LIV Golf Andalucia Preview: Sergio Garcia Eyes Repeat At 'My Favorite Course'
When: July 11-13, 2025
Where: Real Club Valderrama, San Roque, Cádiz, Spain
Competition: Three rounds/54 holes of stroke play
Field: 54 players — 13 teams of four players each, and two wild cards
Defending champions: Sergio Garcia (individual), Fireballs GC (team)
Shotgun Start (ET)Rd. 1, Friday - 7 a.m.Rd. 2, Saturday - 7 a.m.
Rd. 3, Sunday - 6:30 a.m. KEY STORYLINES LIV Golf returns to Andalucía for the third consecutive season at the historic Valderrama course
Spanish legend Sergio Garcia and his Fireballs GC seek to defend their individual and team titles from last year
The Fireballs won last year's title at Valderrama in a team playoff over Crushers GC, who finished third the previous year
Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers will seek to match the LIV Golf record of four consecutive team wins set by 4Aces GC during the inaugural 2022 season
The Crushers moved atop the season-long team standings with their dominant 11-shot victory in Dallas; they also won the previous two tournaments in Korea and Virginia
4Aces GC's Patrick Reed won his first individual LIV Golf title in Dallas, claiming a four-man playoff that included Paul Casey (Crushers), Louis Oosthuizen (Stinger GC) and Jinichiro Kozuma (Iron Heads GC)
Four Spanish natives are in the 54-man field – Garcia and his Fireballs teammates David Puig and recently signed Josele Ballester, and Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm, a two-time major winner and winner of the 2024 LIV Golf Individual Championship
Latin star Joaquin Niemann of Chile is the current individual points leader with four wins in the first nine tournaments this season
Andalucía is the last LIV Golf tournament prior to next week's Open Championship, in which 19 of the league's players will compete at Royal Portrush LEGENDARY VALDERRAMA
Spanish-born Sergio Garcia, the captain of Fireballs GC, calls Real Club Valderrama "my favorite course in the world."
Given that Garcia has won four professional tournaments there, including his breakthrough LIV Golf individual playoff in 2024, it's no wonder a smile crosses his face whenever he talks about Valderrama.
The 45-year-old Garcia certainly is happy to return to the course for this week's LIV Golf Andalucía for the third consecutive year.
"It's super special," Garcia said. "Not only for me but for all of us because of how much Valderrama means to all of us, to Europe, all the amazing things that have happened here on this golf course."
Last year was certainly amazing for both Garcia and his Fireballs, as they swept both trophies via playoff – the only time in LIV Golf's young history that a tournament has produced a double playoff for the individual and team titles.
"It's been great to me," Garcia said.
Garcia is not the only Spanish-born captain in LIV Golf. Legion XIII's Jon Rahm also enjoys returning to his home country to play Valderrama, the first course in Continental Europe to host the Ryder Cup in 1997.
"It's all subjective, but it's probably the best golf course we have in Spain," Rahm said. "It's something that we all grew up wanting to play."
Cleeks Golf Club Captain Martin Kaymer was born in Germany but now resides in the Sotogrande area that includes Valderrama. He's been close on several occasions in his pro career to lifting a trophy there.
"One of those venues where I wanted to put my name on the trophy," Kaymer said. "I came close. I think I finished five or six times in the top 5. So, it's a golf course that I like, that I enjoy playing, that I can play well. It's a matter of time, hopefully." CHASING THE RECORD
Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC have won the last three LIV Golf team titles and will seek a fourth straight trophy at LIV Golf Andalucía. If they win at Valderrama, it would match the LIV Golf record for longest win streak by either a team or individual. LIV GOLF WIN STREAKS
4 – 4Aces GC (2022 Portland/Bedminster/Boston/Chicago)
3 – Crushers GC (2025 Korea/Virginia/Dallas)
3 – Fireballs GC (2025 Adelaide/Hong Kong/Singapore)
2 – Ripper GC (2024 Adelaide/Singapore)2 – Crushers GC (2024 Jeddah/Hong Kong)
2 – Torque GC (2023 DC/Andalucía) ABOUT THE COURSE REAL CLUB VALDERRAMA
San Roque, Cádiz, Spain
Par: 71Yardage: 7,010
Meters: 6,410 Ranked among the top courses in the world, Real Club Valderrama has hosted numerous professional events, including LIV Golf Andalucía in 2023 and 2024, along with the 1997 Ryder Cup – the first time the event had been held in Continental Europe
Valderrama was originally designed by famed golf architect Robert Trent Jones in 1974. Jones was brought back to work on the course when Jaime Ortiz-Patiño bought the course in the mid-1980s
Valderrama is widely considered to be the "Augusta of Europe" for its championship pedigree and immaculate maintenance
The golf club is one of two in Europe to be awarded the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program Certification for its commitment to conserve and restore natural ecosystems
The course will have four par-4 holes under 400 yards; the longest par 3 is 225 yards, the longest par 4 is 490 yards and the longest par 5 is 564 yards
The 564-yard par-5 fourth, known as La Cascada, has a pond to the right of a two-tiered green
The memorable 536-yard par-5 17th provides a natural amphitheater for fans
Sergio Garcia (2024) and Talor Gooch (2023) have won individual LIV Golf titles at Valderrama, while Fireballs GC (2024) and Torque GC (2023) have team wins
In 2024, the hardest hole was the par-4 18th with a stroke average of 4.340; the easiest hole was the par-5 11th (4.716)
The 212-yard par-3 12th was the hardest hole in 2023 and the second-hardest in 2024
Green types: Bermuda Tifway 419 on fairways and rough; T1 Creeping Bentgrass on greens KEYS TO SUCCESS
Bogey Avoidance: Much more important than birdie rate. The average top-5 finisher at this course has made 2.75 bogeys per round vs 4.25 for the other players finishing in the top 50.
Finding Fairways: The value of distance is the lowest all season, averaging at just +0.11 per hole. There is also severe miss fairway penalty in play, average +0.40. Driver will likely only be used 6/7 times at the most.
Inside 150 Yards: Players will face 52% of their approach shots this week with the wedges inside of 150 yards vs the season average of 32.5%.
Lag Putting: Because the penalty for missing greens is so severe, players focus on the middle and larger parts of the greens instead of aiming for flags. Thus, longer lag first putts are more impactful.
This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.
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