Rochester: Two years ago, American Andy Ogletree was part of London's inaugural LIV Golf Course. Not going well. Battling through lingering hip and back injuries the previous year, he finished last and stopped looking for playing opportunities.
This week, Ogletree is playing again at the LIV Golf event in England, and once again he is coming back from injury. However, this time his position on the leaderboard is different.
Shooting 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-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 victory of his career, but he also hopes to complete an amazing 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 figure it out. But for now, just focus on tomorrow, focus on taking care of the things 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 — his closest followers 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 season in a row 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 joining.
Smith and Hatton are each at 10 under, but neither looked completely satisfied with their second-round 5-under 66s.
Smith appeared to break away from the pack after his eighth birdie of the day left him two up. But an errant drive on the 16th hole and then a water ball on 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. “Feeled really good until a few loose swings.”
Hatton, like Ogletree, was bogey-free in his round and hitting it well from tee to green, as he missed two greens in regulation. But his putter didn't heat up until the last 10 holes.
“Played some good golf and felt like I was putting on thin air,” he said afterward. “It didn't feel like there was actually a hole there. It took until the 10th hole for the putt to fall.”
Smith and Hatton will play Ogletree in the final group on Sunday, but there are seven other players within five shots of the lead. This includes Legion XIII captain John Rahm and Crushers GC's Paul Casey, who finished fourth. 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch, tied for sixth with Stinger GC captain Louis Oosthuizen; and Gooch's Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, who finished eighth with the RangeGoats duo of Matthew Wolfe and Peter Uihlen.
Stopping all of that will be a big task for Ogletree, but given the journey he's taken to get to this point he's ready for the challenge. He currently ranks 38th in points, but the win puts him inside the top 24 lock zone with just two regular-season contests remaining.
“I think I'll be nervous, but I'm looking forward to it,” he said. “I'm going to run toward that pressure and embrace it, and I think everybody's going to be nervous down the stretch. Regardless, I'm going to 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 (Guch 66, Koepka 68, Kokrak 69; RD 2 Points: -10)
T1. LEGION XIII -21 (Hatton 66, Surratt 68, Rahm 70; RD 2 points: -9)
T3. TORQUE GC -17 (Niman 67, Ortiz 67, Munoz 68; RD 2 Points: -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. Crusher GC -16 (DeChambeau 65, Casey 66, Catlin 71; Rd. 2 score: -11)
T6. Fireball GC -16 (Pugh 68, Chakara 70, Garcia 70; RD 2 points:-5)
T8. RANGEGOATS GC -15 (Uilen 67, Wolff 68, Watson 72; RD 2 points:-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 points: -4)
T11. MAJESTICKS GC -10 (Poulter 68, Stenson 69, Horsfield 70; RD 2 points: -6)
T12. Iron Heads GC-8 (Vincent 66, Kozuma 69, Na 70; RD 2 points:-8)
T12. 4ACES GC -8 (Reid 68, Perez 69, Johnson 69; RD 2 Score: -7)
