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Tyrrell Hatton is looking to make a statement in his first start since becoming a father. The Englishman carded a 2-under 69 in Round 2 to move to 6 under for the week and take the lead at the halfway point of LIV Golf Andalucía 2026.
The Legion XIII star, who missed last week’s event in Korea following the birth of his first child, went out in 36 before a more productive back nine of 33. He sits two shots off Thomas Detry heading into the weekend at Real Club Valderrama.
“If you would have told me on Wednesday that I would have a two-shot lead going into the weekend, I probably wouldn’t have believed you, to be honest,” Hatton said. “Like I said yesterday, I feel like I had a good warm-up… I simplified a few things and kind of went out with that feeling.”
It was a day that belonged in no small part to Legion XIII. While Hatton built his lead at the top, his teammate and captain Jon Rahm produced one of the more eye-catching rounds on the course. The Spaniard, who had cut a frustrated figure after a 2-over 73 opening round in front of his home crowd, came out swinging on Friday with a 4-under 67, good for a tie in today’s low round. Rahm moved to 2 under for the tournament and sits T7, in prime position for a weekend charge.
The defending champion also declared himself emphatically. OKGC captain Talor Gooch, who has won two of the last three LIV Golf events at Valderrama, made his move Friday with a 4-under 67 that included four birdies on the back nine and moved him all the way into a tie for third at 3 under. Gooch has a habit of finding his best golf when it matters most at this venue and the field would be wise to keep a close eye on him this weekend.
Harold Varner III matched Rahm and Gooch with a 67 of his own, making it three players tied for the low round of the day. It was a quietly impressive round from a player who had also opened with a 2-over 73 on Thursday.
The Open Championship qualification picture sharpened considerably on Friday. Detry followed his opening 3-under 68 with a steady 1-under 70 to sit alone in second place at 4 under, two behind Hatton. The Belgian continues to widen the gap to Joaquin Niemann in the race for the coveted exception and two more rounds in this form could make it very difficult for Niemann to hold on.
Tied for third with Gooch are Cameron Smith, Sergio Garcia and Scott Vincent, who are 3 under after two days. Smith’s continued solidity keeps the Ripper GC captain firmly in the conversation as he builds momentum under new swing coach Claude Harmon III. Garcia, meanwhile, is looking to add another chapter to his remarkable Valderrama story. Three Spanish players now sit in the top seven: Garcia, Rahm and David Puig at T7.
The day also produced a moment of brilliance from Lucas Herbert. The Ripper GC man cleared the 15th hole – the first hole-in-one in Andalucía in LIV Golf’s four visits to the venue. It was the 17th ace in league history, the fifth in 2026, and the second-longest in LIV Golf history, trailing only John Catlin’s 220-yard ace at LIV Golf UK in 2024.
In the team competition, Crushers GC, fresh off their win in Korea last week, bid to go back-to-back and take the team lead into the weekend. For the second straight day, however, no team managed to finish the round under par cumulatively, a reminder that Real Club Valderrama demands everything from every player, on every hole. With two rounds to go, that is unlikely to change.
LIV Golf Andalucía Leaderboard after Round 2
1. Tyrrell Hatton (-6)
2. Thomas Detry (-4)
T-3. Scott Vincent (-3)
T-3. Sergio Garcia (-3)
T-3. Talor Gooch (-3)
T-3. Cameron Smith (-3)
T-7. Harold Varner III (-2)
T-7. Branden Grace (-2)
T-7. Louis Oosthuizen (-2)
T-7. David Puig (-2)
T-7. Jon Rahm (-2)
This piece was published by Mike McAllister in association with LIFE Golf.
