Tyrrell Hatton arrived at one of the most demanding courses on LIV Golf’s schedule this week with his swing in a bad place and no certainty about how the first round would go. Coming off a missed cut at the PGA Championship and limited practice in the week since, the Englishman opened up about what he had been dealing with heading into Thursday’s round.

“Yeah, I mean, my dad came over to the house, I think, three or four times last week, so I was able to do a little bit of work with him, albeit we didn’t hit a huge amount of balls,” Tyrrell Hatton said. “My swing has obviously not been in a great place, so trying to get it back to where we would like it to be. So yeah, those feelings felt pretty awful. It felt like I was getting closer at the back end of last week, and then I flew here, and like hitting balls outside again, even that just added a new feeling, and it felt pretty awful on Tuesday and yesterday.”

Tyrrell Hatton spoke about his performance after his opening round at Real Club Valderrama in Sotogrande, Spain, the venue hosting this week’s LIV Golf Andalucia. Despite feeling tense, he emerged strong after the first round. He posted a 4-under 67, carding five birdies and one bogey to share the lead with Scott Vincent.

It was a surprising admission from someone who had been in form on the course just a few weeks earlier. In April, he had finished T3 at the Masters, one of the best results he has shown at majors. Then a T5 at LIV Golf City followed. However, at the PGA Championship at Aronimink, rounds of 72 and 74 sent him home on Friday as he missed the first cut in a major since the 2024 Open Championship.

Between Aronimink and Valderrama, Hatton has barely had any time to process his emotions, let alone practice his golf swing. But for good reasons. Hatton and his wife Emily welcomed their first daughter together less than a month ago. And during this time, his practice was reduced to a home studio, hitting between 35 and 75 balls a day. He shares that his father also visited three or four times in the final week to work on the swing with him. When he arrived in Spain and hit balls outdoors for the first time, it felt awful.

“I was somewhat nervous about how bad it could be today,” Hatton added. “But yeah, just tried to have a single thought and not overcomplicate it out there. My warmup was better, and that gave me a little bit of confidence to just trust it out on the golf course, and I felt like I hit a lot of good shots in the end.”

At the press conference, Hatton was also asked how he copes when he feels close to achieving his goals, only for things to suddenly take a turn. Tyrrell made it clear that one strong round or a bad one does not erase the bigger picture he views the sport with.

“I think that’s just golf in general, to be honest. That’s why it’s such a hard game. You can have a few weeks where you feel like you’re swinging it great; it feels great, but then even in those weeks where you feel like you’re swinging great, you might not win the tournaments. From my side, I know that I’ve not won a tournament now for 18 months, and I would love for that to change this week, but there’s still a lot of golf left to play. Yeah, hopefully I can keep swinging well and holing putts, and that’s what I try to do.”

Even during his winless stretch on tour, Hatton’s performances continued to rank among the best. His last win came at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January 2025. GolfDigest noted that ahead of the PGA Championship, Hatton ranked among the top five in the field in strokes gained and ball striking. The only thing missing is the winner’s trophy.

Now, after taking the lead, he may finally have a chance to change that.

Sergio Garcia is chasing his own comeback at Valderrama.

Hatton is not the only player at Valderrama this week navigating a difficult stretch of form. Sergio Garcia, captain of Fireballs GC and a former individual winner at this very venue, arrived in Spain with a 2026 season that has largely fallen short of expectations.

Sergio Garcia shot a first-round 69 on Thursday, sitting two shots behind Hatton, but the entire season showed a more complicated story. Across eight LIV starts this year, Garcia has managed just one top 10 finish, with the majority of his results landing outside the top 20. Earlier in the season, he acknowledged the frustration directly.

“It feels like it’s struggling to happen a little bit,” he said.

At 46, Garcia is also playing through the backdrop of LIV Golf’s uncertain future, as the league leaves players without clarity on what the tour looks like beyond this season. For Garcia, Valderrama has always felt something different, as he grew roughly four hours away and won the 2024 title here. If there is a week for his form to first resurface, this one could be it.