Heng Time: Andy Ogletree’s Long & Winding Road to LIV Golf

On this edition of Heng Time with Su-Ann Heng, HyFlyers GC’s Andy Ogletree breaks down his journey to becoming a full-time member of the LIV Golf League, making the most out of limited options.

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Welcome to hang time this week we’re here in Jetta and joining me is Andy ogal tree from The High Flyers we’re going to play the ninth hole we’re going to have a chat and have a great time let’s do this what’s up suan what’s up Andy how

Are you good to see you how are you to see you yeah um we’re going to watch you play the ninth you’ve played this a few times you just said you hate this hole so let’s maybe try and change change the narrative here yes yes exactly well uh

Michael where’s the wind off the left little bit in from the left yeah I don’t I don’t like this t-shot because it it works a little left to right once it lands and I like to play a little cut as well so it’s hard for me to hold the

Fairway but we’ll see if we can hit a little draw here what’s your line trying to land it on that Liv golf Tower in the distance okay if I hit one good I can barely carry that bunker little right well Andy we’re here in jeda It’s a Long

Way from Little Rock Mississippi and Atlanta right which is where you live um you’ve now won three times on three different continents I have yeah when you left Little Rock when you were a kid did you see this happening at all I never never really envisioned uh playing

A world wad tour um you know growing up the the dream was always to play the PJ tour and um I would go to lot of events and I never really you know thought I would go outside of that but things change and um different opportunities have presented themselves and I’m so

Thankful to be on live golf this year um traveling the Asian tour last year was amazing such a great experience getting to see the world and and play golf along the way so um but to be on live this year is is awesome and you know that was

When I left College I had limited options and the asent tour route became the best option so um um yeah it is what it is and I’ve kind of just rolled with it and and tried to make the best of it and had an amazing year last year and um

To set myself up for for what’s to come this year and going forward is is awesome and so thankful to be a part of it now you mentioned the PGA Tour you know you won the US amateur yeah then you played the Masters got the lowest M

At the Masters then you got conditional status on the corn fairy that’s right yeah um and then you got an invite I did employee in in Centurion in 2022 that was a huge decision to make at the time of your career it was how I mean are you happy with it now looking

Back yeah I I couldn’t be happier but at the time you know I was I was traveling the country playing Monday qualifiers because I wasn’t my category wasn’t high enough on the corn fairy tour M um list to get into the into the event so playing Monday qualifiers didn’t feel

Like I was getting better I went to my Agent M barnhard I’m like man I I want to play any anywhere like I’ll I’ll go anywhere in the world I just want to play 40 events I want to play um tournaments against great competition I don’t feel like I’m getting better and I

Feel like I’m just kind of waiting until the next q school got a call a few weeks later that I could play the first event on live golf and that also gave me uh Asian tour status so it was a no-brainer for me because I I genuinely just wanted

To play tournaments that matter I wanted to have a schedule I wanted to have tournaments to prepare for know when my next start was um like that so at the time it it didn’t feel like that big of a decision because it was kind of a no-brainer for me it’s like I need

Somewhere to play yeah I just wanted to compete I need uh you know a schedule so um that’s what it was about for me and the rest has just been kind of a bonus yeah well you talked about you know dream was to play the PJ T when you

First packed your bags to go play at Centurion and then from there you then end up playing all over the globe what was that experience like what was that first experience like leaving the United States I guess it was just a little naive like I didn’t think it was that

Big a deal um and I I was taking local caddies every week on agan tour and um I was traveling completely solo and looking back I guess that’s kind of scary like you know traveling across the world by yourself and doing all these things but at the time it was just like

I really was wanting to play golf tournament so I didn’t care where it was um which was the one place that you were like oh my goodness like yeah my first my first my first trip to Asia was uh Singapore and it was like midco and

Having to yeah I I can’t be can’t be too uh can’t I can’t hate on Singapore too much but no it was uh it was cool and it was midco so we were having to do all the co testing and um it was it was a pretty crazy experience but we went to

From there to juu Island and just getting to see all these different places that I’d never been before was wild and experienced different cultures and different foods and different Cuisines it’s it’s just super cool and everywhere I’ve gone I’ve tried to go out in the town and and see the cool

Stuff and kind of be a tourist almost and uh you know I’m I’m young and able to get get to travel the world like that is awesome and you know I I’ve really enjoyed it and I I want to keep doing that as much as I can obviously we’re

