Andy Ogltree – making a habit of winning trophies – image Paul Lakatos
American Andy Ogletree, a former US Amateur Champion, has further consolidated his lead on the 2023 Asian Tour Order of Merit with an emphatic seven-shot win at the International Series event near Newcastle in England.
For Ogletree, it was his third win of the season after earlier victories in Qatar and Egypt and he had to overcome a slow start on Thursday to do so, producing a total of 17 under par over the closing 54 holes to spreadegled the field.
“I don’t think I could hit it much better than I did this week,” said the 25-year-old, who banked US$360,000.
“The greens were super bumpy so it’s hard to tell exactly how my putting was, but I was pleased with how I played and my speed control coming down the stretch today was awesome. And it was nice to see a few putts go in, so we’re just gonna keep trying to get better every week. My game is in a really good spot against a world-class field, super honored to play the way I did.”
The field was littered with some of the lesser lights on the LIV Golf Tour and for Ian Poulter it was a chance to get back into contention again, the Englishman finishing runner-up, albeit seven shots back of the American.
Australia’s Matt Jones who has generally struggled on the LIV Golf Tour, finished in a share of 4th place some nine shots back of the winner.
Jones headed a large contingent of Australian and New Zealand players in the field, Victorian Terry Pilkadaris finishing the next best when he tied for 11th place.
