Notes, quotes and a thought or two….
This week, Union’s Andy Ogletree will get the opportunity to defend his U.S. Amateur championship, something he didn’t think he would get to do.
Ogletree burst onto the national golfing scene last year when he won the U.S. Amateur championship and it’s been a whirlwind year for the recently graduated senior.
Ogletree had played on playing in the Master, U.S. Open and British Open as an amateur and then turning pro, which he would have done by now. Now Ogletree will get the opportunity to try and win the championship in back-to-back years, something that hasn’t been done since Tigers Woods won three straight titles from 1994.
This year’s U.S. Amateur championship will be played at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore. starting on Monday with two round of stroke play. From there, the top 64 players enter into a 64-man match-play tournament.
According to the USGA website, six of the top 10 amateur players in the world will be in the field. Ogletree is ranked No 9.
I know I will be watching with interest to see how Ogletree does in this year’s tournament. No matter the outcome, I doubt it could be as thrilling last year’s tournament with the final round being shown on television. It was in those final holes that Ogletree came from behind to win the championship. That win catapulted Ogletree to instant fame.
I’m quick to admit that I don’t know a lot about top-level golf, as evident from some of my interviews with Ogletree. But here’s something that I do know from years of being a sports reporter, it’s hard to repeat. There are numerous great teams that couldn’t repeat. It’s always hard to play with a target on your back and Ogletree will certain have one on him this week.
I feel certain that the eyes of Mississippi will also be on Ogletree this week as he takes the opportunity to make history, again.
Football or not
It seems inevitable that college football will not go off as planned this fall. One thing that we have learned with this virus is that things can change very quickly. I just think back to the week of spring break to realize that. We went into that week playing baseball and came out with a delayed season.
So it seems that we are on the brink of losing college football, which could have consequences on our local high schools.
With the public school season delayed, the Mississippi private schools are pushing forward. Some schools had scrimmages last week and some will have jamborees this week. A true test will happen on Thursday in Flora when nine different teams will meet for a jamboree at Tri-County Academy. There are actually a handful of regular-season games this Friday in the private schools. It’s been said that there will be plenty of eyes on the private schools in the next two weeks to see how things turn out. Their success or failure could be a determining factor for the public schools who will play practice games on Aug. 28.
But again, all of that could change in the blink of an eye, much like it did in March.
Robbie Robertson is sports editor for The Newton County Appeal. You can email him at sports@newtoncountyappeal.com
