After four starts on the LIV Golf Tour, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra of Spain might have been second-guessing his decision to forego his final year of eligibility at Oklahoma State and turn pro.
The 22-year-old former All-American at Oklahoma State had finished no better than 24th in his first four starts against fields of just 48 players. That was before he built a five-stroke lead at Stonehill Golf Club in Bangkok, Thailand, and closed in 69 to win his first professional tournament in his fifth start at the LIV Golf Invitational-Bangkok. He also sparked Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer and Carlos Diaz to their first team title.
“If there were any doubts about making the decision to turn pro when you did, have you now put those in the past?” Chacarra was asked. “Is it easy to say it was a good move?”
“A hundred percent yes,” Chacarra said. “It wasn’t easy, but I feel this was the best for me and for my future, and what LIV is doing is something unbelievable. The PGA Tour University doesn’t give you much; it can just give you six events, and then if you don’t play good – one of my best friends Austin Eckroat was playing Monday qualifying all year, and getting the opportunity to play with Sergio, one of my heroes, and then Abraham and Carlos for a couple years here and learning with the best players.”
For the record, it should be noted that Eckroat was one of four alumni from the first class of PGA Tour University to earn his 2022-23 Tour card by finishing third in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. As a rookie, Eckroat received $500,000 to offset his expenses.
Chacarra, however, received a generous signing bonus as part of a reported three-year deal with LIV. He won’t have to worry about any of the usual financial concerns of 22-year-old dropouts after banking $4 million for the individual title, finishing at 19-under par, three strokes ahead of Patrick Reed, and four ahead of Richard Bland, Paul Casey and Sihwan Kim. Chacarra earned another $750,000 for the team victory.
“We gelled great,” said team captain Sergio Garcia. “Eugenio played amazing, and both Abraham and Carlos also played solid. When you have three out of four scores counting, that is massive. That’s why we won, and that’s why we won quite comfortably.”
Chacarra chipped in at 15, calling it “the best shot of my life,” then withstood a 90-minute weather delay with three holes to go, and sealed the deal when play resumed with a birdie at 17.
How did Chacarra find his game after a sluggish start to his pro career?
“I went back to see what I was doing in college because I was working so good and I didn’t do as good the first four weeks as a pro, and it was just try to have fun and then play to not make bogeys,” he explained. “Kind of play smart on the course, and that’s what I’ve started doing this week.”
