ROSTER: Two years ago, American Andy Ogletree entered the first LIV golf course in London. It didn't go well. Battling leftover hip and back injuries from last year, he finished last and struggled for a chance to play.
This week Ogletree is back in England competing in the LIV Golf Championship, once again recovering from injury, but this time his position on the leaderboard is noticeably different.
Ogletree, who fired a bogey-free six-under 65, is at 12-under and will take a two-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf & 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.
Ogletree is not only looking to capture his first LIV Golf title and the biggest win of his career, but he’s also looking to complete an incredible redemption story.
“Complete the journey,” said Ogletree, who joined Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers after earning his spot on LIV Golf this season as the 2023 International Series champion.
“It's been a crazy ride. I don't know exactly what it means. We'll see. But for now, I'm just going to focus on tomorrow, what I can control, and go from there.”
Ogletree, who has had to adjust his swing this season because of a strained left wrist, can't 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 win a second consecutive LIV golf title in the UK after winning at the Centurion Club in London last year. Legion XIII star Tyrrell Hatton recently claimed his first LIV golf title in Nashville and has been one of the league’s most consistent players since joining the ranks.
Smith and Hatton each shot 10-under, but both seemed content with their second-round 5-under 66s.
Smith appeared to be breaking away from the pack after his eighth birdie of the day to take a two-shot lead, but he followed that up with a botched drive on the 16th and a water ball on the island green on the 17th.
“It was probably the most disappointing five-under I've ever been on,” said the three-time LIV Golf winner. “I was feeling really good until I had a couple of loose swings.”
Hatton, like Ogletree, went tee-to-green without a bogey in the round, missing only two greens in regulation, but his putter didn't heat up until the final 10 holes.
“I played really good golf and it felt like I was putting in the air,” he said later. “It didn't really feel like there was a hole. It took me until the 10th hole for the putt to fall.”
Smith and Hatton will play in the final group with Ogletree on Sunday, but there are seven others within five shots of the leaders. That includes Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm and Crushers GC’s Paul Casey, who are fourth. 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch is sixth with Stinger GC captain Louis Oosthuizen. Gooch’s Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka is eighth with RangeGoats duo Matthew Wolff and Peter Uihlein.
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's currently 38th in points, but a win would put him in the top 24 lock zone with just two regular-season tournaments remaining.
“It's going to be nerve-racking, but I'm looking forward to it,” he said. “I'm going to run into that pressure and embrace it. And I think everyone's going to be nervous until the end. Whatever happens, we're going to embrace it and learn from it and move on.”
Saturday Round 2 Standings and Scoring:
The top three scores for each team are counted in the first two rounds, and all four scores are counted in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
T1. Smash GC -21 (Guchi 66, Koepka 68, Kokrak 69; 2nd round score: -10)
T1. 13th Legion -21 (Hatton 66, Surat 68, Laem 70; 2nd round score: -9)
T3. Torque GC -17 (Niemann 67, Ortiz 67, Munoz 68; 2nd round score: -11)
T3. Stinger GC -17 (Oosthuizen 67, Schwartzel 67, Grace 70; Rd. 2 score: -9)
T3. High Flyers GC -17 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 70, Mickelson 72; 2nd round score: -6)
T6. Crusher GC -16 (DeChambeau 65, Casey 66, Catlin 71; 2nd round score: -11)
T6. Fireball GC -16 (Puig 68, Chacarra 70, Garcia 70; Rd. 2 score: -5)
T8. RANGEGOATS GC -15 (Uhlein 67, Wolf 68, Watson 72; 2nd round score: -6)
T9. CLIX GC -13 (Bland 68, Samuja 68, Meronk 69; 2nd round score: -8)
T9. Ripper GC -13 (Smith 66, Ormsby 71, Herbert 72; 2nd round score: -4)
T11. Majestics GC -10 (Poulter 68, Stenson 69, Horsfield 70; 2nd round score: -6)
T12. Iron Head GC -8 (Vincent 66, Cosma 69, Na 70; 2nd round score: -8)
T12. 4 Ace GC -8 (Lead 68, Perez 69, Johnson 69; 2nd round score: -7)
