Rd. 2 recap: Hatton, Legion XIII passing Valderrama’s tough test at LIV Golf Andalucia

SOTOGRANDE, Spain – Tyrrell Hatton had played a handful of tournaments in Spain during his professional career but never at the country’s most famous course, Real Club Valderrama, until 2024 when he joined LIV Golf.

Like most golfers who take on its challenges, Hatton has endured his share of frustrating moments. But it’s a layout that certainly fits his game – and now he’s halfway to adding his name to the list of champions. The Legion XIII star shot a 2-under 69 in Friday’s second round at LIV Golf Andalucía 2026 to move to 6 under through 36 holes, good enough for a two-shot lead over 4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry.

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“It was always a course that I wanted to play,” said Hatton, who played a few other tournaments elsewhere in Spain more than a decade ago. “I’ve certainly lost more hair over the last three years playing it than maybe I would have done if I never had. It’s an iconic venue and it’s always good to play.”

Former LIV Golf Andalucía champions Sergio Garcia and Talor Gooch (a two-time winner) are among the four players tied for third at 3 under along with Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith and HyFlyers GC’s Scott Vincent.

Hatton’s captain Jon Rahm moved into contention with a 4-under 67, tying for the lowest round of the day. Rahm is among a group of five players at 2 under. His Legion XIII team leads by two shots over Ripper GC and 4Aces GC on the team leaderboard.

Hatton’s first visit to Valderrama resulted in a solo third in 2024. He finished T23 last year, and he came into this week with limited prep work while concentrating on his family and the birth of his first child.

But he opened with a 67 on Thursday to grab a share of the first-round lead, then bounced back from a tough opening stretch Friday by playing his last eight holes in 4 under, including an eagle at the par-5 17th.

“If you'd have said to me on Wednesday that I'd have a two-shot lead going into the weekend, I probably wouldn't have believed you, to be honest,” Hatton said. “It was a tricky day, so even if you did hit some good shots, it was pretty easy to miss the greens. I’m happy with how it feels and hopefully I can keep going with that this weekend.”

Detry, one of the league’s most consistent players in his first year with LIV Golf, shot a 1-under 70 to move to 4 under. He was the last player in the field to make a bogey, playing his first 32 holes in a bogey-free 6 under while nearly holing out for an albatross at the par-5 11th.

“It’s a grind out there,” said Detry, whose busy schedule has included three LIV Golf starts, a major appearance at the PGA Championship and a start on the DP World Tour in the last five weeks. “Bit of a shame to have leaked two more shots there on 15 and 18. But I feel like my game is in a pretty good spot for my fifth week in a row.”

Eighteen players enter the weekend at even par or better, including plenty of big names – including seven of the league’s captains – chasing Hatton. Rahm is one of those as he chases his first win at Valderrama, but he’s happy to see his teammate playing well after becoming a first-time father.

“I'm not surprised he's playing well, you know?” Rahm said. “With extra motivation and, at the same time, maybe a bit of extra relaxation, because, well, the end of a pregnancy is always stressful, right?”

Hatton is now past that stress. But Valderrama will offer a different kind of stress this weekend.

“This golf course can be very frustrating,” Hatton said. “Obviously I lose my head around the simplest of golf courses. Maybe guys playing this week, it kind of brings them closer to my level of losing their mind.”

TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS

Individual Top 10

1 (-6) – Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII (67-69)

2 (-4) – Thomas Detry, 4Aces (68-70)

T3 (-3) – Talor Gooch, OKGC (72-67); Cameron Smith, Ripper (69-70); Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (67-72)

T7 (-2) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (73-67); Branden Grace, Southern Guards (69-71); David Puig, Fireballs (69-71); Louis Oosthuizen, Southern Guards (71-69); Harold Varner III, OKGC (73-67)

Team Top 3

1 (-3) – Legion XIII (Hatton 67-69, McKibbin 73-72, Rahm 73-67, Surratt 73-71; Rd. 2 total: -5)

T2 (-1) – Ripper GC (Herbert 72-69, Leishman 73-70, Smith 69-70, Smylie 74-70; Rd. 2 total: -5)

T2 (-1) – 4Aces GC (Detry 68-70, Johnson 76-68, Kim 73-68, Pieters 70-74; Rd. 2 total: -4)

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ROUND 2 NOTES

SPANISH STARS IN CONTENTION: Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia and Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm entered this week as the co-local favorites – both are Spanish-born players with major credentials. They’ll enter the weekend in excellent shape to give the local fans a trophy – or possibly two – to celebrate.

Garcia is tied for third at 3 under after shooting a 1-under 70. Rahm is a stroke back, tied for seventh at 2 under after his 4-under 67, which tied for the low round of the day.

Garcia is the most successful golfer in Valderrama history, having won four times on the iconic course, including LIV Golf Andalucia two years ago. In his 18 previous starts, he’s finished in the top 10 an incredible 17 times.

“Obviously, when you play a course that suits your eye and you see everything a bit clearer, even when you aren't hitting it as well as you'd like, your ideas are more or less clear, you know?” Garcia said.

Rahm remains in search of his first win at Valderrama. He played the last 14 holes Friday in 5 under. His Legion XIII leads the team leaderboard.

“As for my round, it was very good, honestly,” Rahm said. “Yesterday I played well, but I had some bad luck on a few shots and didn't putt very well. Today, I played just as well but much tidier, giving myself better opportunities.”

ACE FOR HERBERT: Ripper GC’s Lucas Herbert made a hole-in-one at the 213-yard 15th. It’s the fifth ace in LIV Golf this season, the 17th in league history as well as the second-longest.

