His Open Championship debut may not have ended in the blaze of glory he had wished for, but Andy Ogletree will not forget the experience in a hurry.

Story by Spencer Robinson, Asian Tour contributor, at Royal Troon.

Feeling the effects of a niggling wrist injury that may require surgery, the American signed off at Royal Troon with a birdie-less six-over-par 77.

Following a second-round 72 to make the cut, the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion’s designs on a weekend charge in the 152nd edition of the world’s eldest championship were blown off course at the windswept Ayrshire links.

However, the opportunity to feel the heat of a Major championship alongside the world’s best players that came courtesy of his Asian Tour exploits in 2023 was not lost on the three-time International Series winner.

TROON, SCOTLAND – JULY 18: Andy Ogletree of the United States and his caddie Devin Stanton walk on the sixth hole on day one of The 152nd Open championship at Royal Troon on July 18, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

He said: “The Asian Tour is what allowed me to play in tournaments like this, and also the PGA Championship earlier this year.

“To have access to Major championships was awesome for me and I’m forever grateful for what the Asian Tour has done for me – for helping me being able to build my game and have somewhere to play.

“I think you’re going to see a lot more guys taking that pathway as it offers access to Major championships and LIV Golf. The Asian Tour is a great Tour to play on. I’m definitely encouraging all my buddies to go there to play.”

Although he has yet to finalise his plans for the final five months of the year, Ogletree is keen to defend his International Series titles in England (August 8-11) and Qatar (November 27-30).

“We’ll see how it works out, but I hope to play in Asia and play as much as possible,” said Ogletree, on the proviso that there’s no deterioration in the injury he’s been nursing.

He said: “For the wrist, I’ve been battling it all year. I have a bone spur, lots of tendinitis. I think it can be easily cleaned up … it’s just that right now, in the middle of the season, I’m not at a point where I can’t play.

“But it definitely bothers me and gives me a lot of discomfort and swelling. But I have to deal with that. In an ideal world it would just go away but it’s structural. It’s a pain management issue and keeping the inflammation down.”

TROON, SCOTLAND – JULY 16: Jon Rahm of Spain, Andy Ogletree of the United States and Phil Mickelson of the United States interact on course during a practice round prior to The 152nd Open championship at Royal Troon on July 16, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

As for links golf, Ogletree can’t wait for his next Open appearance.

“I love playing in the wind, hitting different shot shapes and working it against the wind and using the contours to your advantage,” said Ogletree, describing Royal Troon as ‘a good test’.

He said: “There are parts of the rough that are playable and there’s other parts of the rough that you can’t really advance the ball more than 20 or 30 yards. So you have to get a little lucky if you don’t hit the fairways.

“With the cross-winds blowing as hard as they are, it’s difficult to hit a lot of those fairways, especially coming in on the back nine. They’re all down off the left so for me playing a cut naturally it’s tough to hit those fairways. I seem to have worn out the right rough on the back nine!”

Ends.