[PHOTO: Luke Walker]
Like Laurie Canter before him, Eugenio Chacarra is looking to prove there’s life after LIV. The 25-year-old Spaniard has been playing in DP World Tour events in 2025, largely on sponsor’s exemptions, after being left unsigned by the LIV Golf League’s Fireballs GC at the end of 2024. That’s how he found himself in the week’s field at the DP World Tour’s Hero Indian Open, where he turned the opportunity into a victory with a final-round 71 at DLF Golf & Country Club in New Delhi.
Chacarra’s four-under 284 was good enough to outpace Keita Nakajima by two shots and post one of just three under-par scores for the tournament. With the win, Chacarra earned full membership on the DP World Tour until 2027.
“It means everything,” Chacarra said. “I decided when I was an amateur to go to another side of golf (LIV). Coming out [of LIV], I didn’t know where I was going to play, but I stayed patient.
“I know when I play my best, I am one of the best players in the world. I’ve already proved that. It’s just awesome. It needs to sink in, but I’m really proud and I’m just happy.”
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No.2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after his junior year at Oklahoma State University in mid-2022, Chacarra joined the upstart league and had immediate success, winning the LIV Golf Bangkok title in just his fifth LIV event and cashing in the $US4 million first-place prizemoney payout. But his success on the tour was limited and, in 2024, after finishing in 39th place in the individual play standings, he wasn’t re-signed.
Earlier this year, Chacarra voiced his frustrations with how things played out at LIV. “When I joined LIV, they promised [Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points] and majors,” he told Flushing It. “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. I saw you last year when they pulled the bid. It’s frustrating, but I’m excited for the new opportunity and to see where my game takes me.
“I see what it’s like to win on the PGA Tour and how your life changes. How you get major access and ranking points. On LIV, nothing changes, there is only money. It doesn’t matter if you finish 30th or first, only money.”
While Charcarra – wearing an Oklahoma State golf shirt in the final round in India – earned €354,641.38 for his victory in India, the DP World Tour membership is his true reward. He can now play a full schedule, and if he plays well enough in 2025 he can work his way up the Race to Dubai standings to potentially earn a PGA Tour card for 2026. The top 10 players on that list at the end of this year who aren’t already members of the PGA Tour earn exemptions.
It’s a scenario that another former LIV Golf League member found himself pursuing a year ago. England’s Laurie Canter left LIV and returned to the DP World Tour where he has won two titles in the past 14 months. He missed out on a PGA Tour card by one spot off the 2024 Race to Dubai list but moved into the top 50 in the OWGR and recently played in the PGA Tour’s Players Championship, becoming the first LIV golfer to compete in a non-major, non-co-sanctioned event on the PGA Tour.
