SAN ROQUE, SPAIN: Real Club Valderrama wasted no time reminding the LIV Golf field exactly of their competitive nature.
Gusty, swirling winds turned an already demanding par 71 into an even more difficult test during Thursday’s opening round of LIV Golf Andalucia. The field averaged 72.51, the hardest first round of the 2026 season by over a shot, and the sixth hardest opener in league history.
Tyrrell Hatton and Scott Vincent share the lead at four-under 67, one clear of Thomas Detry in third. It was, in every sense, a fitting way to begin a week at Valderrama.
For Hatton, the round carried a significance that went well beyond the leaderboard. The Englishman missed last week’s event in Korea following the birth of his first child and was off to a hot start as a new father.
Hatton went out in 33 with birdies on the first, third and sixth before adding birdies on the 12th and 17th on the back nine against a single bogey to card an impressive 67.
