Andy Ogletree was the U.S. Newbie champion with out a place to play when he took half within the first LIV Golf occasion final yr and was shut off from the PGA Tour. He didn’t have a contract with LIV and nonetheless doesn’t.
However he discovered his place on the Asian Tour, significantly the “Worldwide Sequence,” a collection of $2 million occasions with funding from LIV.
Ogletree shot 64 at Shut Home in England on Sunday for his third Worldwide Sequence victory, and second this yr.
He has earned $887,370 in 5 Worldwide Sequence occasions this yr. By comparability, Ben Kohles leads the Korn Ferry Tour with $504,828. Ogletree has virtually locked up a spot in LIV Golf for 2024 by main the Worldwide Sequence Order of Benefit by a big margin.
“I believe the inducement to play properly is fairly good. Getting an opportunity to play LIV Golf is what everybody’s right here to do,” Ogletree mentioned. “I wish to be on the market and really feel like that’s the place I wish to be proper now within the subsequent section of my life. So I’m doing all I can to safe that spot.”
With out LIV or the Worldwide Sequence, Ogletree can be on the Korn Ferry Tour at finest, presumably Latin America or Canada. Now he has realized to construct a schedule, to journey, and he’s making an honest residing.
“There’s loads of nice issues which have come from it and I wouldn’t be standing in entrance of you guys if it weren’t for LIV,” Ogletree mentioned.
However then he took be aware of the truth that 22 LIV gamers had been within the subject in England, and Ogletree gained by seven pictures. He’s an alternate this yr at LIV Golf.
“It has been irritating and I do assume {that a} contract will likely be coming in some unspecified time in the future,” Ogletree mentioned. “I believe I’ve confirmed that I must be on the market and I believe I’ve confirmed that my recreation matches up in opposition to these guys very properly. So I don’t know when that point will likely be. However I’m trying ahead to conversations that I’ll have with LIV Golf.”
In fact, the way forward for LIV Golf is just a little murky because the PGA Tour, European tour and Saudi Arabia’s nationwide wealth fund work on finalizing an settlement. The PGA Tour in the end could possibly be answerable for LIV.
And there’s nonetheless no avenue to the majors aside from open qualifying.
There have been 22 gamers from LIV Golf within the subject for the Asian Tour occasion final week — together with Ogletree, the alternate. None was among the many prime 100 on the planet rating. When LIV Golf started in June 2022, 12 of these gamers within the Worldwide Sequence-England had been among the many prime 100.
Ogletree’s third victory in 9 months took him to No. 214 on the planet rating.
One of many considerations in regards to the PGA Tour’s schedule of signature occasions is the top begin that fifty gamers may have on everybody else — though everybody begins from scratch in 2024.
The 50 gamers who made it to the BMW Championship are assured of getting within the eight $20 million occasions, which supply extra FedEx Cup factors (700). Everybody else can play their means into the large occasions, however it’s a bonus to have the ability to plan for them and have day without work.
The PGA Tour says it has run simulations and has discovered it’ll get roughly a 62 per cent retention charge, just like what it’s now. It additionally discovered by simulations that 70 extra gamers — past the highest 50 — would get into signature occasions.
“So we predict we discovered an awesome mannequin between all these items of the puzzle, together with the FedEx Cup factors system, to maintain that meritocracy and that pipeline of recent gamers robust out right here on tour,” mentioned Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour president.
Adam Schenk can begin looking for housing at Augusta Nationwide for subsequent April. He was amongst 10 gamers who secured a berth within the Masters by reaching the Tour Championship.
The opposite 20 already had been exempt from successful PGA Tour occasions because the Masters, ending excessive sufficient within the different majors or successful majors within the final 5 years.
Schenk is the one one on that listing who’s going to the Masters with out ever successful on the PGA Tour. There’s nonetheless time, and he’s actually not the primary participant. Abraham Ancer made it to Augusta in 2020 with out having gained — he gained a World Golf Championship the next yr.
Others who’ve performed the Masters with out ever successful on tour embody Roberto Castro, who reached the Tour Championship in 2013 and 2016.
Schenk additionally picks up one other award, this one with no bonus or trophy. The Tour Championship will likely be his thirty third begin of the season, essentially the most of any PGA Tour member — all in a season during which his spouse gave start to their first baby.
The 50 gamers who reached the BMW Championship are assured of being within the $20 million signature occasions subsequent yr, which means they don’t should play something within the fall with out shedding any floor as a result of the FedEx Cup standings don’t begin till January.
Some may wish to play if there’s a event they like, whether or not that’s Sea Island of Las Vegas or the brand new event at Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.
After which there’s Patrick Cantlay.
Cantlay left the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in 2021 and didn’t compete for 3 months till displaying up at Kapalua. That meant skipping Las Vegas, which has been an annuity for him. A yr in the past, Las Vegas was the one time he performed within the fall (he misplaced in a playoff).
What would entice him to play after the Ryder Cup in Rome?
“In all probability not loads this yr,” Cantlay mentioned. “I really feel like with the best way the brand new main schedule is and with all of the signature occasions, it looks like there’s loads of large tournaments. So I really feel prefer it’s simpler to gear up for these and keep on for these if you already know you might have an offseason coming.
“I’m simply going to relaxation after the Ryder Cup after which prepare most likely for Maui.”
Justin Thomas has signed as much as play the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California, on Sept. 14-17. That’s two weeks earlier than the Ryder Cup, maybe a sign he will likely be a captain’s choose. Or it’s an opportunity to get into early signature occasions subsequent yr. … The LPGA Tour and South Korea-based Lotte, the title sponsor of the LPGA occasion in Hawaii, are contributing $125,000 to help aid efforts from the devastating wildfires on Maui. The LPGA and Lotte have staged a event on Oahu since 2012.
Within the earlier 16 years of the FedEx Cup, solely three gamers who had the No. 1 seed on the Tour Championship have gone on to win. Tiger Woods did it twice. The others had been Vijay Singh in 2008 and Dustin Johnson in 2020.
“As a tour professional, we speak about distance and all these issues, however the factor that we are able to’t do is hit it by bushes. So while you begin taking a bunch of bushes off a property it positively can change the way it performs.” — Xander Schauffele, on the development of lowering bushes on championship golf programs.