosthuizen. and Brooks Koepka, captain of Gooch Smesh JC, who is tied for eighth with RangeGoats Matthew Wolfe and Peter Evelyn.
It will be a tall order for Ogletree to stop them all, but given the journey he's taken to get to this point, he's up for the challenge. He is currently 38th in points, but a win would move him into a top 24 lockout with just two regular season tournaments remaining.
“I think I'll be nervous, but I'm looking forward to it,” she said. I walk up to that push and hug it, and I think everyone's going to be nervous about the pressure going down. Whatever happens, I accept it and learn from it and move on.”
Classification table and counting of points for the second round on Saturday:
The three best points from each team in the first two rounds and all four points in the final round are counted. The team with the lowest cumulative points after three rounds wins the team title.
T1. SMASH GC-21 (Gooch 66, Koepka 68, Kukrak 69; Rejection 2: -10)
T1. 13th Legion -21 (Hetan 66, Surat 68, Rahm 70; score 2: -9)
T3. TORQUE GC-17 (Niman 67, Ortiz 67, Munoz 68; red 2 points: -11)
T3. STINGER GC-17 (Oosthuizen 67, Schwartzel 67, Grace 70, Rd. 2 points: -9)
T3. HYFLYERS GC-17 (Egletree 65, Tringle 70, Mickelson 72; Redd score 2: -6)
T6. GC-16 crusher (DeChambeau 65, Casey 66, Catlin 71; Rd. 2 score: -11)
T6. Fireballs GC -16 (Puig 68, Chacarra 70, Garcia 70; Rd. 2 points: -5)
T8. RANGEGOATS GC-15 (Uihlein 67, Wolff 68, Watson 72; Rd. 2 points: -6)
T9. CLEEKS GC-13 (Bland 68, Samoja 68, Marunk 69, red 2 points: -8)
T9. RIPPER GC-13 (Smith 66, Ormsby 71, Herbert 72; score 2: -4)
T11. MAJESTICS GC-10 (Poulter 68, Stenson 69, Horsfield 70; score 2: -6)
T12. Iron head GC -8 (Vincent 66, Kozuma 69, Na 70; Rd. 2 score: -8)
T12. 4ACES GC -8 (Reed 68, Perez 69, Johnson 69; Reid 2: -7)
