LIV Golfer Qualifies For Maiden PGA Championship Via OWGR Route

LIV Golf League member, Andy Ogletree has qualified for his first PGA Championship after finishing second in the OWGR's Federation Ranking system.

Ogletree - who is currently World No. 210 - is enjoying his first season as a full-time LIV Golf League player in 2024, operating as part of Phil Mickelson's HyFlyers GC and recording his best result at the recent LIV Golf Adelaide event - finishing in a tie for third alongside Charl Schwartzel, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, and Dean Burmester.

The American qualified outright for a coveted full-time LIV card after a highly-successful campaign predominantly on the Asian Tour last year. Ogletree ended 2023 as the Asian Tour's and International Series' respective Order of Merit winner, also going on to be named the Asian Tour's Player of the Year.

And his excellent form over the past year-and-a-half has ultimately secured the 26-year-old from Little Rock, Mississippi the third Major start of his career - following on from a T34 result at the 2020 Masters and a missed cut at the US Open later that season.

Ending second in the OWGR's Federation Ranking list behind Japan Golf Tour and European Tour player, Keita Nakajima, Ogletree and his Japanese counterpart will also be joined by Sunshine Tour winner, Ryan Van Velzen at Valhalla next month.

Only the top three make it into the second Major of the season, while the top five qualify for The Open Championship in July.

The OWGR notes that its International Federation Ranking List "is a tool for tournament organisers to use in identifying competitive and upcoming international players competing on the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, and the Sunshine Tour."

LIV golfers remain ineligible for world-ranking points via the 54-hole competition after the league failed to meet the necessary requirements set out by the OWGR last year. The PIF-funded circuit then later went on to state that it had "abandoned its attempts" to secure official accreditation as an eligible tour.

Several players complained at the OWGR's decision, including Bryson DeChambeau - who stated he 'knows the OWGR's agenda' and Talor Gooch - who echoed Jerry Foltz's assessment that the four biggest tournaments of the season are in danger of becoming 'asterisk Majors' without all of the top LIV golfers involved.

Joaquin Niemann was another to express his dissatisfaction with the OWGR's rejection but set out trying to qualify his way into the Majors via starts on the Asian Tour and European Tour, respectively.

The Chilean eventually locked up an Open Championship spot after winning the Australian Open and was invited to The Masters by Augusta National's committee and the PGA Championship by the PGA of America. He is currently not in the US Open field but still has the opportunity to qualify at one of the regional qualifying events before the tournament in June.