LIV Golf: Ogletree believes he and HyFlyers are on verge of ‘great things’, despite struggles ahead of Hong Kong event
- Andy Ogletree, who won twice on the Asian Tour last season, says he’s ‘really close to playing some great golf’
- The American is back at Fanling just months after sealing the International Series order of merit at the Hong Kong Open
There are not many times in a professional golfer’s career when failing to win means popping open the champagne, but Andy Ogletree’s performance at the Hong Kong Open was one of those rare occasions.
The 25-year-old did not even finish in the top 10 when he broke open a bottle of bubbly last November, but coming 12th sealed last year’s International Series order of merit title, paving the way for him to join Phil Mickleson’s HyFlyers GC team.
Ogletree is back at Hong Kong Golf Club this week, as the team competition makes its debut in the city and said the Fanling course was “a special place” for him.
“Yeah, I’ve never been more excited to finish 12th in a golf tournament in my entire life,” he said. “This is the place that officially got me on to LIV Golf for this season, I’m happy to be back, and looking forward to the week for sure.”
The American though has not had the best start to the year, with a tie for 41st in Las Vegas his best result so far and only Anthony Kim sits below him in the standings.
Meanwhile, the HyFlyers, who also count Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale among their number, have struggled to get off the ground, with Mickelson’s tie for sixth in Jeddah on Sunday the best individual finish of the season.
Even so, at a team press conference on Thursday, Ogletree, who won twice on the Asian Tour last season and will make his first International Series appearance of the year in Macau next week, said he believed he and the team were on the verge of “great things”.
“These guys have helped me so much, picking their brains on all different types of shots, different parts of the game, and everyone has different strengths,” he said. “I’m trying to learn a little bit from everyone and piece it together myself.
“I’ve been working on my game a little bit and haven’t seen the results yet so far this season, but I really think I’m close to playing some great golf, and I think the whole team is starting to play some really good golf.”
Ogletree will be among more than 20 LIV golfers who play in Macau next week, and his performances on the International Series have opened up more doors, including at the Open Championship at Royal Troon in July.
Changes to the R&A’s exemption categories, announced on Wednesday, included five spots for the International Federation Ranking list. Ogletree is presently second behind Japan’s Keita Nakajima.
“There hasn’t been an official announcement yet, so I’m not going to talk about it any more, but I couldn’t be more excited for that opportunity,” he said.
