Gusty winds and high scores were the tale of the day at the opening round of LIV Golf Andalucia, returning to one of Spain’s most iconic golf courses, Real Club Valderrama.
One man who has very fond memories of this course is Antrim’s Graeme McDowell, and the 46-year-old pieced together a respectable even-par 71 to sit tied for 15th, four strokes back from the lead.
McDowell once made the shot of a lifetime at Valderrama, making a historic double-eagle (albatross) at the famous par-5 17th in 2007 at the Volvo Masters and he began his round steadily, making seven pars on the front nine as he bogeyed the second and birdied the ninth. The 2010 U.S. Open Champion’s back nine was much of the same, bogeying the 10th and making birdie at the 13th.
The strong winds around Valderrama really showed on the scorecard, as only 14 players of the 57 field managed to get under par. Unfortunately for Tom McKibbin, he wasn’t one of those 14.
McKibbin began his day with a bogey at the par-4 first hole but then bounced back well with a birdie at the par-4 fifth. Two more sore bogeys at the sixth and ninth saw McKibbin take the turn at two-over.
McKibbin started well on the back nine, making birdie at the 11th and the 14th before ultimately succumbing to the tough elements yet again in the final few holes.
The 23-year-old made bogey at the 16th and 18th but managed to deliver a brilliant approach shot from an extremely angled lie at the 17th, which bounced off the hole – McKibbin would then two-putt for par. A 73 for McKibbin sees him sit T28 at two-over-par.
Both Tyrell Hatton and Scott Vincent hold the 18-hole lead after posting four-under-par rounds.
Hatton did extremely well to keep the bogeys at a minimum, making just one around Valderrama which came at the par-3 third. Birdies were dropping for Hatton as he made three on the front nine followed by two more on the back, with one coming at the 18th to tie Vincent for the lead.
Vincent one-upped Hatton in the bogey department as the 34-year-old managed to go bogey-free in round one. The Zimbabwean took the turn at one-under-par before coming alive on the back-nine, making birdies at the 11th, 12th, and 15th to post a 67.
Belgium’s Thomas Detry holds solo third place as the 33-year-old sits just one stroke back at three-under. There is a five-way tie for fourth, with team captains Sergio Garcia and Cam Smith among those on two-under.
Speaking on the conditions, Garcia said; “Obviously Valderrama is already tricky enough, and with these gusty winds, I got two huge gusts on 16 and 17. 16 I hit my 8-iron 120 yards and I tried to keep it down. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Yeah, it’s just tricky. You just have to be very patient. Even sometimes hitting good shots, you don’t get rewarded because of the wind. But I was very happy with the way I scored,” added the Spaniard.
In the team leaderboard, Crusher GC, captained by Bryson DeChambeau, lead by two with a score of even-par. Not one team managed to get under-par in round one.
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