LIV Golf Andalucía: Team Power Rankings

The LIV Golf League heads to Spain and Real Club Valderrama for the second straight year. Reigning LIV Golf Individual Champion Talor Gooch will be looking to repeat his victory here in 2023, when he bested Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka on an epic final day. Torque GC won in Spain last year and, although they lie third in the standings, they have yet to notch a win this season. This would be a fine place to break the duck.

Last time out, at the inaugural LIV Golf Nashville, it was Tyrrell Hatton who picked up his first LIV Golf victory by a whopping six shots over Sam Horsfield. Legion XIII also notched their league-leading third team victory of the season, meaning they now sit second in the standings behind Crushers GC.

Valderrama is one of the most iconic and challenging courses in Europe. It hosted the Volvo Masters from 1988-96 and 2002-08, the Andalucia Masters from 2010-2011 and 2017-23, the WGC-American Express Championship from 1999-2000, and the Ryder Cup in 1997.

While it’s certainly not the longest course on the LIV Golf schedule at around 7,000 yards, Valderrama will test these players to the limit. Last season only 13 players finished the tournament under par. Those who are in control of their golf ball will be able to shoot some solid scores, but the bogeys will start to pile up for those who are a little off with their swing.

PLAY LIV GOLF FANTASY NOW: Now that you read what the experts have to say, it is time to submit your own picks. Set your lineup by shotgun start on July 12 at 7 a.m. EST for your chance to win great prizes.

Here are the team Power Rankings for the 10th event of the LIV Golf League season.

1. Torque GC. The new top dogs of the Power Rankings have arguably been the most consistent team all season, finishing T6 or better in all nine events. Last time out, in Nashville, Carlos Ortiz, Sebastián Muñoz and captain Joaquin Niemann all finished Top-10, the seventh time the skipper has achieved the feat this season. Torque GC won by five shots last year at Andalucía, with all four golfers reaching the top 15. Prediction: Niemann, Ortiz, Munoz, Pereira

2. Crushers GC. After collecting their fourth podium finish of the season in Nashville, Crushers GC continues to lead the LIV Golf team standings. While Charles Howell III’s status remains up in the air after missing the last two events with a leg injury, John Catlin was right in the mix for a podium place before falling to T7 at Nashville. Catlin also has a win on this golf course back in 2020. Bryson DeChambeau was T3 last time out, the week after his U.S. Open triumph, and finished second by just one shot last year at Andalucía. Crushers GC leads the LIV Golf League in GIR percentage and scrambling, a pretty solid formula for getting around a tough venue like Valderrama. Prediction: DeChambeau, Casey, Catlin, Lahiri

3. Legion XIII. This team has all kinds of momentum after picking up their third team victory of the season, led by Tyrrell Hatton’s brilliant performance in Nashville. Captain Jon Rahm was also able to shake off a foot injury and extend his top-10 streak with a T3 finish. Rahm will be motivated playing in his home country of Spain, and Valderrama is a course where he has a second-place finish back in 2019. Hatton and Rahm can carry this team at a venue like Valderrama, which naturally creates separation, but they will likely stay behind Torque GC and Crushers GC on the Power Rankings until Caleb Surratt (currently 37th in the individual standings) and Kieran Vincent (53rd) can provide more consistent points. Prediction: Rahm, Hatton, Surratt, Vincent

4. Fireballs GC. You can’t talk about Valderrama without mentioning Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia. This has been arguably his best course, with three wins (2011, 2017-18) and three runner-up spots (2004-06). Fireballs GC led the Power Rankings going into Nashville, following back-to-back T2 finishes at Singapore and Houston, but ended up having to settle for 8th at The Grove. They haven’t had the same top-end success as those above them in the Power Rankings, but they are certainly capable of picking up their first win at Valderrama. In fact, Fireballs GC have been one of the most accurate teams off the tee this season, and that will serve them well with the narrow tree-lined fairways this week. Prediction: Garcia, Puig, Ancer, Chacarra

5. Smash GC. When we're talking about accurate ball-striking, Smash GC are right up there. Right now, they rank first in driving accuracy and third in GIR percentage. After the addition of Talor Gooch in the off-season, the squad now features three players that finished top-five at Valderrama last year, with captain Brooks Koepka third and Jason Kokrak T5. A 12th-place showing in Nashville was certainly not what they were hoping for, but this is the perfect venue for Smash GC to bounce back and move up from fifth in the team standings. Prediction: Gooch, Koepka, Kokrak, McDowell

