ATLANTA (AP) — Andy Ogletree was the U.S. Amateur champion without a place to play when he took part in the first LIV Golf event last year and was shut off from the PGA Tour. He didn’t have a contract with LIV and still doesn’t.
But he found his place on the Asian Tour, particularly the “International Series,” a series of $2 million events with funding from LIV.
Ogletree shot 64 at Close House in England on Sunday for his third International Series victory, and second this year.
He has earned $887,370 in five International Series events this year. By comparison, Ben Kohles leads the Korn Ferry Tour with $504,828. Ogletree has practically locked up a spot in LIV Golf for 2024 by leading the International Series Order of Merit by a large margin.
“I think the incentive to play well is pretty good. Getting a chance to play LIV Golf is what everyone’s here to do,” Ogletree said. “I want to be out there and feel like that’s where I want to be right now in the next phase of my life. So I’m doing all I can to secure that spot.”
Without LIV or the International Series, Ogletree would be on the Korn Ferry Tour at best, possibly Latin America or Canada. Now he has learned to build a schedule, to travel, and he’s making a decent living.
“There’s a lot of great things that have come from it and I wouldn’t be standing in front of you guys if it weren’t for LIV,” Ogletree said.
But then he took note of the fact that 22 LIV players were in the field in England, and Ogletree won by seven shots. He is an alternate this year at LIV Golf.
“It has been frustrating and I do think that a contract will be coming at some point,” Ogletree said. “I think I’ve proven that I should be out there and I think I’ve proven that my game matches up against those guys very well. So I don’t know when that time will be. But I’m looking forward to conversations that I’ll have with LIV Golf.”
Of course, the future of LIV Golf is a little murky as the PGA Tour, European tour and Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund work on finalizing an agreement. The PGA Tour ultimately could be in charge of LIV.
And there is still no avenue to the majors except for open qualifying.
There were 22 players from LIV Golf in the field for the Asian Tour event last week — including Ogletree, the alternate. None was among the top 100 in the world ranking. When LIV Golf began in June 2022, 12 of those players in the International Series-England were among the top 100.
Ogletree’s third victory in nine months took him to No. 214 in the world ranking.
