Andy Ogletree tallied six birdies across a bogey-free second round Saturday to seize a two-shot lead at LIV United Kingdom.
All six of Ogletree’s birdies came amid a 12-hole stretch that began with consecutive ones on Nos. 4 and 5 at JCB Golf & Country Club.
“Got off to a little bit of a slow start, made a couple good lag putts on 1 and 3 and then the putter warmed up and played some super solid golf,” Ogletree said. “Bogey-free around this golf course is always a good day, and [I’ll] try and keep that momentum going into tomorrow.”
At 12 under, Ogletree leads Tyrrell Hatton and Cam Smith, who are tied for second at 10 under after they entered Saturday tied for fourth at 5 under.
Hatton parred seven of his first eight holes after starting on No. 2 before rattling off four birdies over his final 10 holes.
“Pretty frustrating start to the round,” Hatton said. “Played some really nice golf and just felt like I was putting to thin air. Didn’t feel like there was actually a hole out there. It took until the 10th hole for a putt to drop, and I kind of gained a little bit of momentum.”
Smith, who also started on the second hole, birdied eight times to override three bogeys, two of which came on Nos. 16 and 17. He and Hatton sit one shot ahead of Paul Casey and Jon Rahm, who are tied for fourth at 9 under. Rahm entered Saturday in first place at 8 under.
John Catlin delivered the day’s most dazzling shot with a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th.
“I actually visualized it before it happened,” Catlin said. “I saw it coming in off that right-hand side, and once it landed and it started coming in … right about there, I’m like, ‘Well, I think it might have a chance.'”
Catlin is tied for 42nd at 1 over after Saturday’s second round.
Abraham Ancer, who entered the day even with Ogletree for second at 6 under, slid into a cluster of competitors tied for 14th after shooting 1 over with four bogeys.
Ogletree’s round leaves the Phil Mickelson-captained HyFlyers in a three-way tie for third place at 17 under with Louis Oosthuizen‘s Stinger squad and Joaquín Niemann‘s Torque team.
The trio sits four shots behind Hatton and the Rahm-led Legion XIII along with Brooks Koepka‘s Smash, which are tied for first at 21 under.