“We tried to pitch it a couple over the front edge,” Herbert said of his shot. “I didn't think I caught it well enough, so I was worried it wasn't going to cover. Then once we saw it land, I was happy. Yeah, was surprised it went in. I thought it was going to go way too quick. But the replay, it didn't look like it was moving towards the hole too fast. I'll take it.”

Herbert wasn’t sure if this was the seventh or eighth ace but did say it was his first in tournament play. The Aussie, who recently won his first LIV Golf title in Virginia, is tied for 12th at 1 under.

“Feel like we're on a bit of a roll at the moment,” Herbert said. “There's a few things I'd like to improve but pretty consistent where I'm at. I'm not hitting too many really bad shots, which is usually what undoes me, so I feel like that's why the scores are as good as they are.”

DETRY’S MAJOR CHASE: 4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry has a chance to clinch one spot in a major this weekend at LIV Golf Andalucia while putting himself in a great position to earn another spot.

Detry is projected to move into third in LIV Golf’s season-long points race if he maintains his position for the next 36 holes at Valderrama. That would allow him to overtake Joaquin Niemann and claim the LIV Golf exemption for next month’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The exemption goes to the highest-ranked player in points not otherwise exempt after this week; No. 1 Jon Rahm and No. 2 Bryson DeChambeau are already exempt and guaranteed to stay in those top two spots after this week.

Meanwhile, Detry might also earn enough ranking points to move into the top 60 of the Official World Golf Rankings, although he would need to stay inside the top 60 after the June 15 cutoff date. Detry is currently ranked 66th.

The Belgian star has been trying to gain spots in those majors by various means; he lost out on LIV Golf’s U.S. Open exemption when Lucas Herbert won LIV Golf Virginia, and he lost in a playoff during the recent U.S. Open qualifier that was held in England.

“I really want to qualify for the majors,” Detry said. “But I've been beaten up pretty well the last couple weeks, so I've given up on that and I'm just focusing on having a good week this week, to be honest.”

Still, there is hope. His consistency – five top-10 finishes in his first eight LIV Golf starts this season – has been impressive. But with limited ranking points attached to those finishes, he’s yet to break the top-60 barrier.

“I feel like that U.S. Open spot, if I end up qualifying, it's going to be a very well-deserved qualified spot because you look at my results the last couple of tournaments, and I think I've had seven top 10s in my last 11 or 12 [worldwide] events,” Detry said. “So it's been pretty consistent. But we make so many low world ranking points that it's sometimes tough to just stay inside the top 60.”

CAM IN CONTENTION: For the second consecutive week, Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith enters the week inside the top 3 on the leaderboard. After his 1-under 70 on Friday, he’s in a four-way tie for third. Smith was also tied for third last week in Korea before finishing tied for 16th. He’s searching for his first win since 2023.

“It's been so long since I've been in contention,” said Smith. “I understand it's not all going to happen at once. Just got to keep putting myself there, putting myself, giving myself opportunities, and one day it'll come.”

QUICK HITS

• Tyrrell Hatton has the 36-hole lead for the second time in his LIV Golf career; the first came in Nashville in 2024 when he led by three strokes through two rounds and went on to win by six shots in the 54-hole tournament
• Thomas Detry was bogey-free for his first 32 holes, the best-bogey-free start in the four tournaments held at Valderrama
• Detry is currently solo second to Hatton; in Detry’s 34 career rounds in LIV Golf, he’s been in the top five 14 times and the top 10 21 times
• Talor Gooch has been the league’s best iron player at Valderrama in its first three visits, but the two-time Andalucia champion is doing it this week with his short game (ranked second in Strokes Gained Around the Green) and putting (ranked 10th in Strokes Gained Putting)
• Sergio Garcia is in the top 3 after 36 holes for the 10th time in his LIV Golf career; he’s converted two of those chances into wins
• Jon Rahm gained +4.95 strokes on the field with his second-round 67 on Friday – that’s the 26th round in which he’s gained four or more shots on the field, and the eighth time he’s done it this season
• Legion XIII has the 36-hole lead for the seventh time in team history; they’ve converted four of those previous six chances into wins
• Ripper GC, currently tied for second, has won on three different continents but not in Europe
• Lucas Herbert’s ace on the par-3 15th came on the hardest green to hit at Valderrama through the first two rounds; the field’s Greens in Regulation average at the 15th is just 35.1%

STATS LEADERS

ROUND 2

Driving Distance: Byeong Hun An, 356.4-yard avg.

Longest Drive: Thomas Pieters, 388.2 yards (11th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 11 and 17.

Driving Accuracy: Sebastian Munoz, 92.86% (13 of 14)

Greens in Regulation: Jon Rahm, Luis Masaveu, 77.78% (14 of 18)

Scrambling: Marc Leishman (9 of 9), Harold Varner III (6 of 6), 100%

Fewest Putts: Anthony Kim, Michael La Sasso, Richard T. Lee, 23

Bogey-free rounds: none

CUMULATIVE

Driving Distance: Byeong Hun An, 332.9-yard avg.

Driving Accuracy: Sebastian Munoz, 71.43% (20 of 28)

Greens in Regulation: Cameron Smith, Sebastian Munoz, 69.44% (25 of 36)

Scrambling: Thomas Detry (17 of 19), 89.47%

Fewest Putts: Miguel Tabuena, 46

Low rounds: Rd. 1 – Tyrrell Hatton (67), Scott Vincent (67). Rd. 2 – Talor Gooch (67), Jon Rahm (67), Harold Varner III (67)