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Tyrrell Hatton entered LIV Golf Andalucía with limited prep work, understandable given he has just become a father for the first time. His training sessions earlier this week at Real Club Valderrama were, in his words, “pretty horrible.” And now his first putt as a father was a 33-footer on his first hole Thursday.
He emptied it.
Hatton celebrated his first round as a father with a 4-under 67 to share the lead with Scott Vincent on a challenging day on Spain’s most famous course. It was an impressive performance as Hatton has focused on his wife and daughter. Until this week, he had not hit balls outdoors since his last start at the PGA Championship, as his practice sessions were limited to his indoor swing studio at home.
“I was kind of nervous about how bad it could be today,” said the Legion XIII star, who took the lead through 18 holes for the first time in his LIV Golf career. “But I tried to have one thought and not complicate it too much. My warm-up was better, and that gave me a little confidence to trust on the golf course, and I felt like I hit a lot of good shots in the end.”
Few LIV Golf players have hit more good shots recently than Vincent, who is making his fourth start in the HyFlyers GC lineup as a replacement for captain Phil Mickelson. Vincent, who began the season as an Independent Wild Card player, has given his team its best individual results this season with three consecutive top-10 finishes, including a solo fifth-place finish last week in Korea, when he played in the final group on Sunday.
The Zimbabwean continued to build on that momentum by shooting one of the day’s two bogey-free rounds (Thomas Detry, solo third at 3 under, had the other) in which the par-71 Valderrama played to a stroke average of more than 1-1/2 strokes over par due in part to its famous gusty winds.
“It’s the best 18 holes I’ve played this year,” Vincent said. “I was able to execute a lot of the shots the way I wanted to and then when I got into trouble I was able to make some amazing saves. Overall, it was a fantastic day on an amazing course that played really hard.”
Valderrama showed his teeth early, as 47 of the 57 players in the field suffered at least one bogey in the first 90 minutes after the shotgun start. The stroke average of 72.509 made it the sixth toughest first round in league history.
Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, fresh off his win last week at LIV Golf Korea, posted a cumulative par in his four individual scores to take the team lead. That’s the team’s highest score relative to par in any round since the Crushers opened at 3-over last year at Valderrama.
“A puzzling golf course, that’s for sure,” said DeChambeau, one of three players on his team to shoot a 1-under 70. “There are a lot of times where you’re just waiting. You hit great shots and they just won’t be rewarded in some moments here. It’s a great test of golf.”
Fireballs overall captain Sergio Garcia, a four-time winner at Valderrama with 17 top 10s in 18 career starts, said the difficulty level was extremely high on Thursday. Garcia opened with a 2-under 69, which left him in a five-way tie for fourth place.
“I’ve played it harder, but today I would put it in the top 20, 25%,” Garcia said. “Obviously, if you play really well, you can shoot a 67 like Tyrrell and Scott did. But not only did you have to hit a lot of good shots, but a lot of things had to go right: hitting the right time, making sure you guessed the flurry the right way.”
Despite limited prep work, Hatton was right most of the time Thursday. Your new daughter will be proud of her dad.
“This golf course demands a lot,” he said. “To be honest, it has stood the test of time and is an iconic place. Although I may lose even more hair than I would like around here, it’s always good to be back here.”
TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS
Top 10 singles
T1 (-4) –Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (67); Tyrrell Hatton, XIII Legion (67)
3 (-3) – Thomas Detry, 4Aces (68)
T4 (-2) – Cameron Smith, Ripper (69); Sergio García, Fireballs (69); David Puig, Fireballs (69); Minkyu Kim, Korean (69); Branden Grace, Southern Guards (69)
T9 (-1) – Thomas Pieters, 4Aces (70); Charles Howell III, Crushers (70); Anirban Lahiri, Crushers (70); Matthew Wolff, RangeGoats (70); Doyeob Mun, Korean (70); Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (70)
Team top 3
1 (my) – GC crushers (DeChambeau 70, Howell III 70, Lahiri 70, Smyth 74)
T2 (+1) – Korean Golf Club (Kim 69, Mun 70, An 72, Song 75)
T2 (+1) – RangeGoats GC (Wolff 70, Campbell 71, Watson 72, Uihlein 73)
T2 (+1) – Legion XIII (Hatton 67, McKibbin 73, Rahm 73, Surratt 73)
ROUND 1 NOTES
WIND CHANGE FOR RD. 2: Fireballs GC captain Sergio García, who knows Real Club Valderrama better than anyone on the course, said the course will be different for Friday’s Rd. 2 thanks to a change in the direction of the wind that will blow from the east across the Mediterranean Sea.
“If it starts blowing from Levante, it will be a totally different golf course,” Garcia said. “For example, 1 is going to play down the right instead of to the left. 4 and 17 are going to play downwind, 11 is going to play upwind. It’s going to be totally different.
“The good thing is that I’ve played this course in every kind of condition you can imagine. I hope it’s a good thing.”
Thomas Detry, one of only two players to produce a bogey-free round along with Scott Vincent, realizes he will need to adjust his game plan with the different wind.
