Valderrama Winner Adrian Otaegui To Make LIV Golf Return

Less than two weeks after Adrian Otaegui claimed a historic victory in the DP World Tour’s Andalucia Masters at Valderrama, the Spaniard has been named in the field for the season-closing LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral in Florida.

The 29-year-old last competed in LIV Golf's inaugural season in Boston in early September, where he finished a disappointing 45th in the individual competition. It would have been easy to assume that would mark his final appearance after three outings, but that was before he showed the form of his life with a six-shot win in his homeland.

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Despite Otaegui’s dominance in that tournament, there were suggestions that his feat was being undermined by the DP World Tour through its alleged failure to give it the coverage it warranted. Players including Scott Hend and fellow LIV Golf player Lee Westwood took to social media to voice their disapproval on the perceived lack of coverage. Meanwhile, Alejandro Larrazabal, brother of one-time LIV Golf player Pablo, even suggested DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley should resign over the matter. 

It was the latest controversy concerning LIV Golf players on the DP World Tour following previous suggestions that players from the Saudi-backed organisation taking part on the Tour had received different treatment to others. One such incident was in June when LIV Golf players where grouped together in the BMW International Open. 

The publicity generated by Otaegui's win - both in the dominant nature of the performance and the subsequent controversy - could well have influenced LIV Golf’s decision to reintroduce him for the final event of the season. Otaegui joins Torque GC, who he represented in London and Boston, as the team battle for a purse of $50 million and the first prize of $16 million. Meanwhile, Otaegui isn’t the only returning player. South African Hennie Du Plessis is also named in the 48-man field for his first tournament since the Bedminster event in July.