Andalucía Preview: 4Aces GC seeks standings jump with strong showing in Spain
Team: 4Aces Golf Club
Previous event team finish: 9th at LIV Golf Nashville
Season-long team standings: 10th
Top finisher from previous event: Pat Perez, T14
Fun stat: The team’s short game has been solid all season and currently stands fifth in both Putting Average and Scrambling.
Preview
Consistency has been a key word for 4Aces Golf Club in 2024. Mainly because the team is searching for some. The star-studded team led by Captain Dustin Johnson has done everything from vying for event titles and celebrating on the podium to finishing well down the leaderboard.
In short, middle-of-the-pack results have been few and far between, but with LIV Golf Andalucía up next, the team is looking to start a new trend that doesn’t involve feast-or-famine finishes.
There are plenty of positives to focus on. Johnson has been his usual ultra-talented self and is 11th in the season-long standings, having won the individual title at LIV Golf Las Vegas. His team sits 10th in the standings, but it’s only two events removed from a T4 in Houston.
Four tournaments are left in the regular season before the Team Championship in Dallas in September. That allows one of the most accomplished teams in LIV Golf League history to right the ship and make a late season run.
Real Club Valderrama will be a comfortable setting for the team to get going. In 2023, 4Aces GC finished in fourth place here, just one shot off the podium. Johnson and Patrick Reed both finished in the top 10, and teammate Pat Perez had a top-25 showing.
That bodes well for the team this week, especially with most of its players trending up in recent events. Perez, who has had an up-and-down 2024, was at his best at LIV Golf Nashville two weeks ago and finished T14, the highest of any 4Aces GC member. He surged on the weekend, especially on Sunday when he shot a remarkable 7-under 64. Perez enters this week seventh in Fairways Hit (64.81%, 245 in 378 holes).
Perez also had a nice showing last week at the International Series Morocco on the Asian Tour. He finished T8 and had rounds of 70-71-68-74.
Johnson is looking to move past a T51 finish in Nashville and get back to how he played recently in Singapore, where he finished T7. The two-time major champion still has the confidence pocketed from his individual victory in Las Vegas, which came one event after opening the season with a T5 at Mayakoba. This suggests Nashville was an anomaly, especially when looking at his stats. Johnson is tied for sixth in Birdies (123 in 485 holes), 10th in Driving Distance Average (310.5 yards) and T13 in Greens in Regulation (13.04).
Reed took a step back in Nashville with a T32 but his success in recent events, including a T3 in Houston, should have him poised for a high showing this week on a course he has seen success on. Reed also has the momentum from a T13 finish last week at the DP World Tour’s BMW International Open. The 2018 Masters champion is 20th in the season-long standings, seventh in Scrambling and sixth in Putting Average (28.07 putts per round).
A crucial need for the team will be for Harold Varner III to continue some solid play. He’s coming off a T16 finish in Nashville, which was his best finish in five events. Varner III is 31st in Fairways Hit (56.0%), 43rd in Greens in Regulation (11.89 greens per round) and 40th in Putting (29.00 putts per round) as he seeks an uptick in those areas.
Real Club Valderrama will be a familiar venue for most players. The historic course is beloved by amateurs and professionals alike. Known as one of the most iconic holes in golf, the par-5 17th features a natural amphitheater and has been the setting for sun-drenched comebacks, triple bogeys, and even an albatross from LIV Golf member Graeme McDowell.
It hosted the Volvo Masters off and on from 1988-2008, the Andalucía Masters from 2010-2011 and 2017-23, the WGC-American Express Championship from 1999-2000, and the Ryder Cup in 1997. The course, which is shorter than most professional venues, is known for its ability to test the game’s top players and has plenty of trouble sprinkled throughout. Players who can hit a wide variety of shots typically do well on the famed layout.