LIV Golf Andalucía 2024 is set to welcome the world’s best golfers to compete at the Real Club Valderrama from July 12 to 14.
LIV Golf is gearing up for a return to the iconic Real Club Valderrama to host LIV Golf Andalucía 2024, where two-time Major winner and captain of Team Legion XIII, Jon Rahm, will headline a star-studded championship, the tenth event of the 2024 season. LIV Golf Andalucía marks the first event of the year on continental Europe as the 13 LIV Golf teams head into the final stretch of a long and fiercely contested season.
Jon Rahm, who will make his debut at LIV Golf Andalucía at the Real Club Valderrama, is eagerly anticipating the competition at this legendary venue: “It’s always special to return to Valderrama. It’s a golf course with a lot of history, Spanish history, and I’m thrilled to come back with the level of field and competition it deserves.”
“I remember watching the Volvo Masters many years ago, where the best players in Europe competed. It was an incredible event. Then it went through a second phase where it perhaps wasn’t as popular as it should have been given how great the golf course is and how iconic it is.”
“Seeing it back in the position it should be and becoming a meeting point for an audience, like the Spanish, who follow team sports very closely, I think it’s something good for Spain and good for golf.”
Regarding the introduction of the team format in Spain, Rahm is not surprised that the LIV Golf format has left a mark on the Spanish audience: “It’s something that helps the sport in general. It’s much easier to support a team than an individual, to be part of something, to follow it.”
“The audience here is unique. Each team has its special essence. In the end, it’s something that I think will help the sport in general, especially in a place like Spain. Golf might have struggled in recent years, and having this new breath of LIV Golf and the teams, especially the Spanish teams, I think it’s something that will rejuvenate the sport and give it a boost, not just for Sergio, for his team, and for me, but a lot of people will follow my teammates just because they’re on the team.”
“I think it’s something that will inspire young players in Spain to grow up wanting to be part of a team, a LIV Golf team, similar to soccer and other team sports. It’s a different way to play golf, but equally viable.”
Besides returning to Valderrama’s greens, Rahm admits he’s delighted to come back to Spain after a hectic season. “It’s not all about competing! I miss being at home, surrounded by my family, the love of the fans here,” he said. “I don’t see many family members as often as I would like. I also enjoy not just the homemade food, the Spanish cuisine, which is a luxury because we are somewhat spoiled here. So, every time we have the chance to come back and enjoy the Spanish gastronomy, it is, without a doubt, a pleasure.”
After the successful debut edition in 2023, which attracted thousands of golf fans to the Real Club Valderrama and saw Talor Gooch secure his third individual victory of the season on his way to winning the 2023 individual season championship, this July, Spanish fans will once again witness world-class competition. The event will feature 14 Major winners, including Spaniards Rahm and Sergio García, along with Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Patrick Reed, Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen, Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, and Charl Schwartzel.