By Rahul Banerji
Rookie Eugenio Chacarra won his maiden professional title and $4 million in individual earnings at the LIV Golf Bangkok Invitational on Sunday.
It was just the fifth pro start for the 22-year-old from Madrid, who was three shots clear of second-placed Patrick Reed of the US. England veteran Paul Casey rounded off the top three.
Chacarra’s 54-hole total was built on rounds of 65, 63 and 69 (19-under 197), the last coming in the face of steady pressure mounted by 2018 Masters champion Reed (68-65-67).
The Spaniard’s total was the lowest winning score in this first LIV Golf season.
Chacarra’s Spanish-speaking Fireballs made it a day to remember by topping the team competition as well, adding $750,000 as his share of the winner’s cheque.
The Fireballs (Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Chacarra) also helped end a four-event win streak by Dustin Johnson and the 4 Aces in the team battle as they finished sixth and out of the money for once.
Crushers GC led by Bryson DeChambeau, and including Casey, Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri in the ranks finished second, seven shots behind the Fireballs.
Low result
The result helped overcome a disappointing week for Lahiri who has been unable to capture the verve he showed on LIV Golf debut at Boston where he finished tied for second place,
The Indian star was well down the leaderboard in 41st place with rounds of 71, 71 and 70 at the par-72 Stonehill course outside Bangkok.
On Sunday, Lahiri mixed five birdies with three bogies as scores waxed and waned at the 7,800-plus yard course.
The LIV Golf Invitational series now moves to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia next week before the season-ender in Miami.
Garcia’s team now have a chance to finish in the top four and claim a bye at the Miami Team Championship. The seedings will be finalised in Jeddah, with the top four teams getting byes.
“My mom has been getting me to the course since I was little and tried to help me reach my dreams,” Chacarra said on the event website later.
“This was one of the things I wanted to do, win with my mom.”
livgolf.com adds
“He played great,” Reed said. “To go around this place in 19 under is impressive.”
“He fully deserved it,” added Englishman Richard Bland, one of his playing partners the last two days in the final group.
“I don’t think anyone was catching him today. He had it under control the whole back 9. He’s got a bright future.”
In shooting a collective 45 under for the week, the Fireballs produced all nine counting scores in the 60s. Cleeks GC made the podium for the first time this season, finishing third by one shot over Iron Heads GC.
“It’s an amazing week,” Garcia said. “… 4 Aces were coming off four wins in a row, so we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.
“But we had a lot of faith in each other We’ve been playing really, really well, and been quite close a couple of times.
“We felt like we just needed to click a little bit here and there, and that was going to make the difference – and that’s what happened this week.”
For Chacarra who joined LIV Golf for the second event in Portland after opting to skip his senior season at Oklahoma State, the final round at Stonehill was a testament to his maturity and skill.
He entered Sunday with a five-shot lead but quickly saw it reduced to a single stroke after suffering his first two bogeys of the week at holes 4 and 5. But he bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 sixth.
Vital putt
“That birdie on 6 was big,” he said, “but I knew it was going to be hard today. It was going to be a long day.”
From there, he played bogey-free golf the rest of the way. But he had to endure one other big test.
After making a birdie at the 14th hole to move to 18 under, then hitting an approach shot that finished off the green at 15, the field were forced off the course due to severe weather.
The 1 hour, 37-minute delay forced him to sit on a 2-shot lead over Reed.
But he remained calm and composed. Once play resumed, Chacarra produced a terrific chip to give himself a tap-in par at 15.
Meanwhile, Reed found the water with his tee shot at 16. He would eventually drop a shot, giving Chacarra a 3-stroke lead with three holes to play.
“I feel like the rain and the cold out on 15 helped me a lot,” Chacarra said.
“I needed some time off. I was nervous, and being with my family, my coach, and my best friend Gonzalo helped me relax and just see how life is and how nice my life is right now.”
As for the chip shot at 15, Chacarra called it “the best chip I ever had in my life.”
Sunday was the best moment he’s had in his golfing career. Not just his first professional win, but celebrating with Garcia, his hero and someone he describes as a “second father.”
Team leaderboard
(counting scores only)
1. Fireballs GC, 45 under (Sergio Garcia 68, Abraham Ancer 68, Eugenio Chacarra 69)
2. Crushers GC, 38 under (Paul Casey 65, Charles Howell III 67, Bryson DeChambeau 69)
3. Cleeks GC, 37 under (Martin Kaymer 68, Richard Bland 68, Laurie Canter 69)
4. Iron Heads GC, 36 under (Sihwan Kim 68, Phachara Khongwatmai 68, Sadom Kaewkanjana 68)
5. Niblicks GC, 36 under (James Piot 68, Harold Varner III 69, Turk Pettit 70)
6. 4 Aces GC, 35 under (Patrick Reed 67, Dustin Johnson 67, Pat Perez 69)
7. Majesticks GC, 32 under (Sam Horsfield 67, Henrik Stenson 68, Ian Poulter 69)
8. Smash GC, 32 under (Chase Koepka 67, Brooks Koepka 69, Jason Kokrak 70)
9. Punch GC, 28 under (Matt Jones 66, Cameron Smith 70, Marc Leishman 70)
10. Hy Flyers GC, 24 under (Bernd Wiesberger 68, Phil Mickelson 69, Cameron Tringale 72)
11. Stinger GC, 20 under (Charl Schwartzel 66, Shaun Norris 69, Louis Oosthuizen 73)
12. Torque GC, 18 under (Joaquin Niemann 65, Jediah Morgan 72, Scott Vincent 74)
Field stats
Driving accuracy – Richard Bland, Marc Leishman, 100% (14 of 14 fairways)
Driving distance – Bryson DeChambeau, 349.0-yard average
Greens in regulation – Paul Casey, 100% (18 of 18 greens)
Fewest putts – Phachara Khongwatmai, 24
Most birdies – Joaquin Niemann, Phachara Khongwatmai, 8
Bogey-free final round – Paul Casey, Richard Bland, James Piot, Carlos Ortiz, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson
Bogey-free through 54 holes – James Piot
Also read: LIV Bangkok from today; golf at CWG 2026; HWC field named
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