Eugenio Chacarra Secures Indian Open Title

On a day when 10 players recorded final-round scores of 80 and higher, Spain’s Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra shot a 71 to win the Indian Open by two shots from Japan’s Keita Nakajima.

His winning total of 284, four under par, was the highest on tour this year. Only Chacarra, Nakajima and Joost Luiten ended the week under par.

Chacarra was three over through three holes after starting double bogey-par-bogey, but five birdies through the middle of his round changed everything.

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The former LIV golfer was playing on a sponsor exemption, and with the victory earns full status on the DP World Tour for the remainder of the 2025 season, although his aim is to gain a PGA Tour card.

"I'm very grateful for that opportunity," Chacarra said. "You guys probably changed my life from today so thanks for that. It was a tough day, we knew it was going to be a long day with a lot of pressure and obviously not having the start I really wanted to.

"I think I did a great job all week of staying patient. And I know God was helping me today. I got a couple of good bounces, (including) that chip on 14. I got some luck that you need to win but very proud."

After leaving LIV, Chacarra revealed it was his goal to play on the PGA Tour. He won LIV Golf Bangkok in his fifth LIV event but parted company with the breakaway tour in acrimonious circumstances.

He said: "When I joined LIV, they promised OWGR and majors. But it didn’t happen. I trusted them. I was the first young guy, then the others came after I made the decision. But OWGR and majors still hasn’t happened. It’s frustrating, but I’m excited for the new opportunity and to see where my game takes me."

What You Need to Know About Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra

Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra was born in Madrid on March 22. 2000. His sister, Carolina, also plays college golf in the United States, at Wake Forest University.  

As a youngster, he took lessons from Vicente Ballesteros, brother of legendary Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros. He was also a promising football player in his youth but decided to focus on golf after his footballing career was derailed by a major wrist injury at age 15. As a junior, Chacarra twice represented Spain at the European Boys' Team Championship. He was part of the 2018 winning team in The Czech Republic.

Chacarra attended Oklahoma State University, where he studied Sports Management, Finance and Psychology. In June 2021, he represented the international team in the Palmer Cup. Chaccara went unbeaten, winning all four of his matches.

He was a first team All-American and reached a high of number two in the world amateur golf rankings before turning professional and joining LIV Golf in June 2022, reportedly on a three-year contract. Two months before then, he had announced that he would be returning for a fifth year at Oklahoma State, despite qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour through the PGA Tour University rankings.

In October 2022, Chacarra gained his first professional victory, winning the LIV Golf International Bangkok by three strokes from Patrick Reed. In August 2023, he won the St Andrews Bay Championship played at Fairmont St Andrews on the Asian Tour as part of the International Series, defeating Matt Jones in a marathon 10-hole playoff.

Chacarra made his major debut at the 2024 US Open after coming through qualifying, but he missed the cut.

This was just his ninth start on the DP World Tour and only the fourth cut he has made.

He averages 312.2 yards from the tee, hits 50% of fairways and finds 44.44% of greens in regulation. He gets up and down from the sand 46% of the time and averages 29.50 putts per round and has a scoring average of 70.9.