ROCESTER: Two years ago, American Andy Ogletree was part of the first LIV Golf course in London. It did not go well. Battling through lingering hip and back injuries from the previous year, he finished last and had to look for playing opportunities.
This week, Ogletree is playing again at a LIV Golf event in England, and once again he is bouncing back from injury. But this time his position on the leaderboard is completely different.
With a bogey-free 6-under 65, Ogletree is on 12 under and will take a two-shot lead into 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 looking for his first LIV Golf title and the biggest win of his career, but he's also hoping to complete a great story of redemption.
“Finish 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's going to 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, can't afford to look too far ahead – his closest pursuers are two of LIV Golf's best players.
Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith is hoping to claim a LIV Golf title in England for the second consecutive season, after winning last year's London event at the 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 his arrival.
Smith and Hatton are each at 10 under, but neither seemed completely satisfied with their second-round 5-under 66s.
Smith appeared to separate from the pack after his eighth birdie of the day put him two up. But an errant drive on the 16th hole followed by a water ball on the island green 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. “It felt really nice until a couple of loose swings.”
Hatton, like Ogletree, was bogey-free in his round and hit it well from tee to green, missing just two greens in regulation. But his putter didn't warm up until the final 10 holes.
“Played really good golf and just felt like I was putting in the air,” he said afterward. “It 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; Individual champion 2023 Talor Gooch, shared sixth with Stinger GC captain Louis Oosthuizen; and Gooch's Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, who is tied for eighth with RangeGoats duo Matthew Wolff and Peter Uihlein.
It will be a tall order for Ogletree to hold them all off, but given the journey he's made to get to this point, he's up for the challenge. He is currently 38th in points but a win would move him into the top 24 lock zone with just two tournaments left in the regular season.
“I think I'll be nervous, but I'm looking forward to it,” he said. “I'm going to run against that pressure and embrace it, and I think everybody's going to be nervous coming down. Whatever happens, I'm going to accept it and learn from it and move on.”
Standings and counting points for Saturday's second round:
The top three 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 points after three rounds wins the team title.
T1. SMASH GC -21 (Gooch 66, Koepka 68, Kokrak 69; Rd. 2 points: -10)
T1. LEGION XIII -21 (Hatton 66, Surratt 68, Rahm 70; Rd. 2 points: -9)
T3. MOMENT GC -17 (Niemann 67, Ortiz 67, Munoz 68; Rd. 2 points: -11)
T3. STINGER GC -17 (Oosthuizen 67, Schwartzel 67, Grace 70; Rd. 2 points: -9)
T3. HYFLYERS GC -17 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 70, Mickelson 72; Rd. 2 points: -6)
T6. Crushes GC -16 (DeChambeau 65, Casey 66, Catlin 71; Rd. 2 points: -11)
T6. FIRE BALLS GC -16 (Puig 68, Chacarra 70, Garcia 70; Rd. 2 points: -5)
T8. RANGEBOTS GC -15 (Uihlein 67, Wolff 68, Watson 72; Rd. 2 points: -6)
T9. CLEEKS GC -13 (Among 68, Samooja 68, Meronk 69; Rd. 2 points: -8)
T9. RIPPER GC -13 (Smith 66, Ormsby 71, Herbert 72; Rd. 2 points: -4)
T11. MAJESTIC'S GC -10 (Poulter 68, Stenson 69, Horsfield 70; Rd. 2 points: -6)
T12. IRON HEAD GC -8 (Vincent 66, Kozuma 69, Na 70; Rd. 2 points: -8)
T12. 4ACES GC -8 (Reed 68, Perez 69, Johnson 69; Rd. 2 points: -7)