6. Cleeks GC. Richard Bland made history by winning his second straight senior major at the U.S. Senior Open in Rhode Island. He will now be in the field for both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open in 2025. Bland is also coming off a top-10 finish at LIV Golf Nashville and will be hoping to add another strong showing this week. Cleeks GC Captain Martin Kaymer has found plenty of success at Valderrama as well, with a runner-up spot in 2008 and 2020 and a T6 in 2016. Adrian Meronk is the highest Cleeks GC player in the individual standings at 15th, and will hope to lead his team back to the podium like he did in Houston. Cleeks GC ranks fifth in both driving accuracy and GIR percentage, which should put them in a good place at Valderrama. Prediction: Bland, Meronk, Kaymer, Samooja

7. Stinger GC. After a bit of a skid in Singapore and Houston, Stinger GC got things back on track with a fifth-place finish in Nashville. This team sits sixth in the season standings, and they are built for more difficult golf courses like Valderrama. In fact, they rank fourth in GIR percentage and second in scrambling this season among the 13 LIV Golf teams. Dean Burmester and Louis Oosthuizen are both inside the top five of the individual standings, and Charl Schwartzel has a pair of top-three finishes this season. Prediction: Oosthuizen, Burmester, Schwartzel, Grace

8. Ripper GC. There’s no doubt that Ripper GC have a powerful upside, with two victories in Adelaide and Singapore, but they’ve also finished outside the top eight on four occasions. Right now the team ranks first in putting average and third in scrambling, but 13th in driving accuracy and 11th in GIR percentage. On a course like Valderrama they will need to be more on top of their ball-striking if they are going to avoid another poor result. Captain Cameron Smith was T12 at Andalucía last year with Matt Jones in T14. Expect them to move up the Power Rankings in the coming weeks, but this kind of course will certainly test them. Prediction: Smith, Leishman, Herbert, Jones

9. Majesticks GC. The 'Sticks came so close to their first podium finish last time, but they had to settle for fourth. The good news is that Valderrama is a place that should fit their team even better than Nashville. They currently rank fourth in driving accuracy and seventh in GIR percentage for 2024, and their team has fond memories of this course. Lee Westwood achieved a T5 here in 2018 and a T10 in 2020, while Ian Poulter defeated Sergio Garcia in a playoff back in 2004. Sam Horsfield, meanwhile, seems to have energized Majesticks GC after his second-place showing in Nashville. Prediction: Stenson, Horsfield, Westwood, Poulter

10. 4Aces GC. This season has certainly been tough for the 2022 LIV Golf Team Champions, who are looking to get back on track. It was not a great showing in Nashville, with captain Dustin Johnson finishing T51. On the bright side, Pat Perez picked up his best finish of the season, logging a T14, while Valderrama is an excellent course for a gritty player like Patrick Reed, who finished T5 a year ago. Dustin Johnson also collected a T8 result in 2023. 4Aces GC need their two best players to show up this week, and start moving up the Power Rankings as the season reaches its conclusion. Prediction: Reed, Johnson, Varner III, Perez

11. RangeGoats GC. A 12th and 11th place finish in the last two events have RangeGoats GC scratching their heads. They’ve shown the firepower to compete with the top teams with podiums at Las Vegas and Miami, but there have been far too many inconsistent performances. RangeGoats GC were second at Andalucía last year, but a lot of that was down to Talor Gooch, who is no longer on the team. On paper, this isn’t the greatest fit for the big drivers on the current roster, whose games suit an open setup off the tee where distance is more rewarded. Captain Bubba Watson is 50th in the individual standings, but ranks the highest of the quartet in driving accuracy and GIR percentage on the season. He’ll need to find his first top-20 finish since Las Vegas if RangeGoats GC is going to compete with the teams above them. Prediction: Pieters, Watson, Wolff, Uihlein

12. HyFlyers GC. This team will need to be better in one key area if they are going to score some points at Valderrama. The Flyers are last by a pretty solid margin in scrambling this season and that’s a key requirement at Valderrama. Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale are the two likely candidates to finish the best this week. Steele finished T14 last time out in Nashville and is very strong off the tee, while Tringale has finished top 15 in two of his last three starts and was T8 last year at Andalucía. The team needs more from 26-year-old Andy Ogletree, who has finished outside the top 40 in all but two LIV Golf starts this season. Prediction: Tringale, Steele, Mickelson, Ogletree

13. Iron Heads GC. Nashville marked the second straight (and third overall) last-place finish for Iron Heads GC through nine events. There aren’t a whole lot of positives looking ahead to Valderrama for a team that ranks last in GIR percentage. Captain Kevin Na has had a decent season, finishing in the top 10 twice and in the top 25 on seven occasions, and his scrambling ability will be very useful around this golf course. Danny Lee is a much better player than his recent stretch suggests, and any hope of Iron Heads GC getting back in the points likely rests with him. Prediction: Na, Kozuma, Lee, Vincent

PLAY LIV GOLF FANTASY NOW: Now that you read what the experts have to say, it is time to submit your own picks. Set your lineup by shotgun start on July 12 at 7 a.m. EST for your chance at winning great prizes.