Andy Ogletree has won the Asian Tour's International Series Qatar at Doha Golf Club. The victory is the American's second in the International Series following a win in the International Series Egypt last November.
The wins mark a significant turnaround for the 24-year-old after the former US Amateur champion was suspended from the PGA Tour after joining LIV Golf for its first ever tournament in London.
Ogletree finished last at the Centurion Club and admitted he'd "kind of got the boot" from LIV Golf following that performance, which temporarily left him nowhere to play. He hasn't played on the rebel circuit since, but because he played with LIV, it enabled him to be granted exemption for International Series events on the Asian Tour - an opportunity he has grasped with both hands.
The latest win means Ogletree is the the first player to become a two-time International Series champion, a feat achieved after he finished seven under in Doha, holding off the challenge of Thailand’s Charoenkul Gunn by three-shots.
Ogletree, who became US Amateur champion in 2019, was understandably delighted with his win. He said: “Super-pleased to be the champion here, it’s unbelievable! What a great test we had this week. It was really hard, the course got really firm and fast. I'm so super-proud to win a golf tournament playing like this."
He added: “I worked really hard this off-season, post Egypt, and I just have a lot of confidence because I work so hard. I don’t think anyone wants it more than me, I want to keep giving myself more opportunities and this is the route where I can do that.”
Victory takes Ogletree to the top of both the Asian Tour and International Series Order of Merits and if he can maintain his position, that would allow him to qualify once again for LIV Golf. However, it will be interesting to see which direction he takes as his PGA Tour suspension expired on 1 January, allowing him to play in qualifying events alongside the Korn Ferry Tour.
Whatever Ogletree's next move, he admitted his confidence is now soaring, firmly putting last year's ill-fated LIV Golf outing behind him. He said: “I mean, confidence wise, I don’t know how I could get a lot higher. My last five starts internationally, four top-10s and two wins, so I think I’m playing really good golf."
