LIV Golf Andalucía Betting Preview
It is nice to see LIV Golf head to one of the most iconic golf courses in the world this week for LIV Andalucía.
Real Club Valderrama has hosted a ton of iconic events over the years — from the first Ryder Cup held in continental Europe to World Golf Championships to mens and women's European Tour events, all the way to LIV Golf.
This is one of the few courses in the world that is not overly long but still provides a great challenge for this caliber of field. Valderrama is a golf course that is sometimes tough to figure out for newcomers.
For example, Sergio Garcia is a three-time winner here and considers this golf course his favorite course in the world, but it took him a decade to figure out.
Real Club Valderrama is truly a golf course that demands golfers think their way around it. Consequently, bomb and gouging around this course isn't a recipe for success. Instead, hitting fairways, being precise from tee to green and scrambling efficiently are important here.
Talor Gooch, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka really ran away from the field in this event last year. Only three players shot lower than 6-under par, and a whopping 35 golfers finish at even par or higher –which is extremely unusual at the professional level.
I have outlined below some of the key metrics to consider at Real Club Valderrama and my LIV Andalucía picks, predictions & betting preview.
Key LIV Andalucía at Real Club Valderrama Metrics
Fairways Hit Percentage
Hitting fairways is key at Real Club Valderrama. If you golfers miss fairways, they will be stuck behind a tree with an obstructed view to the green or have a bad lie in the rough.
Beyond just hitting the fairway, being in the correct position in the fairway will lead to success. Here are the top LIV golfers in terms of fairways hit.
- Abraham Ancer 71.43%
- Louis Oosthuizen 68.52%
- Henrik Stenson 66.86%
- Sergio Garcia 66.67%
- Talor Gooch 65.08%
Scrambling
Clearly, hitting greens will lead to success on any golf course. At Valderrama, everyone will have to scramble, and winners here have always thrived around the greens to limit mistakes, and Bogey avoidance will be imperative this week. Here are the top scramblers thus far on LIV Golf in 2024.
- Louis Oosthuizen 72.86%
- Talor Gooch 71.03%
- Paul Casey 70.59%
- Sergio Garcia 69.53%
- Dean Burmester 69.17%
We have picked three winners season using the 7x ROI Card Construction Structure.
- LIV Vegas: Dustin Johnson +1600
- LIV Miami: Dean Burmester +3200
- LIV Houston: Carlos Ortiz +2800
LIV Golf Andalucía Picks & Predictions
Jon Rahm +750
If you have read my LIV Golf betting previews in the past, you know I am not scared to pull the single bullet trigger on Jon Rahm.
In nine LIV Golf events, I have selected three winners, but sadly I have single-bulleted Rahm in four of those events. Who knows what could have happened if we went with full outright betting cards the rest of the time!
Rahm finished in a tie for third in his last start at LIV Nashville but really did not have a chance to win. He ran into the buzzsaw of Tyrrell Hatton, who ran away with the event. The Spaniard's injury that forced him to withdraw from LIV Houston forego teeing it up at the U.S. Open in now a nonfactor, and he should be ready to roll for this week.
Rahm is a historian of the game and knows how iconic winning at Valderrama would be. In a recent interview, he noted that this would be a "perfect week" to get his first LIV Golf win.
This golf course demands that golfers are precise from tee to green, and Rahm is surely the most consistent and well rounded golfer on LIV Golf.
I'm buying Rahm's motivation and am going to take the plunge one last time with him to win at +750 outright odds.
Rahm has introduced a new driver shaft this week and looks as dialed as ever to get the job done. Some things aren't worth overthinking, and Rahm in Spain is surely one of them. In five trips to the Spanish Open, Rahm has won three times and never finished lower than a tie for 17th.
Those tournaments were on a different course, but Rahm knows how to win in his home country.
