While LIV Golf has an outstanding amount of quality at the top of the league, there remain real problems with the amount of depth on show as the end of their fourth season nears.
It does appear that LIV Golf needs to raise the level of those from the middle of the pack down if they are going to gain more credibility among the wider golfing public.
There is no doubt that any league able to call upon Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson is always going to have a chance to succeed. However, LIV needs some of their younger players – other than Joaquin Niemann – to start kicking on and making a name for themselves.
Unfortunately, one of those facing a fight to keep his place for next year is currently the league’s worst performer in one significant category.
LIV Golf’s worst approach player this season was lauded by Phil Mickelson earlier this year
It is never entirely surprising when Phil Mickelson makes a comment which stops fans in their tracks. And one of those came earlier this year when discussing his HyFlyers team.
Mickelson claimed Andy Ogletree was one of the best players in the world. The 27-year-old definitely appears to have a lot of potential, having won three times on the Asian Tour.
Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
However, he has managed to play in just four major championships, with his best result as a professional coming when he finished 70th at The Open Championship in 2024.
Ogletree is battling to remain on LIV this year as he goes into the final events of the season 48th in the standings. He has three top 20 finishes, with his best result being a tied for 17th in Korea.
And it appears that his biggest problem is quite obvious, with Data Golf showing that he is the worst player in the league for strokes gained approach.
PositionPlayerStrokes gained approach (per round)1Andy Ogletree-1.082Mito Pereira-0.983Anthony Kim-0.934Matthew Wolff-0.805Ian Poulter-0.72Credit Data GolfAndy Ogletree is currently fighting to save his LIV Golf future
Ogletree has certainly not kicked on results wise this year. He finished in the top six on two occasions in 2024, including in Adelaide where he managed to make the podium.
He will definitely be looking over his shoulder, with the likes of Ian Poulter, Yubin Jang and Mito Pereira all currently within the drop zone with two events remaining.
It seems imperative that LIV is ruthless with relegation this year after a farcical situation last season. That may be particularly bad news for Ogletree, who is yet to really pull up any trees since earning his spot in 2023.
