LIV Golf Andalucia Round 3: Tyrrell Hatton Stays Steady as DJ's Ace Lifts 4Aces

Valderrama has spent three days punishing loose swings, and Tyrrell Hatton has spent three days refusing to give it any. A bogey-free front nine, one dropped shot all day and a birdie at the 17th added up to a 67 on Saturday, and the Legion XIII star will sleep on a two-shot lead heading into the final round of LIV Golf Andalucia.

Hatton sits at 10 under through 54 holes. Thomas Detry of 4Aces GC matched his 67 and remains his closest pursuer at 8 under, with Sergio Garcia alone in third at 6 under. A crowd of four sits at 5 under: Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith. In the team race, 4Aces GC produced the best team round of the week so far at 11 under and now leads Legion XIII by eight shots.

Hatton's Quiet Masterclass

There was nothing flashy about Hatton's Saturday, and that was the point. He went out in 3 under without a bogey, a remarkable stat on a course where par saves are currency. The only blemish came at the par-4 10th, where a 9-foot par putt slid by. He answered with a birdie at the 17th, the par 5 that has been kind to him all week, and he now owns at least a share of the lead for the third straight round.

Part of the story is on the greens. Hatton recently changed putters to a model with an insert, which he said sends the ball off the face a little quicker, and so far the switch looks like a good one.

He also understands the assignment for Sunday. With Garcia and Rahm both in the hunt in front of Spanish galleries, Hatton noted that it is pretty obvious who the crowd will be pulling for, and it will not be either of the top two.

Detry Will Not Go Away

Detry's 67 kept the pressure on and kept his ambitions intact. The Belgian leads the field in strokes gained putting this week at more than two shots per round, and he has been the steadiest player on the property outside of Hatton. He made his intentions for Sunday plain. "I'm definitely planning on beating him tomorrow," Detry said.

There is plenty at stake for him beyond the trophy, with a big finish potentially lifting him into the Open Championship exemption spot through LIV's points race.

DJ Wakes Up With an Ace

The round of the day, and of the week so far, belonged to Johnson. The 4Aces GC captain opened with a 76 on Thursday and looked like an afterthought. On Saturday, Johnson holed his tee shot at the 186-yard third, the 18th ace in LIV Golf history, the sixth of the season and the second of this week after Lucas Herbert's on Friday. Johnson turned in 30 and came home in 34 for a 7-under 64, gaining more than seven strokes on the field. "It's always cool to make a hole-in-one," Johnson said, with typical understatement.

That round jumped Johnson from the middle of the pack into a tie for fourth.

The Spanish Pair Lurks

Garcia's 68 was his first bogey-free round in 12 LIV rounds at Valderrama, and it was built on scrambling. He was six for six getting up and down, made big saves at the sixth and seventh, and did not make his first birdie until the 10th before adding two more on the back nine. "Valderrama always has a surprise or two up its sleeve," Garcia said, a line that cuts both ways for a four-time winner here sitting four back.

Rahm, five back, made three birdies on the front nine and parred his way home for a 68. It will be his 16th time starting a LIV final round inside the top four.

Smith also sits at 5 under after a 69 that he described with refreshing honesty. "There's been glimpses of brilliance and glimpses of some other stuff, as well," Smith said. He missed a good number of tee shots left but still leads the field in greens in regulation, and he remains in range. Ancer matched Hatton's 67 to join that group, and David Puig and Bubba Watson are another shot back at 4 under.

4Aces Seize the Team Race

The team competition flipped completely on Saturday. 4Aces GC got the 64 from Johnson and the 67 from Detry, plus a 70 from Thomas Pieters and a 72 from Anthony Kim, for an 11-under team round. That moved 4Aces from a share of second to 12 under and an eight-shot lead as the team chases its fourth title of the season.

Legion XIII stalled at 1 under for the day. Hatton and Rahm did their part, but Caleb Surratt's 77 erased most of it, and Legion now sits at 4 under in second. Fireballs GC climbed to third at 1 under on the strength of an 8-under round in which all four players broke par, led by Garcia. Torque GC posted 9 under on the day, keyed by Carlos Ortiz's 66, to tie Ripper GC for fourth at 1 over.

One Round to Go

Hatton has the lead, the form and the steadiest game on the course. Detry has the putter, Johnson has the momentum and two Spaniards have the crowd. With 18 holes left at Valderrama, the individual title looks wide open behind a leader who has not blinked, while 4Aces hold a cushion in the team race that only a collapse would erase.

Full third-round details are in the LIV Golf Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab). Catch up on the week with our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap.

Sources: LIV Golf (Round 3 recap), FOX Sports, Golf News Net. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Mateo Villalba/LIV Golf.