Playing a full live schedule 14 events and then I’ll probably play some more Asian tour events as well just because I enjoy it so much and um all the people that I’ve met have been have been great and and they’ve been so supportive for me and um I think I have status out

There for 5 years now since I won the agenty order Merit so I can I can kind of pick and choose the cool places that I want to go see and Singapore right absolutely yeah I’ll always play Singapore as long as you take us back to that market where we had those fresh

Coconuts oh yeah absolutely absolutely your CAD Michael um ate by far the most food I’ve ever seen everything that you brought I think absolutely I kept bringing out food and you kept eating yeah the craziest was that uh oh my gosh we had uh Stingray which was a wild yeah

I know yeah I got I order Barbe Stingray um now when you got to Centurion in 2022 you had just gone through a hip surgery you’re recovering from that how difficult is it to bounce back after a big surgery like a hip surgery tough I mean and playing the way

You did after that you know the start of my pro career was really interesting you know it after you win the usam you think you’re just going to have the Trad traditional route and play your seven sponsor invites and earn your card and you know naive way of thinking but like

That’s kind of the route that I thought I would go and uh you know things didn’t didn’t work out I ended up having only played four of my sponsor invites and then ended up having to have hip surgery um after surgery I had lost all those sponsor invites because obviously

There’s a new usam champ by that point and different guys are coming out of college I wasn’t really the the amateur that was coming out and deserving sponsor invites so um my options were super limited you go to Corn Fair Q school and I I had a bad

Final stage at Q school so I finished you know 100 on the list and and that doesn’t set you up for uh getting into the tournaments and then it’s like oh my gosh so yeah after my my hip surgery coming back London was basically my first event you know I didn’t play great

There but I was seeing momentum in my body I was learning a new swing I was learning new ranges of motion my hips my back and kind of learning how to piece it together and I really started to see momentum as I started playing Asian tour

Events and then I won in Egypt at the end of 2022 which gave me a lot of confidence and momentum going into that off season I had a great offseason and had a really good year so it was a great two-year run but it all kind of started

In London for sure all right well let’s watch you hit your second shot here yeah here we go what we got Mikey Andy we got 183 pin 77 front wind pretty much straight in what do you like to play typically a cut like to play a little

Cut but on this hole I kind of want to H just a straight one right at that nine which is just left of the pin okay if it lands right at this pin it kicks down and it’s unless you get it really deep into the green it rolls down the water

Theyve shaved everything off there so try to hit it in there a little long left and that bunker is actually not bad either little out the right Mike yeah that’s headed for your proam partners yeah hopefully it don’t that’s all right there yeah that’s okay yeah good good to practice that one

Anyway well you just mentioned college and an amateur and all that you you had a pretty influential person on your life uh Bruce coach coach Hep um my guy how influential was he I mean he was he was very influential um since I started the recruiting process I had planned to go

To all these different schools and we’d set up recruiting visits and whatever and I got to Georgia Tech and I was like I want to play for this guy um I liked everything he stood for everything’s earned everything’s built on hard work and he kind of gave me that all throughout College

We we qualified I came home from the USM and had to go qualify for the next event like everything was earned and that’s how Pro Golf is you know like nothing’s given to you and you know I I won the USM and I was on the Walker Cup team and

I was top five amateur in the world and you know I I I thought that I was going to get more but nothing’s nothing’s getting guaranteed and I had to go earn it and you know that my college experience set me up for that and I think that that’s it’s really helped me

On this journey of professional golf after college of just genuinely trying to earn everything that I that I get and uh it’s got me to live was he supportive with your decision coming here absolutely um he’s always just wanted me to to play and be happy and you know do

Whatever I wanted to do so this is uh this is making me happy and I’m able to play events that matter and against great competition and uh also getting to see the world well speak of great competition you we found a letter right well your your socials team found a

Letter and posted it on the highflyer socials um of of a letter that you wrote when you’re a kid yeah and Phil’s name was in that letter and you saying how how you wanted to be a pro golfer how old were you when you you wrote that I

Think I was 8 years old so one of my best friends growing up his mom was my third grade teacher teacher and she kept the note after I wrote it and she she was like oh you know maybe one day Andy will make it professionally and you know

This will be a cool little cool little thing and I I was a good golfer at a young age so people kind of thought that maybe one day um I would make it so I’m so glad that she kept that not it’s so cool I actually have it framed in my

Childhood bedroom back home in Mississippi so oh that’s awesome when I go back it’s cool to see and you know this has been a dream of mine for a long time and since I was you know five six years old i’ I’ve wanted to play profession professional golf at the

