Andy Ogletree, man who finished dead last in first LIV Golf event, wants route back after PGA Tour suspension
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Published 01/09/2022 at 18:23 GMT
LIV Golf made its biggest signing to date when it confirmed the recruitment of world No. 2 and Open Championship winner Cameron Smith and he will play the fourth event in Boston this week. It is a world away from the opening event when Andy Ogletree finished absolute last at Centurion. He has not played a LIV event since and is looking to find a path to regular golf.
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Andy Ogletree is hopeful his PGA Tour suspension will be lifted in December, but is prepared to forge a career on the Asian Tour.
Ogletree was handed a suspension for playing in the opening LIV Golf event at Centurion Club in June.
The American, a winner of the US Amateur title in 2019, is infamous for finishing absolute last in the opening LIV event.
As more players made the move to LIV, lower-ranked golfers were let go and Ogletree has not played for LIV since - instead he has been teeing it up in Asia.
His suspension runs until December, at which point a decision on his status will be made by the PGA Tour.
Ogletree is hopeful his ban will be lifted, but is unsure of the future as he has had no communication since he was suspended.
“I needed somewhere to play golf, that’s the bottom line,” Ogletree told the Fire Drill podcast of his decision to play in the LIV event. “I know everyone has said it’s not about the money, but the money is great for me.
“I needed somewhere to play and it provided a great financial situation for me to be able to fund my golf for the next couple of years.
“For me it was a no-brainer. I had nowhere else to play. That week of London there was no GProTour event, no Korn Ferry Tour event, no Monday qualifier. There was nowhere else for me to play.
"I had an opportunity to play in a golf tournament and I took it. If that had been an International Series event in Singapore, as was the case two weeks ago, I would have gone. If it was Colorado Open like I just did, I would have gone. The week after the first LIV event, I went and played a GProTour event. I need to play golf.
“It is pretty simple. I did net get in a single event in the Korn Ferry Tour, I have never played a Korn Ferry Tour event. I needed somewhere to play.”
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Ogletree consulted friends and family before committing to the LIV event, and it was felt he would not be suspended due to there being no clash with any other competition he could have played in.
“No one had any issues and no one thought that my route to the PGA Tour would be any different,” Ogletree said. “No one really thought I could be suspended based off the status I had.
“I am suspended until December on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Canada, PGA Tour Latin America.
"Everyone thinks I am suspended for life because I was put on the same list that came out. I don’t agree with how my name was put out there with everyone else who chose a LIV event over a PGA Tour event. I had no exemptions, no tournament to play. I did not like I was grouped into this category of players who rebelled against the PGA Tour or chose a different path. I did not choose a path, I just chose to play in a golf tournament.
“Hopefully we will be able to have a conversation at some point. I am not going to be in a lawsuit against the PGA Tour, I do not want to go down that route.”
Ogletree revealed he had closed off all access to social media due to the negativity that came his way.
“I have taken enough backlash from playing in the first LIV event,” the 24-year-old said. “People have sent me hateful things, basically every day for months I have got a crazy amount of backlash just for playing in a golf tournament.
“Every day when I opened my phone on Twitter, there was this crazy amounts of tags and comments, just hateful things and I just got tired of seeing it.”
Assessing his future, Ogletree remains in limbo until a decision is made by the PGA Tour as to his eligibility.
“Growing up the PGA Tour is where I wanted to play,” he said. “I would still love to play on the PGA Tour. I would love to play the LIV tour. I would love to play anywhere. I just want to play golf.
“I hope we can have a conversation with the PGA Tour at some point and talk about my situation. We just need to have a conversation as I don’t understand how I can be suspended from a tour I never played on.”
LIV Golf has ties with the Asian Tour, and Ogletree has a pathway to golf through the International Series which could secure him playing status on the Asian Tour in 2023.
“I can play International Series for the rest of this year and possibly next year,” Ogletree said. “That gave me a place to play, some events to play. I got to play the last two International Series. I played in Singapore and South Korea.
“I played really well, finished 15th, and just to be in contention in a golf tournament in an event that matters with world ranking points and a nice purse was awesome.
“I have four more of those and am looking forward to those. I just want to keep getting in tournaments.
“We will see what happens. I just want to play golf anywhere. I will play these International Series for now, do my time so to speak until my suspension is over from the Korn Ferry Tour.”
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Ogletree is convinced LIV is a long-term proposition.
“Eventually, I think all this talk of LIV Golf will kind of subside and it will just be another tour that people play on,” Ogletree said. “I think they are here to stay. They have unlimited resources, unlimited funds, and when you have unlimited resources and unlimited funds it is pretty easy to be successful."
Ogletree feels LIV’s alliance with the Asian Tour could be a problem for the PGA Tour, as he could foresee players jumping ship to make a living.
“There are guys losing money playing good golf every week,” Ogletree said. “That’s a problem for the PGA Tour. We are seeing half a billion dollars being released to the PGA Tour but nothing is being released to PGA Tour Canada or PGA Tour Latin America or the Korn Ferry Tour, so I think you are going to see some guys saying they can’t make a living here, and can go make a living on the Asian Tour.
“The stars on the PGA Tour are being protected, and awarded great compensation, but the future stars of the PGA Tour are definitely not reaping those benefits right now.”
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