RELATED: Leaderboard<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt was always a course that I wanted to play,\u201d said Hatton, who played a few other tournaments elsewhere in Spain more than a decade ago. \u201cI\u2019ve certainly lost more hair over the last three years playing it than maybe I would have done if I never had. It\u2019s an iconic venue and it\u2019s always good to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Former LIV Golf Andaluc\u00eda 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\u2019s Scott Vincent.<\/p>\n Hatton\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Hatton\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIf 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,\u201d Hatton said. \u201cIt was a tricky day, so even if you did hit some good shots, it was pretty easy to miss the greens. I\u2019m happy with how it feels and hopefully I can keep going with that this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n Detry, one of the league\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a grind out there,\u201d 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. \u201cBit 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Eighteen players enter the weekend at even par or better, including plenty of big names \u2013 including seven of the league\u2019s captains \u2013 chasing Hatton. Rahm is one of those as he chases his first win at Valderrama<\/a>, but he\u2019s happy to see his teammate playing well after becoming a first-time father.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m not surprised he’s playing well, you know?\u201d Rahm said. \u201cWith extra motivation and, at the same time, maybe a bit of extra relaxation, because, well, the end of a pregnancy is always stressful, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Hatton is now past that stress. But Valderrama will offer a different kind of stress this weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cThis golf course can be very frustrating,\u201d Hatton said. \u201cObviously 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.\u201d<\/p>\n TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS<\/p>\n Individual Top 10<\/p>\n 1 (-6) \u2013 Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII (67-69)<\/p>\n 2 (-4) \u2013 Thomas Detry, 4Aces (68-70)<\/p>\n T3 (-3) \u2013 Talor Gooch, OKGC (72-67); Cameron Smith, Ripper (69-70); Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (67-72)<\/p>\n T7 (-2) \u2013 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)<\/p>\n Team Top 3<\/p>\n 1 (-3) \u2013 Legion XIII (Hatton 67-69, McKibbin 73-72, Rahm 73-67, Surratt 73-71; Rd. 2 total: -5)<\/p>\n T2 (-1) \u2013 Ripper GC (Herbert 72-69, Leishman 73-70, Smith 69-70, Smylie 74-70; Rd. 2 total: -5)<\/p>\n T2 (-1) \u2013 4Aces GC (Detry 68-70, Johnson 76-68, Kim 73-68, Pieters 70-74; Rd. 2 total: -4)<\/p>\n Click here for full leaderboard<\/a><\/p>\n ROUND 2 NOTES <\/p>\n SPANISH STARS IN CONTENTION: Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia and Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm entered this week as the co-local favorites \u2013\u00a0both are Spanish-born players with major credentials. They\u2019ll enter the weekend in excellent shape to give the local fans a trophy \u2013 or possibly two\u00a0\u2013\u00a0to celebrate.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s finished in the top 10 an incredible 17 times.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, 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?\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n
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