CaddyBytes

2026 LIV Golf Andalucía Round 2 Recap & Highlights

Read the second-round recap and 36-hole leaderboard update below, then scroll down for the official highlights video.

CaddyBytes 🏆 2026 LIV Golf Andalucía Round 2 Recap: Real Club Valderrama tightened the tournament again on Friday, and Tyrrell Hatton was the player who turned a crowded leaderboard into a halfway advantage. After sharing the opening-round lead, Hatton followed his 67 with a controlled 69, finishing 36 holes at 6-under and taking a two-shot lead into the weekend.

The Round 2 highlights had the usual Valderrama flavor right away: Bryson DeChambeau opened with a strong drive, Sergio Garcia showed soft hands around the 1st, Jon Rahm chipped in at the 11th, Charles Howell III judged a delicate uphill pitch, and Branden Grace rolled in an early birdie. Nothing looked simple, but the players who controlled spin and missed in the right places kept finding chances.

Hatton’s day did not need to be spectacular early. He made a birdie at the 3rd to get back to 4-under, stayed patient through the middle of the round, and then delivered the biggest swing late. His eagle putt at the 17th dropped in with authority, pushing him to 6-under and giving Legion XIII the individual leader at the halfway stage.

Thomas Detry had one of the best stretches of the day and nearly produced the shot of the tournament. After staying bogey-free deep into the week, he hit a brilliant second shot into the par-5 11th that came within inches of an albatross. Detry briefly pushed to the front, but a couple of late mistakes dropped him back to 4-under, still alone in second and only two behind Hatton.

Cameron Smith made one of the sharpest mid-round moves. After escaping trouble and making birdie at the 8th, Smith stacked another at the 9th and then rattled in a third straight birdie at the 10th to join the lead at 4-under. Valderrama took some of it back later, but Smith still reached the weekend at 3-under, right in the first chase group.

Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm gave the Spanish crowd plenty to stay loud about. Garcia looked completely at home again, using a little hook spin on a wedge into the 11th and then hitting a superb five-wood into the 17th. Rahm shot a second-round 67, sparked by birdies and a strong finish, moving back to 2-under for the tournament and close enough to matter on the weekend.

The loudest single shot of the day belonged to Lucas Herbert, who made an ace at the par-3 15th in one of the windiest parts of the golf course. Talor Gooch also made a major move with a second-round 67, Dustin Johnson poured in an eagle at the 11th and stayed active for 4Aces GC, while Scott Vincent fought back with a birdie at the 16th after starting the day tied for the lead.

The second-round story was patience, damage control, and one late Hatton surge. Detry, Smith, Garcia, Gooch, Vincent, Rahm, Grace, Puig, Oosthuizen, Varner, and DeChambeau are all still close enough that the weekend at Valderrama should stay tight, especially if the wind keeps turning solid golf shots into survival tests.

36-hole leaderboard note: Tyrrell Hatton leads LIV Golf Andalucía at 6-under after rounds of 67-69 for a 136 total. Hatton starts the weekend two shots clear after turning Friday’s late eagle at the 17th into the biggest leaderboard move of the day.

Thomas Detry is alone in second at 4-under after 68-70 for 138. He was right there with the lead for much of Round 2, and even with the late bogeys, he remains the closest pursuer heading into Saturday.

The group at 3-under includes Sergio Garcia, Talor Gooch, Cameron Smith, and Scott Vincent. Gooch made the biggest jump in that group with a second-round 67, while Garcia and Smith each stayed in position after 70s. Vincent, who shared the Round 1 lead with Hatton, sits three back after a 72.

At 2-under, Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, David Puig, Jon Rahm, and Harold Varner III are still within four shots of the lead. Rahm and Varner both used second-round 67s to climb the board, while Puig remains part of the Spanish weekend storyline.

The next visible group at 1-under includes Abraham Ancer, Bryson DeChambeau, and Lucas Herbert. DeChambeau continues to grind around a course he called mystifying, while Herbert’s hole-in-one at the 15th gave Round 2 one of its signature moments.

In the team race, Legion XIII leads at the halfway mark, with Ripper GC and 4Aces GC two shots back. Only three teams are under par through 36 holes, which says plenty about how difficult Valderrama has played through the first two rounds.

The key heading into Round 3 is whether Hatton can keep his ball in the correct sections of Valderrama’s fairways and greens. A two-shot lead matters on this course, but with Detry two back and a loaded group at 3-under and 2-under, one loose stretch can still flip the weekend leaderboard quickly.

Video courtesy of LIV Golf / YouTube.