Andy Ogletree’s grind for PGA Tour status begins as he makes first pro start at Mayakoba
A letter neatly penned by a third-grade Andy Ogletree made the rounds on Twitter after Ogletree finished T-34 to wrap up low-amateur honors at the Masters last month. He played alongside Tiger Woods for the first two rounds, which got him plenty of air time.
On that piece of notebook paper, Ogletree wrote about his aspirations to become a professional golfer, and most notably that he wanted to play golf with Woods. As that dream came true at Augusta National, Ogletree’s poise and play indicated that the career choice will likely pan out just fine for him.
Ogletree’s former third-grade teacher unearthed that letter a few years ago. She passed it along to Ogletree’s mom Melissa, also an elementary school teacher back home in Little Rock, Mississippi. Now it’s framed in Ogletree’s room. He can’t remember actually writing it, but the goal to play professionally has always been in his brain.
I’ve been looking forward to this moment my whole life. Happy to say that I am officially a professional golfer ✅ pic.twitter.com/cKfRvD4yOH
— Andy Ogletree (@andy_ogletree) November 19, 2020
After garnering so much attention next to Woods at Augusta – and making a Sunday trip to Butler cabin – Ogletree returned home to small-town Mississippi last week. He helped his dad Jim put on a local community Thanksgiving. Ogletree hopes to get back home for Christmas, when he can make the rounds, see everyone and celebrate recent milestones.
Like turning professional and making his first start as a pro at this week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic.
Ogletree, 22, made four other Tour starts this year before the Masters, including at the Charles Schwab Challenge, RBC Heritage, the Memorial and the U.S. Open. He missed the cut in all four. Before those doors opened for Ogletree, the 2019 U.S. Amateur champion, he hadn’t ever played a Tour event. It was a transition that felt similar to the one from junior golf to Georgia Tech.
“I’ve always been a really good ball-striker, I thought,” he said. “I got out here, like I hit it really well at Colonial, I played so bad. Then went to Hilton Head the next week and worked so hard on putting, trying to get my putting going that I hit it terrible.
“So it’s golf, man. There’s some stuff you can’t control, but I learned to just kind of trust the process, not worry about a bad putting week, bad ball-striking week, just keep doing your process and keep trusting the work that you’re putting in.”
Not much is guaranteed for a newbie pro like Ogletree, especially in the way of starts. He is playing Mayakoba on a sponsor exemption, and he’ll take any more of those that he can get. Week to week, Ogletree is chasing top 10s, which would get him into the next week’s event. Ogletree just hopes to play his way to the Korn Ferry Tour finals.
“To get your PGA Tour card or temporary membership right away would be the cherry on top, but at least enough points to get to Korn Ferry Finals, that gives you three events to get your PGA Tour card,” he said.
Ogletree benefits from coming out of the Georgia Tech pipeline, a route that has been well-traveled. He is rooming with Tour rookie Vincent Whaley in Alpharetta, Georgia, and benefiting from a bit of been-there-before advice. He also has relationships with Yellow Jackets Stewart Cink, Chesson Hadley, Roberto Castro, Ollie Schniederjans, Richy Werenski, Seth Reeves and Anders Albertson.
“I feel comfortable asking them any questions,” he said. “Stewart and Matt Kuchar are obviously two of the most well-known Georgia Tech guys and most accomplished probably, but all the other guys have had a lot of success, too. So I feel comfortable asking any of them for tidbits or advice that I might want to know about.”
The learning continues, and Ogletree seems to be a quick study.
