Out of the Rough: LIV Golf Andalucia (2025)

In the final tune-up before next week’s The Open Championship, LIV Golf takes to Spain for the LIV Golf Andalucia.

Held at the Real Club Valderrama since the tour entered a five-year agreement with the course in 2023, this will be the third consecutive season that the venue has hosted this event.

Real Club Valderrama is one of the most prestigious golf courses in the World, having previously hosted the Andalucia Masters of the DP World Tour. This venue also hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup, the first time the event was held in Continental Europe.

Of course, next week is The Open Championship so this week will serve as a final tune-up for those qualified to represent LIV Golf.

The Field

There will be a total of 14 golfers representing LIV Golf next week at The Open Championship that too will be teeing it up this week. 

That list includes Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Jason Kokrak, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen, Carlos Ortiz, Tom McKibbin, Henrik Stenson, John Catlin, Lee Westwood, Lucas Herbert and Dean Burmester.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia comes in as the defending champion of this event, having defeated Anirban Lahiri in a playoff a season ago. Garcia, of course, is one of the most notable absentees of The Open Championship.

Talor Gooch won the inaugural playing of this event in 2023, topping DeChambeau by a stroke.

Niemann continues to lead the season long standings, leading over DeChambeau by 35.42 points. Niemann also leads third place Rahm by 42.36 points. The three have a considerable gap over fourth place Reed.

Crushers GC leads Legion XIII by just 5.34 points in the team standings.

The Course

Real Club Valderrama plays as a par-71 at roughly 7,100 yards.

It annually ranks among the top courses in the world and has previously mentioned, has hosted numerous professional events, including the Ryder Cup in 1997.

The course has been nicknamed the “Augusta of Europe” for its championship pedigree and immaculate maintenance. 

It was designed by Robert Treny Jones in 1974, who later returned in the mid-1980’s, alongside Jamie Ortiz-Patino to perform more work on the course.

Off-the-tee, golfers will be faced with narrow, tight and sloping fairways that are tree lined, mainly by cork trees. This adds to the need for accuracy off-the-tee.

From there, golfers will be tested on their approach, as they look to find smaller-than-average greens.

These greens are undulating and run at roughly 12.5 on the Stimpmeter. 

Real Club Valderrama features four par-fours that are under 400 yards. The longest par-three is 225 yards, the longest par-four is 490 yards and the longest par-five is 564 yards.

The 17th hole, which is also the easiest hole on the golf course, is a 564-yard par-five that provides a natural amphitheater for fans.

The par-three 12th is the hardest hole on the golf course.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, the weather for this week looks ideal. There is currently a zero-percent chance of precipitation across all three days. Temperatures are set at 81-degrees on Friday, 83-degrees for Saturday and 85-degrees for Sunday. Wind will be a factor however as forecasts currently are calling for 18 miles-per-hour winds on Friday, six miles-per-hour on Saturday and 13 miles-per-hour on Sunday. Gusts can reach 27 miles-per-hour on Friday as well.

Key Stats

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Scrambling

• Fairway Hit Percentage

• Putting Average

Betting Card

Louis Oosthuizen (+3500)

Oosthuizen has played this event each of the past two seasons, placing fourth last year and 24th in 2023. He is currently eighth on LIV in hit fairway percentage, 11th in scrambling, 19th in putting average and 22nd in GIR%. He placed second in his last outing at the LIV Golf Dallas. He also placed 23rd at LIV Golf Virginia and 12th at LIV Golf Korea.

Tom McKibbin (+4100)

Being new to LIV Golf this season, McKibbin has yet to play this event. He is currently seventh on LIV in scrambling, 11th in GIR%, 22nd in hit fairway percentage and 43rd in putting average. He placed fifth in his latest outing at LIV Golf Dallas. He also placed 50th earlier this year at the PGA Championship. 

Richard Bland (+8000)

Bland is currently third on LIV Golf in scrambling, 11th in putting average, 15th in hit fairway percentage and 26th in GIR%. He placed 14th at this event last year and 22nd in 2023. He placed 18th in his last outing at LIV Golf Dallas, 29th at LIV Golf Virginia, seventh at LIV Golf Korea and 11th at the LIV Golf Mexico.