"Rock bottom" Andy Ogletree opens up over LIV Golf Tour abuse
Andy Ogletree, the 2019 U.S. Amateur champion, has opened up on how he was at "rock bottom" before playing the first LIV Golf Tour event in London.
Andy Ogletree, the former U.S. Amateur champion who played in the first LIV Golf event in London, says he was at "rock bottom" in his pro career before teeing it up in the curtain raiser of the controversial series.
Ogletree, 24, hopped on the Fire Drill podcast with Alan Shipnuck and Ryan French to discuss life in the professional ranks so far and why he decided to play in the first LIV Golf Tour event despite a barrage of criticism at the time.
The 2019 U.S. Amateur champion said at the point he was approached by LIV he was "super frustrated with golf". He was not advancing in qualifiers to get into PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events. His woes were exacerbated by injury, too.
He said he was travelling all over the country playing mini tour events "just to make ends meet" and he understood that it was "on him" as he was simply not playing well enough. But it wasn't what he envisioned when he turned professional.
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Ogletree, who is one of 19 players to have been axed by LIV Golf this season, also outlined on the podcast that it got to a point where he was "simply going to run out of money".
"My parents were fortunate enough to provide me with the opportunity to go to college and get an education and play junior golf and do all these great things. I'm super thankful for everything they've given me.
"But they're not not gonna provide chasing these Monday qualifiers and fund my golf career. And rightfully so. It's a crazy expensive profession and some kids are lucky enough to have endless amounts of money. I grew up in a small town in Mississippi. We didn't have that kind of money."
Related: Gary Player blasts Cameron Smith after he signs for LIV Golf
Ogletree said he told his agent: "I just said, I'm not having fun playing golf. This is not what I want to be doing. If this is how golf is going to be then I'm going to have to take a step back and re-evaluate everything."
He added that if you can get to a place mentally where you are happy then you can turn things around pretty quickly.
Ogletree pointed to rookie Cameron Young, who has turned down LIV Golf, was also in a similar position not too long ago. One good week could turn everything around.
One of the biggest issues with LIV Golf is down to the fact it is being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, drawing accusations of sportswashing.
Ogletree said he saw no issue with the source of the money and there was nobody within his circle that expressed dismay over this.
"[There was] definitely not an issue with where the money was coming from," he told the podcast. "That was more so the only defence the Tour had based off this other tour at the time. Whatever.
"For me, I just kind of did my own research and talked to the smartest people I know."
Ogletree said his friends and family told him to go chase his dream. "No one really thought I could be suspended based off the status [on the PGA Tour] I had. I had conditional status."
On the podcast, he also expressed concern at being "grouped" with the other PGA Tour members who are involved in the antitrust lawsuit.
He does like nor does he want controversy, he said.
He said that he did not choose a LIV Golf event over a conflicting PGA Tour event. "I didn't like that I was grouped into this category of these guys that kind of rebelled against the Tour or chose a different path. I didn't choose a different path, I just chose to play in a golf tournament."
The pro said that he's been sent "hateful messages" every day for months "just for playing in a golf tournament". "I've had enough backlash," he said.
Ogletree has confirmed he is suspended until December.
