With stiff neck, broken toe, Chacarra steals DGC show
New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- Spain's Eugenio Chacarra is a man on a mission, with a confidence matching his talent. On Sunday, the 26-year-old virtually completed a pole to podium run, winning the $4 million DP World India Championship by two shots at the Delhi Golf Club course.
Fist pumping after rolling in a one-foot par putt, the 6' 3" golfer stood tall, his long arms spread in triumph. He had just nailed his third victory of the season on the DP World Tour, and fourth overall, and a large Sunday crowd that had hoped for a final charge from the world class field led by six-time Major winner Rory McIlroy cheered for the man from Madrid.
His steady final round two-under 70 helped finish on 21-under par for the tournament on a course with narrow fairways, unforgiving roughs and quirks that were made even more difficult on the mind and body due to the backlog caused by a first day rain interruption of five hours.
A toe break caused over a fortnight ago after hitting a sofa at home, he also had to deal with a neck issue at the start of the week. Nothing fazed him, however, as Chacarra went a remarkable final 38 holes at 11-under, 10 birdies and an eagle at the stretch with a lone bogey (67, 67, 63, 70 = 261).
A brilliant 9-under 63 in the third round, which spilled over from Saturday, left him five shots clear of a field that had five Major winners as well as defending champion Tommy Fleetwood. In the end, only final round playing partner and compatriot Angel Hidalgo and New Zealand's Daniel Hillier raised a challenge.
Hillier shot a last round 67 to finish second, finishing 19-under for the tournament. After finishing four groups ahead, he waited to see if Chacarra would slip up. But the Spaniard was rock steady playing the remaining holes in one-under with no dropped shots.
Adrian Meronk of Poland and Angel Hidalgo of Spain were tied third, carding 68 and 69 respectively in the final round for a 15-under total. Fleetwood was in a four-way tie for fifth after a final round 68 (13-under par).
The win was worth $680,000 and put him on top of the Road to Dubai Rankings for Europe's best golfer accolade. There are three tournaments in the DP World Tour season left, in Korea and Abu Dhabi, and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai that carries the most points. Patrick Reed, the former Masters champion, is second and McIlroy, chasing a record-equalling eighth season crown, third.
Beating a formidable field boosted him, and he declared: "I did not play my A game today, and still win against the kind of players who were on the field. In the media conference, Chacarra declared his sights are set on winning in the PGA Tour and competing in the Majors. "I want to be in both tours. I want to prove I can beat them (PGA Tour) too."
Chacarra had been sublime through the first three days of chaotic scheduling, but his five-shot lead was reduced to two as birdies dried up and he played more conservatively. When he found the thick rough off the 16th tee, it raised the prospect of some late drama. But he played smartly, playing it on to the fairway, unlike Hidalgo whose aggression from the same area found the bushes. A par putt on the 17th still left some work to do, but finding the 18th green with two shots in hand made it tension-free.
The win in India holds special significance for the player who will rise to world No.39 from 50. The Spaniard had given notice of his talent when he joined LIV Golf and won there in his first season. But losing his spot by 2024-end left Chacarra searching for a lifeline.
That was provided by a sponsor's invite to the 2025 Hero India Open, which he went on to win on the tough DLF Golf and Country Club course in Gurugram. Having earned the card for Europe, he returned to finish second this year. On the DP World Tour this season, the Oaklahoma-based golfer has been on fire. He won the KLM Open and the Italian Open in June. His last three events before Delhi were T4 in European Masters, T3 in French Open, both last month, and T2 in the Spanish Open....
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