'It Was a Risk I Was Willing to Take:' LIV Golf Reserve Doesn't Regret Passing Up Potential PGA Tour Career

Andy Ogletree took a chance to join LIV Golf last year and only played one event. But he says the move still helped create playing opportunities, and his career today is better for it.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – As LIV Golf began its second season on Friday, Andy Ogletree was practicing on the driving range while everyone else was on the El Camaleón course as part of the shotgun start.

Ogleetree, 24, is here as one of three reserves that LIV Golf brought in just in case a player is injured or sick and cannot play.

The former U.S. Amateur champion who played with Tiger Woods during the first two rounds of the 2020 Masters became a punching bag last year when he was invited to play in the first LIV Golf event in London and shot 24 over par through three rounds to finish last, 31 strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel.

Although he was paid last place money of $120,000, Ogletree was never invited back to another LIV event and was suspended for the rest of the year by the PGA for having played in that tournament. (He was not granted a conflicting event or media release, although he was not eligible for that week’s Korn Ferry Tour event.)

“My understanding was that I was going to play multiple (LIV) events,’’ Ogletree said as he was about to practice his short game while tournament played on. “But that was not guaranteed, obviously. It was a risk I was willing to take at the time because I had been for months and months and months trying to get into a Korn Ferry event and writing to tournament directors and basically begging to play a tournament that mattered.

“When an opportunity presented itself it was great for me. I didn’t play well. I was injured. I wasn’t too hard on myself. Sometimes in this game you just play bad golf. I wasn’t ready physically. I wasn’t ready mentally. I hadn’t played any golf for a few months before that event. Things happen for a reason I think. 

"That event opened a lot of doors for me. It gave me Asian Tour status and it gave me somewhere to play. And I think I’m showing the world what I can do now when healthy. I wouldn’t be able to do that without that opportunity.’’

Ogletree, who tore his labrum and missed six months after failing to get a full playing card at the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament, has won twice in the last several months on the International Series, an elevated series of events that is funded by LIV Golf. Ogletree won in Egypt last October, helping him attain full Asian Tour status for two years. When he won two weeks ago in Qatar, his victory meant another exemption which makes him exempt for at least three more years on the Asian Tour.

The nice thing for Ogletree is that the International Series events pay well. The purses are in the $2 million to $2.5-million range. He banked $450,000 for his victory in Qatar and has made more than $600,000 this year in three starts, including the Asian Tour opener in Saudi Arabia.

“There’s only a couple of tours in the world you can do that on,’’ he said. “It’s almost not possible anywhere else. It’s great to be playing for that amount of money. I’m happy with how it has come out and the opportunities with my recent success.’’

LIV Golf invited him here to serve as a reserve along with Wade Ormsby and Turk Petit. All played in LIV Golf events last year. Their expenses are being paid and they are also being compensated, although Ogletree would not disclose the terms. Laurie Canter, who also played last year, is subbing this week for Martin Kaymer, who missed the team championship last year due to injury.

“They are still trying to figure it all out, but I think the master plan in a perfect world will eventually be to have a designated reserve for each team,’’ Ogletree said. “There will be 12 guys who are signed to a team and if someone on that team goes down that person will come in. You’ll get paid a salary and probably wear the team merchandise and if they need you they’ll call you. Sort of like a bench player on any team is the concept.’’

Ogletree plans to continue playing Asian Tour events, especially the International Series. That is where the leading money winner can earn a spot in LIV Golf in 2024.

If Ogletree were to get into a LIV Golf event, he would be prohibited from playing any PGA Tour golf, including qualifiers and Q-school, for a year, per regulations the Tour enacted this season.

Ogletree said he doesn’t understand how that can apply to a non-member like himself, but he simply wants to take the opportunities that are in front of him. For now, he has a place to play on the Asian Tour and will return to an event in Thailand in two weeks.

And he plans to take part in two Asian Tour events (Hong Kong and in Korea) that will offer spots in the British Open. He also plans to go through qualifying for the U.S. Open.

“It will be interesting to see how it all plays out,’’ he said. “The goal is obviously to win the International Series Order of Merit. That gives you a full card on LIV and that’s a great place to be.’’