Union’s Andy Ogletree had a lot of close calls this spring on the golf course for Georgia Tech.
Ogletree had four top 10 finishes this spring and was runner-up in the ACC Tournament as he helped guide the team to the tournament championship.
But after all those close calls, Ogletree was ready to get back in the winner’s circle.
He did that this past week as he won the Monroe Invitational with a 1-under-par score of 279, taking the title by two strokes.
“It was really good to win again,” Ogletree said. “I have been close a lot this spring. I’ve learned a lot from barely losing and got it done. I lost two tournaments this spring by one stroke. I was leading the ACC Tournament and ended up finishing second there, but we won the team championship so that’s what was important.”
Ogletree said his improved play came from work in his short game, including a putting tip from teammate Noah Norton.
“I saved a lot more strokes around the green,” Ogletree said. “I thought I played a lot smarter. I’ve got stronger physically. But the biggest thing is putting in a lot more time around the tree and just getting better there. For the most part, the improvement was a lot of short-game stuff.”
At the Monroe Invitational in Pittsford, N.Y., Ogletree finally broke through with a win after being close there the last two years. Ogletree tied for third place in 2018, finished solo seventh in 2017, and earned a tie for 60th place in his first appearance back in 2016. He delivered rounds of 69, 71, 69, and 70 for a four-day total of 279.
Ogletree will spend the summer playing in some of the country’s top amateur tournaments at sites such as Hilton Head and Pinehurst. Ogletree said he has two major goals this summer. One is to qualify for the U.S. Amateur for the fourth year and the second is to get the week off to attend the Neshoba County Fair.
Ogletree will be entering his senior year at Georgia Tech and is on schedule to graduate with a bachelor’s in business administration next spring. This summer, Ogletree said he is taking two classes to lighten his load in the spring.
Ogletree finished the year as the No. 19 ranked golfer in the NCAA, which he said should be good enough to earn him either second or third-team All-American.
Here are some of Ogletree’s 2018-19 highlights, according to the Georgia Tech web site:
• Made the All-ACC team for the first time in his career, and GCAA All-Region for the second time
• Was a semifinalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award
• Was Tech’s top player in the spring season, high finisher for the Jackets in six of eight events
• Only event he was not the high finisher was the Clemson Invitational, where he tied for fifth (205, -11) and the NCAA Championship
• Runner-up at the ACC Championship by one stroke (204, -12)
• Tied for 12th at the NCAA Pullman Regional (203, -7)
• Has four top-10 finishes this spring – tied for fourth at the Puerto Rico Classic (211, -5) and for ninth at the Southern Highlands Collegiate (208, -5) … Tied for 14th at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational after closing with a career-low round of 63
• Under par 15 of 21 rounds in the spring, compiling a 69.33 stroke average, 68.33 over his last 12 rounds, prior to the NCAA Championship
• Second on the team for the year with a career-best70.38, collectively 37-under-par
• Highest-ranked Tech player in both national rankings, finished spring at No. 19 in Golfstat and No. 23 in Golfweek/Sagarin Index.
