Chacarra left in limbo after LIV exit
Spaniard wasn't resigned by Fireballs; L.A. wildfires leave Genesis status up in the air
Eugenio Chacarra won once on LIV and again on International Series (Chris Trotman/LIV Golf)
There are a couple of ways one can look at Eugenio Chacarra’s unceremonious exit from LIV Golf.
At its most basic, Chacarra left himself open to not being offered a contract. The one-time star at Oklahoma State, who is from Spain, failed to finish among the top 24 for LIV Golf or its “lock zone.” Even though he was not in the relegation zone, without a league contract nobody was obligated to sign him. He didn’t have a contract for 2025 and wasn’t signed to stay with the Fireballs.
Then there is the bigger picture. Chacarra, 24, took a big chance when he left Oklahoma State early in the spring of 2022 to sign with LIV Golf, a boost for the upstart league in its inaugural season. He’d have had some status the following year on the Korn Ferry Tour via PGA Tour University. But he signed a three-year deal and admitted he set up his family financially.
Now he’s out, and his professional journey so far is a cautionary tale, one he lamented as he felt the league didn’t do enough to support younger players — a point he made clear in an interview with Tom Hobbs, who has a social media site called Flushing It (@flushingitgolf).
Hobbs is an admitted supporter of LIV Golf who has also been critical of some of LIV’s actions. Among them is its decision to drop a bid for Official World Golf Ranking points, which also frustrated Chacarra.
“I see what it’s like to win on the PGA Tour and how your life changes,” Chacarra told Flushing It. “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. I’m not a guy who wants more money. What will change my life is playing in Hawaii and qualifying for the majors, qualifying for the Masters, the Ryder Cup.
“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. I saw you last year when they pulled the bid. It’s frustrating, but I’m excited for the new opportunity to see where my game takes me.”
LIV Golf applied for OWGR recognition in July of 2022, just a few weeks into its existence. It was in October of 2023 that its application was being denied for reasons that included a lack of player pathways to the league.
There is no weekly qualifying and no turnover of players from week to week, unless there is illness or injury and LIV pulls a replacement from its reserve list. At the end of 2024, LIV Golf promoted just one player via its Promotions Event (down from three in 2023) and nobody qualified via the Asian Tour’s International Series because the lone spot was earned by existing LIV star Joaquin Niemann.
In October of 2022, Chacarra’s decision to join LIV paid off as he won the LIV Golf Invitational Series Bangkok event for his first professional victory in just his fifth start.
A former All-American for the Oklahoma State golf team who had planned to return to school that fall, he instead changed his mind and signed with LIV Golf.
His Bangkok win was worth an additional $4 million on top of his signing bonus. His Fireballs team — consisting of captain Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz — also won the team title, earning an extra $750,000 from the team purse.
“I’m thankful for everything LIV has given me,” he told Flushing It. “I’m 24 years old and my life is set.”
LIV Golf never announced that Chacarra was gone and there is some question to whether he was told at all that he was not coming back. He could have been signed by another team but apparently was not approached.
Again, he knew the rules, but LIV’s treatment of him doesn’t look great, either. Several players who had worse season’s than his — including Branden Grace, Bubba Watson and Anthony Kim — are being brought back in 2025.
LIV Golf announced Friday that Spaniard Luis Masaveu, 22, was joining the Fireballs team for this season, which begins next month. He is the replacement for Chacarra.
Chacarra faced the possibility of not being brought back for 2025 because he finished 39th in the individual standings. While those below 48th were to be relegated out of the league, only those who finished among the top 24 were assured of coming back. His only top-10 in 2024 was a tie for 10th in in Singapore.
“I’m a winner and I was never treated like a winner,” Chacarra said. “On the PGA Tour, Ludvig Åberg has one win and I have one win on LIV. He has one win on the European (DP World) Tour and I have one in on the International Series on the Asian Tour. So we have similar careers, but he has way more experience and plays way more big tournaments, but we have the same wins.
“We have performed similar. What tours I can play on, I have won. Same with him. But he’s the No. 6 player in the world and everyone talks about him. But on LIV, I’m the only one who’s won, and they never talk about me. They always talk about the same guys.”
Chacarra appreciated the opportunity to play LIV but said “my mind is different now and I want to get to what I was dreaming about when I was little. Because obviously LIV didn’t exist when I was growing up. I was watching Tiger Woods winning on the PGA Tour and I want to do that.”
Chacarra will likely play the International Series on the Asian Tour and hopes to get some DP World Tour invites. A winner on the International Series in 2023 at St. Andrews Bay in Scotland, he also hopes to go to the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in the fall.
But there is even some question about that. Under current rules, any player who competed in a LIV Golf event — deemed unauthorized — can’t play a PGA Tour-sanctioned event for 12 months. The first stage of PGA Tour Q-School in 2024 was in September, so that cutoff might be close in 2025 considering Chacarra’s final round on LIV was Sept. 22, 2024 in the Team Championship Dallas.
Pacific Palisades fire is seen from a plane, with Riviera the dark patch below fire line (@JerryJjjjjjjjjj via X)
L.A. wildfires threaten Riviera, Genesis
The situation in Southern California remains bleak, and the tragedy and displacement wrought by wildfires surrounding Los Angeles is tragic and far more significant than a golf course or golf tournament.
Nonetheless, the Genesis Invitational is scheduled a month from now in Pacific Palisades at Riviera Country Club, which so far has avoided the carnage but is on the edge of massive destruction. Staging the signature event at Riviera with all that is going on might not be the best idea.
And yet, the PGA Tour is in a tough spot, too. It is unlikely to cancel the $20 million tournament outright but wants to be sensitive to the concerns of the local community.
The tour said it is too early to make any determination and is focused on other more important factors in an area that has seen fires cover more than 45 square miles due to unusually dry conditions and strong winds. Local authorities said more than 180,000 people have either been displaced or evacuated.
The Los Angeles area has had approximately a tenth of an inch of rain since May and the winds up to 80 mph spread flames across the region at rates impossible for firefighters to contain or control.
“The PGA Tour is monitoring the devastating fires in Los Angeles County,” the PGA Tour said in a statement. “At this point, it is premature to discuss the potential impact on the Genesis Invitational. Although Riviera Country Club has not been directly affected by the fires, our immediate concern is the health and welfare of those in the affected communicates, including all of our members who have ties to Southern California.”
The $20 million Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods is scheduled for Feb. 12-15, the seventh event on the 2025 schedule.
If the event is not played at Riviera, a few ideas have been floated, such as playing consecutive weeks in Phoenix (the WM Phoenix Open is the prior week), finding a venue in the Palm Springs area or perhaps moving to somewhere else in greater Southern California.
Postponing isn’t feasible as there are no open weeks on the schedule prior to the FedEx Cup playoffs. An outright cancellation seems unlikely given the amount of revenue the tour receives from the title sponsor and network TV, not to mention the charitable efforts for Woods’ foundation.
Any staging of the event would undoubtedly incorporate a money-raising program for area residents affected by the fires.
But no option is simple, especially with so little time.