Highest level and to be here is uh it’s pretty cool I have to pinch myself sometimes yeah well speaking of pinching herself a name that you mentioned in that letter was your Captain Phil mikkelson yeah today you’re here in jeda yeah and you’re on his team how cool is

That I mean it’s it’s so awesome growing up watching Phil I mean he’s one of my favorite players since I can remember I I would go to the Tour Championship in Atlanta every year my dad would take me and I wanted to get PHS autograph and

Get a golf ball from Phil or you know watch him hit flop shots and and do all the things and um now I consider him a good friend of mine so it’s super weird almost at times you’re like I’m friends with Phil Mickelson like what are you

Talking about like you know we spent some of the offseason out of his house in California and um I mean I never thought that would be something that I’m saying like I’m just chilling with Phil flew up to Phil’s house hung out for a week you know we’re playing games every

Day and chipping in his backyard and and uh no it’s it’s really crazy to think about but um he’s been so great to us me and Mike and everyone else on my team and he’s he’s uh he’s helped me a lot I’ve learned I’ve learned a ton from him

What’s the best advice he’s given you so far so far I mean he he’s got a few it’s more of just picking up things from watching how he goes about his stuff um he’s so optimistic he really cares you know about everyone not just him he he

Wants everyone to succeed he’s been so open with different shots around the greens and and different advice and he’s it’s amazing to me like how dedicated he still is you know at his age and what he’s accomplished he’s he gets up every morning like genuinely trying to get

Better at golf that day and that’s definitely something that I’ve taken from him is like wow to be you know to be great for a long time you have to really love the game and you have to really want to keep getting better and better and better and developing your

Skills so I’d say that’s probably the thing that I’ve taken from you well coming off the international series you were hot commodity uh I’m sure you had a few calls from different teams uh during the trade window I’m sure uh what made you choose High Flyers was the like you

Said I I grew up loving Phil Mickelson he was one of my favorite players um so he was he he was a big decision in that and the team camaraderie that they built the team atmosphere they have um everyone’s you know so great Steely and and cam are awesome guys and to be

Around them every day I have also have the Georgia sight connection with tringali so we have a lot of we have a lot of common stories from coach Hepper stories or or different experiences or different restaurants that are still there um that we both went to in college

And Mike my caddy also went to Georgia Tech and was on the golf team there with me so uh we have a lot in common with all those guys and I’ve really just enjoyed it I’ve made the right decision yeah it’s been a blast that’s awesome I

Mean you certainly look like you fit right in into we do a lot together I mean we go to dinners and we we play together pretty much every day I don’t think a lot of teams do that but um yeah there’s there’s some type of game every

Day that’s cool that’s awesome all right let’s what you hit this one got a lot of green to work with mik you should have kicked this thing on the up slope over I tried my best I’m on I mean this is this is crap this this down slope running

Away Good Luck Good Luck yeah good advice let’s see if uh Phil’s uh oh pressure’s on Phil here Phil’s technique rubed off so we’re working on we’re working on getting this around this left knee so let’s see if it works here woo not too bad yeah that’s butter we’ll

Give we’ll give Phil an a there that’s butter well Andy it looks like your career is just starting yeah I’m curious to know where do you you see yourself in 10 years that’s a great question um 10 years is a long time um we’ll see I mean

I’m just trying to get better every day um trying to win golf tournaments every time that I show up and see where that takes me I mean I hope that Liv is you know still going strong in 10 years and I hope that it keeps getting better and

Better and I hope that I’m a part of it I’ve really enjoyed my time out here I love being part of a team it’s it’s so awesome um it’s kind of I it’s sounds crazy to say rejuvenated my career but I mean it’s different it’s it’s it’s it’s

Like college golf all over again and I really I really thrived in that environment I love the the concept of everyone doing everything together and everyone pushing each other and practicing together and learning things from each other and um that’s what we get out here and it’s it’s been really

Fun so I I would love to be a part of it for as long as possible well watching the way you’ve been playing sky the limit for you yeah I appreciate that all right let’s watch you make this uh knock this in thanks Mikey solid there we

Go Andy thank you so much for joining me appreciate it appreciate your time play well this week we look forward to watching you for the rest of this season on High Flyers hopefully we’ll uh get on that Podium we’ve been we’ve been talking about it haven’t haven’t played

Great in uh first two events but it’s early in the year and everyone seems to be uh figuring it out and getting better and better so I think the the sky’s a limit for the High Flyers yeah absolutely thank you thank you