Andalucía Recap: 4Aces GC finishes strong at historically hard Valderrama
The members of 4Aces Golf Club set a high bar as one of the winningest teams in LIV Golf League history. So, when the dust settled at LIV Golf Andalucía - and considering the brutally tough scoring conditions - the team’s T6 finish should be viewed as a success.
Iconic Real Club Valderrama proved to be a historically difficult test for nearly every team, and it once again challenged some of the world’s best players. It was evident from the start. Friday’s first round went down as the toughest day in LIV Golf history. Friday’s field stroke average of 3.519 over par was the highest for any of LIV Golf’s 88 regular-season rounds. Collectively, the field was 190 over, and just one hole played under par, the par-5 11th.
In breaking down 4Aces GC’s weeklong performance, it can be argued it was one of its better overall performances of 2024. The team finished a combined 7-over par, but six teams finished double digits over par. In fact, three teams combined to shoot 20 over par or worse. Furthermore, only five teams combined to shoot under par on Sunday when all four scores counted, and 4Aces GC was one of them (1-under total).
The team would have had a better chance for a podium finish if not for the tough start. As noted above, Friday’s scoring conditions were legendarily difficult, and 4Aces GC combined to shoot 8 over in Round 1. But the weekend combined score of 1 under was a positive.
Patrick Reed was spectacular all week and led the way with a T4 finish. His 4-under 67 on Sunday was one of the day’s best scores, and his 1-over 72 on Friday kept him firmly in the mix. Captain Dustin Johnson was consistently solid with rounds of 73-72-71 to finish T17, and Pat Perez grinded out a T27 result. Teammate Harold Varner III will look to move on from Valderrama after finishing T51.
It was a nice bounce back for Johnson, who was coming off a T51 in Nashville. Johnson currently sits No. 11 in the season-long team standings and is poised to make a jump considering his stellar play in Spain.
The busy stretch for a lot of LIV Golf members continues this week at The Open Championship at Royal Troon. Johnson will be playing his 15th Open Championship and is looking to add to his Hall of Fame resumé after having won the Masters in 2020 and the U.S. Open in 2016. His best finish at The Open came in 2011 when he tied for second with fellow LIV Golf member Phil Mickelson at Royal St George's Golf Club.
The full team will be back in action on the LIV Golf League in two weeks at LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf & Country Club. 4Aces GC has seen success in the United Kingdom where it won the team title at LIV Golf London last season at Centurion Club. Reed finished second, Johnson finished fifth and Perez rounded out the team’s impressive run with a seventh-place result.