Ogletree plays with Tiger at Masters
For Union’s Andy Ogletree, the future is now.
Ogletree is coming off a dream weekend for any golfer. As the U.S. Amateur winner, he played in the Masters. He was paired with defending champion Tiger Woods, his childhood hero.
“People are people,” Ogletree said. “He was really a down-to-earth guy. He talked to me a lot and he took some pressure off of me.”
Ogletree showed he belonged on the national stage. Not only did he make the final cut on Sunday. When it was over, he had the low score for amateurs in the tournament which was quite a feat.
Following play, Ogletree was being interviewed on national television along with 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson. He watched in person as Tiger Woods put the green championship jacket on Johnson.
Maybe Ogletree will get one of those green jackets one day. But the fun doesn’t end for Ogletree here. Later this week, he will turn professional.
“I probably won’t play in a PGA tournament until next year,” Ogletree said. “I will spend the rest of this year practicing and preparing.”
His family followed him as he played the Masters. His dad, Jim Ogletree, admitted he had to pinch himself a couple of times to make sure this was real.
“I have been with him at the U.S, Open and watched him play on this big stage,” Jim said. “But a couple of times, yes, I had to make sure I was really here. It is pretty amazing.”
When he says this was Andy’s lifetime dream, Jim isn’t kidding. “When he was in the second or third grade, they asked him to write a story telling what he wanted to be when he grew up,” Ogletree said.
“Andy wanted to be a pro golfer and he wanted to play with Tiger Woods. On his third line, he said he wanted to play with Tiger Woods. He wanted to play at Pebble Beach, he wanted to be a pro golfer and he wanted to make a lot of money.
“So far, he has checked off just about everything he had on that paper.”
As Andy moves into the professional ranks, the Ogletrees will be watching the World Amateur rankings that come out Wednesday.
He is currently ranked seventh in the world as an amateur. They are hoping he will move up after his finish in the Masters.
“This is the result of a lot of hard work,” Jim said. “He has worked at this game since he was a little boy. He played in the World Tournament when he was six.
“A big part of his success has been being able to play on a championship course at the Dancing Rabbit. That is his home course. He has also played at the Northwood Country Club.
“The people at Dancing Rabbit have always been good to us,” Ogletree said. “Playing at Dancing Rabbit and playing at Georgia Tech are two reasons he is where he is today.”
Ogletree has graduated from Georgia Tech where he was a two-time All-American. He has the third or fourth lowest scoring history in the program’s history.