“It’s going to be another windy day, but apparently the wind will be completely different,” Detry said. “It’ll be an interesting day. But I’ve been to this place many times, so I feel pretty comfortable even with a wind switch. I don’t think it will bother me too much.”
SURPRISED VICENTE: Scott Vincent shot a bogey-free 67 to claim a share of the first-round lead. Despite his recent form, Vincent said he didn’t expect such a low score given the way he practiced Wednesday.
“I had a tough day on the course yesterday. I got beat up pretty good,” Vincent said. “But that’s just Valderrama. That’s pretty much what he does. You don’t have to be that far away to feel like he’s a million miles away. Today was one of those days where he really got dialed in. I don’t know why. Yesterday he was all over the place.”
Vincent revealed that he benefited from a conversation with his HyFlyers GC teammate Brendan Steele. Earlier this season, Vincent wouldn’t have had that discussion as he was playing as an independent Wild Card player, but this is his fourth start representing the HyFlyers as Phil Mickelson’s replacement.
“I had a really good talk with Steeley while our team was driving home, and that really helped,” Vincent said. “It just reminded me that this week is a grind. It’s just a grind. That’s how this course is played. You’re going to get him out of position and you’re going to be in some really horrible spots, but you’ve got to keep working and working. Don’t let it get to you because he’s going to keep trying to do that.”
DETRY’S REBOUND: Newcomer Thomas Detry has been one of LIV Golf’s most consistent players in his first season, with five top 10s in his first eight starts. However, he arrived in Andalusia with his worst result, a tie for 41st place in Korea.
He bounced back Thursday with a 3-under, bogey-free 68 that left him in solo third place.
“Today was a lot better compared to the mentality and last week,” said the 4Aces GC star. “I thought the last three days I managed to rest and calm my mind a little bit because I was all over the place last week. I did a great job at that.
“I got frustrated on the greens. I think the frustration came mostly on the greens. I really struggled last week. I didn’t do much this week on the course or on the golf course. I only played nine holes during the pro-am; that’s all I did. But I made some good putts. I changed some things, and it really paid off. I felt like I could build some momentum, make a couple of good putts at the right time, and that makes a big difference.”
Detry is one of the few players who still has a legitimate chance to win the LIV Golf Exemption for the Open Championship. The highest-ranked player after this week in the season-long points race who is not exempt will claim a place in the final major of the year at Royal Birkdale.
HATTON AS FATHER: As anyone who follows the game knows, Tyrrell Hatton wears his emotions on his sleeve, a trait that endears him to his growing legion of fans.
When asked if fatherhood now will make him a little calmer, Hatton offered an honest answer.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “Once we fell 3 short, I was already complaining about it. And then I three-putted, so it gave me something else to complain about. I’m a pretty good complainer, and I think I’ll continue with that.”
PUIG STARTS STRONG: Spaniard David Puig joined Fireballs overall captain Sergio Garcia with a 2-under 69. The 24-year-old has learned quite a bit from Garcia about how to play against Valderrama.
“Definitely. Something I really worked on in the last few months was lowering my trajectory a little bit, and it’s essential in this place when it blows like that,” Puig said. “I think I did a good job today. I think I became more consistent with my trajectory and the shots I want to take.”
FAST BLOWS
- This is the first time in Tyrrell Hatton’s LIV Golf career that he has held at least a share of the first round lead. The only LIV Golf tournament he led after any round was in Nashville in 2024, when he led after the second and third rounds en route to winning.
- Scott Vincent shares Rd. 1 for the second consecutive time, having also maintained a share of the lead after 18 holes in Korea.
- Vincent gained +4.70 strokes with his Approach shots on Thursday, the best in the field; It is his best Strokes Gained Approach round in his LIV Golf career.
- Thomas Detry was successful on all eight attempts, the sixth-best performance of any LIV Golf player in a single round.
- Branden Grace finished fourth at Andalusia last season, starting a streak of 11 top-20 finishes in his last 15 starts; is now tied for fourth place after Rd. 1
- Cameron Smith continues to improve his accuracy, finding 72.2% Greens in Regulation, tied for best in the field; He also hit 57.1% of his fairways, putting him in the top 15 in that category.
- David Puig finished inside the top 5 after the first round for the fourth time in his LIV Golf career
- Korean Golf Club is tied for second place, its highest position after 18 holes since 2024 Adelaide
- Only two players birdied the par-4 16th: Lucas Herbert and Danny Lee.
STATISTICS LEADERS
Round 1
Driving distance: Caleb Surratt, 341.8 yard average.
Longest trip: Joaquín Niemann, 380.2 yards (11th hole). Officially measured drives taken on holes 11 and 17 only.
Driving precision: Ben Campbell, Sam Horsfield, 78.57% (11 of 14)
Greens in the Regulation: Scott Vincent, Cameron Smith, Minkyu Kim, 72.22% (13 of 18)
Fight: Thomas Detry (8 of 8), Scott Vincent (5 of 5), 100%
Fewer putts: Louis Oosthuizen, Miguel Tabuena, 22 years old
Bogey-free rounds: Scott Vincent (67), Thomas Detry (68)
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in association with LIV Golf.
