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 sole possession of the lead at the halfway stage of LIV Golf AndalucÃa 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 clear of Thomas Detry heading into the weekend at Real Club Valderrama.
“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. “As I said yesterday, I feel like I had a good warm-up ⦠I simplified a few things and just kind of went out with that feel.”
It was a day that belonged, in no small part, to Legion XIII. While Hatton was building his lead at the top, his teammate and captain Jon Rahm was producing 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 of the low round of the day. Rahm moved to 2 under for the tournament and sits T7, in prime position for a weekend charge.
The defending champion also announced himself emphatically. OKGC Captain Talor Gooch, who has won two of the last three LIV Golf tournaments at Valderrama, made his move on Friday with a 4-under 67 that featured four birdies on the back nine and moved him all the way to 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 his own 67, making it three players sharing 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 qualifying picture sharpened considerably on Friday. Detry followed his opening 3-under 68 with a steady 1-under 70 to sit alone in second at 4 under, two back of Hatton. The Belgian continues to widen the gap on Joaquin Niemann in the race for that coveted exemption, and two more rounds in this form could make it very difficult for Niemann to hold on.
Sharing 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 yet another chapter to his remarkable Valderrama story. Three Spanish players now sit in the top seven:Â Garcia, Rahm, and David Puig at T7.
The day also produced a moment of brilliance from Lucas Herbert. The Ripper GC man aced the 15th hole â the first hole-in-one at AndalucÃa in LIV Golf’s four visits to the venue. It was the 17th ace in league history, the fifth of 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 victory in Korea last week, are bidding to go back-to-back and carry the team lead into the weekend. For the second consecutive 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 remaining, that is unlikely to change.
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 is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with <a href="https://www.livgolf.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener no
