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Like a young child desperate for Christmas morning who wakes to find the calendar dragging around Dec. 22, the Masters always seems to take especially long to arrive.
For Andy Ogletree (above) and John Augenstein, who earned invitations to Augusta National 15 months ago by reaching the U.S. Amateur final, that wait turned from healthy anticipation to justifiable frustration.
All seemed well earlier this year as the two rising college stars – Ogletree at Georgia Tech and Augenstein at Vanderbilt – planned to launch their professional careers. The steps: To play the Masters in April, to try to lead their respective teams to the NCAA Championship in May, to go to the U.S. Open in June and then to use sponsor exemptions to follow the likes of Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland to the PGA Tour.
They had little else to prove in the amateur game.
However, as we know by now, 2020 has been the year of plans torn apart. The reshuffling of the schedule meant both players were left in no man’s land – turning pro would have sacrificed their Masters invitations, and there was little reason to do so anyway because of an abbreviated PGA Tour schedule that wouldn’t allow much opportunity to build momentum as a pro.
So they bided their time. Ogletree played three PGA Tour events as an amateur (U.S. Open included) missing the cut each time, while Augenstein missed the cut at the U.S. Open and sharpened his game by returning to Vanderbilt for the fall season where a couple of solid finishes gave him confidence. Ogletree didn’t have that luxury as Georgia Tech’s fall season had been canceled.
It all led to this week, both players hopeful that a successful Masters could provide the boost they had long been anticipating.
“I know my problems are a lot smaller than a lot of people’s problems, but I will say I’ve given up a lot of stuff to be able to play in this tournament,” Ogletree said before the start of play. “I’m not going to take this week for granted. … I had to delay the process of turning pro, but like I said, I wouldn’t give up any chance to play the Masters as an amateur for anything. If I had to wait till next year, I was going to do it.”
Both Ogletree and Augenstein took advantage of the moment.
Augenstein came out firing early on, shooting 3-under 69 to open and rallying all the way to 6 under late in his second round. At the time, he threatened the top of the leaderboard and hoped to be among the few amateurs who have challenged for the green jacket. But a triple bogey on the par-4 seventh, his 16th hole of the day, sent him tumbling backward for the rest of the tournament into an eventual tie for 55th place. But the strong run still caught the eye of many.
His 3-under 141 showing through two rounds was the best 36-hole start by an amateur in the Masters since 1991 when Manny Zerman had the same total.
“Coming into the week, making the cut was goal No. 1 and then to win low am was goal No. 2, and trying to get in contention would be goal No. 3,” Augenstein said, with a tinge of frustration in accomplishing only one of those. “All the amateurs who come to play in the Masters, it’s an incredible experience I know, and I’ve had an amazing one, as well.
“A lot of those guys that played in this tournament are now playing again as professionals, and so that’s where I want to be, and hopefully sooner rather than later, so it’s definitely encouraging to play well here.”
“Getting to be low amateur is super special and something I will never forget. As for what happens next, I’m still trying to see what all of my options are at this point.”
Andy Ogletree
Bernhard Langer, who played with Augenstein during the weekend, saw potential in his game and hinted that Augenstein soon will announce his decision to turn pro.
“I think he has a bright future if he keeps his head on his shoulders and works at it,” Langer said. “He’s got a very good technique and plenty of length. … I think he will find his place on the tour in the near future. He said he’ll turn pro tomorrow or something like that, so he should be doing well.”
Ogletree was on an opposite track. After staying alone in the Crow’s Nest on Wednesday night, the U.S. Amateur champion played the first two rounds with Tiger Woods and displayed significant nerves early, making double bogey on his third hole of the tournament and chunking a straightforward pitch at the next to fall quickly to 4-over par.
But he got stronger as the tournament went forward. Commentator Dottie Pepper described his game as “mature” in the shadow of Woods and the results showed it as Ogletree played the remainder of the tournament in 6 under, securing low-amateur honors and a tie for 34th place.
“Getting to be low amateur is super special and something I will never forget,” Ogletree said with a wide smile. “As for what happens next, I’m still trying to see what all of my options are at this point. I know the Walker Cup was one of the coolest weeks of my life and definitely a great experience. Winning over there was super cool. I think winning here in America would be even cooler.
“So I don’t know, I've talked to Nathaniel Crosby, who’s the captain, and I’ve kind of told him where I was at. I’m trying to get some sponsor invites into tournaments, to be quite honest with you. Hopefully we can get some of those lined up, and if so, I’ll plan to turn pro. If not, we’ll see what all the options are.”
The 2021 Walker Cup will be played at Seminole Golf Club in May and in theory could persuade both players to remain amateur as they also return to college for one last opportunity at an NCAA Championship. It’s enticing, but it also seems unlikely.
Now that all the amateur boxes have been checked off, including the many once-in-a-lifetime experiences they just waited ages to have at the Masters, the pro game beckons.
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