Why the recent Cam Smith media pile-on is \u2018over the top\u2019 and needs to stop<\/a><\/p>\nIt\u2019s not just the Majesticks living on the edge. The relegation bubble is a who\u2019s who of big names, battered bodies and nearly-men looking for one last surge.<\/p>\n
HyFlyers GC\u2019s Andy Ogletree knows all about fighting for his place. The 26-year-old burst onto LIV at the 2022 London event and earned a full-time spot after dominating the Asian Tour in 2023. But a nasty wrist injury \u2013 requiring surgery to remove a calcified bone spur last October \u2013 has derailed his rookie LIV season.<\/p>\n
Now sitting 48th, Ogletree\u2019s the man everyone below is chasing. His T18 at JCB last month gave him his first points since May, but he knows he needs more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need points, plain and simple,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to win a golf tournament and let the rest take care of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming back from surgery hasn\u2019t been easy. \u201cI don\u2019t think people realise the mental stress, the hours with the physio, all that goes into it. I\u2019ve struggled all year and I still don\u2019t feel 100 percent, but I\u2019ve got to grind it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Torque GC\u2019s Mito Pereira \u2013 who came within a swing of winning the 2022 PGA Championship \u2013 also needs a late run to lock in his spot. His captain, Joaquin Niemann, isn\u2019t sweating it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just another moment for Mito,\u201d Niemann said. \u201cHe\u2019s a great player, a great human being. He\u2019s going to be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
That might be true \u2013 but like everyone on the bubble, Pereira\u2019s fate could be sealed with one loose drive or one cold putter this week.<\/p>\n
Even Bubba Watson, captain of the RangeGoats and safely in the Lock Zone, can feel the strain around the range.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more stress, 100 percent,\u201d Watson said. \u201cThey know what\u2019s on the line to be in an elite league like this. They want a contract. They want to be able to play here next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The equation is simple. Chicago and Indianapolis are the last stops before the axe falls. For Poulter, it\u2019s do-or-die. For Stenson, it\u2019s about clinging to safety. For Ogletree, it\u2019s one more fight against the odds. For Pereira, it\u2019s proving the talent hasn\u2019t faded.<\/p>\n
And for the rest of us watching? It\u2019s golf theatre at its most cut-throat. The Majesticks could be about to write one of LIV\u2019s most awkward chapters \u2013 and both men know it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[Photo: Getty Images] It\u2019s the nightmare scenario no LIV Golf captain wants to think about \u2013 but it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-55252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}