According to The Telegraph, Valderrama is set to be confirmed as a new LIV Golf venue for 2023, with the Saudi-backed series reportedly offering more than $2 million to the Spanish based course.
Although the schedule hasn't been announced yet, it is expected to go public at the end of November and it is believed that LIV Golf Spain will be held at the end of June, three weeks before The 151st Open Championship, with the Centurion Club staging a LIV Golf event a week later. It's been confirmed that next year LIV Golf will be expanding to a 14-event league with reportedly nine events in the USA and five around the world.
The LIV Golf Team Championship has concluded with a $50 million team event at Trump National Doral
Valderrama had originally been linked to LIV Golf all the way back in July, with one of the most recognised courses in Europe previously hosting a Ryder Cup, as well as many, many DP World Tour events.
Since the 80s, it has played host to the now-defunct Volvo Masters and WGC - American Express Championship before providing the stage for the Andalucia Masters where, this year, it actually crowned Adrian Otaegui, the first golfer to win on the DP World Tour having played in multiple LIV Golf events.
Following Otaegui's win, Ryder Cup Vice-Captain, Edoardo Molinari, expressed his desire for the DP World Tour to continue to host an event at Valderrama, with the Italian tweeting: "Well played Adrian Otaegui, incredible scoring around Valderrama. Let’s just hope we can keep playing a @DPWorldTour event there in future years…it’s definitely my favorite venue of the year! Hopefully the members at Valderrama will make the right decision.”
Otaegui shot a tournament record at Valderrama, as he secured a six shot win
It isn't just DP World Tour players who have had their say about the venue. Back in September, the Tour's CEO Keith Pelley admitted that LIV Golf could be in the running to host a tournament at the course.
He said: "LIV's first event was in our territory in the UK and there is talk and people are asking me now about Valderrama. They are talking to every one of our stakeholders, every one of our partners, every one of our broadcasters." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the DP World Tour said: "We have put a proposal to Valderrama and would very much like to continue to have such an iconic venue as part of our schedule."
According to reports, LIV Golf are not just close to finalising their schedule, but are aiming to have all their players for 2023 confirmed by the New Year, with LIV Golf President, Atul Khosla, stating: “We are in the middle of the discussions (about the new signings). We are going to get it done this year. We want the teams locked in by the new year. It will play itself out over the next couple of months.”
