Hatton takes two-shot lead into final round at Valderrama

Tyrrell Hatton of Legion XIII tees off during the third round of LIV Golf Andalucía at Real Club Valderrama on Saturday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.

From a Correspondent

Sotogrande, Spain: A Tyrrell Hatton victory at LIV Golf Andalucía would be a heartwarming result, given that he’s making his first start as a new father. 

A Thomas Detry win, meanwhile, would be a well-deserved one, a reward for his consistent high-end finishes in his debut season in the league.

Both players know, however, that it’s the third member of Sunday’s final group who will receive the strongest support from the Spanish fans. 

Sergio Garcia is Valderrama’s favourite son, and the Fireballs GC captain hopes to add to his already legendary ledger on his favourite course.

“Pretty obvious who they’d want to win tomorrow – and it won’t be either of us two,” Hatton said while sitting alongside Detry during their post-round interview on Saturday.

Legion XIII’s Hatton take a two-shot lead into the final round after shooting a 4 under 67 to move to 10 under. 4Aces GC’s Detry also shot 67 to remain two shots back at 8 under. 

Garcia moved into solo third with a 68 – the only bogey-free round of the day – leaving him at 6 under

LIV Golf’s other Spanish-born captain, Legion XIII’s Jon Rahm, is tied for fourth at 5 under, along with 4Aces GC captain Dustin Johnson, Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith and Torque GC’s Abraham Ancer. 

Garcia’s Spanish teammate David Puig is tied for eighth with RangeGoats GC captain Bubba Watson.

Aces high

Johnson produced the 18th hole-in-one in league history en route to shooting a 7 under 64, the lowest round of the week by three shots. 

His 4Aces top the team leaderboard at 12 under, eight shots ahead of Legion XIII, and are in search of their fourth team title of the season

Garcia has four career wins at Valderrama and 17 top-10 finishes in his 18 starts. 

His last victory came two years ago at LIV Golf Andalucía when he rallied from seven shots entering the final round to catch Anirban Lahiri and force a playoff. 

He knows the course better than anybody else in the 57-player field, but he also knows that his fellow Europeans Hatton (from England) and Detry (from Belgium) are determined to spoil the Spanish party.

“Tyrrell is playing great, and Thomas Detry has been very solid all year,” Garcia said. “So, it’s not going to be easy at all, but we’ll see. Valderrama always has a surprise or two up its sleeve.”

Hatton, who won his first LIV Golf title two years ago in Nashville, has been rock-solid for 54 holes. 

Lone blip

He played the front nine on Saturday in a bogey-free 3 under, his only blemish coming at the par-4 10th when he missed a 9-foot par putt. Otherwise, his putter – which he changed recently – has been a primary weapon this week.

“It’s the same shape as what I’ve been using for the last few years,” said Hatton, who missed last week’s tournament in Korea after the birth of his daughter. 

“It’s just got an insert, so the ball comes off a little bit quicker … I feel comfortable with it. Different grip. Hopefully it works well tomorrow.”

Detry, who has five top-10 finishes (including two top-3 podium results) in his first eight LIV Golf starts, has more than just a tournament title at stake Sunday.

He’s currently projected to move into third place into the season-long points race, which would earn him an exemption in the Open Championship in July. 

He would also earn valuable World Ranking points that could set him up for a spot in the US Open later this month.

“I don’t think I missed many shots, to be honest, down the stretch,” said Detry, who has family ties to Spain and speaks fluent Spanish. “I played really solid.”

It’s the looming presence of Garcia, though, which has the locals fired up for Sunday. 

Whether he can rally like he did two years ago will be the big question – and like most things involving Valderrama, it may very well be wind-dependent.

“If Tyrrell keeps playing the way he is playing and shoots 2 or 3 under par, it’s going to be very tough to shoot 7, 8 or 9 under on this course with the wind,” Garcia said. 

Tough test

“Even without wind, it’s difficult, so with wind, it’s even more so. But the only thing we can do is go out there, give it our all, give 100%.”

Hatton expects nothing less. He’s also prepared to deal with the enthusiastic support for the Spanish hero.

“I’ll go out there and try my best, try not to worry about if the crowd are trying to be disruptive at times,” Hatton said. 

“If Sergio finishes first (at a hole) and there’s a lot of movement and they’re walking off, you might just have to take a little bit more time. That’s fine. It kind of happens everywhere around the world anyway. I’ve got enough experience now and I’ll just try to play my game.”

Said Detry: “I’ve known Sergio for a long time. I have great respect for him. But I’m definitely planning on beating him tomorrow. … It will be a fun day and a fun battle for everybody.” (courtesy LIV Golf)

Leaderboards

Individual Top 10

1 (-10) – Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII (67-69-67)

2 (-8) – Thomas Detry, 4Aces (68-70-67)

3 (-6) – Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (69-70-68)

T4 (-5) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (73-67-68); Dustin Johnson, 4Aces (76-68-64); Abraham Ancer, Torque (72-69-67); Cameron Smith, Ripper (69-70-69)

T8 (-4) – David Puig, Fireballs (69-71-69); Bubba Watson, RangeGoats (72-70-67)

10. (-3) – Branden Grace, Southern Guards (69-71-70)

Team Top 3

1. (-12) – 4Aces GC (Detry 68-70-67, Johnson 76-68-64, Kim 73-68-72, Pieters 70-74-70)

2. (-4) – Legion XIII (Hatton 67-69-67, McKibbin 73-72-71, Rahm 73-67-68, Surratt 73-71-77)

3. (-1) – Fireballs GC (Garcia 69-70-68, Puig 69-71-69, Masaveu 72-71-69, Ballester 78-75-70)

Day 3 stats

Driving Distance: Sergio Garcia, 326.6-yard avg.

Longest Drive: Sergio Garcia, 342.8 yards (11th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 11 and 17.

Driving Accuracy:Louis Oosthuizen, 85.71% (12 of 14)

Greens in Regulation:Thomas Detry, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann, 77.78% (14 of 18)

Scrambling: Sergio Garcia (6 of 6), Brendan Steele (6 of 6), Sam Horsfield (5 of 5), 100%

Fewest Putts:Ian Poulter, 22

Bogey-free rounds: Sergio Garcia (68)

Also read: Hatton, Legion XIII manage Valderrama’s testing conditions best