Chacarra takes big step toward new goals
Ex-LIV player wins Hero Indian Open; Woodland gets big boost; LIV faces true test
Eugenio Chacarra enjoys his third pro victory on a third tour, earning DP World Tour status (Jason Butler/Getty Images)
Eugenio Chacarra didn’t exactly leave LIV Golf earlier this year in a blaze of glory. In fact, the former Oklahoma State golfer torched the place on the way out the door, accusing the circuit of promising world ranking points and major access that never came.
Although Chacarra was not in LIV’s “drop zone” following the 2024 season, he was also not among the top 24 players who assured themselves a spot for this year without a contract.
So one of the first young players — he left OSU early to sign with LIV — was out of a job. And not happy about it.
Chacarra, who won the Hero Indian Open on Sunday on the DP World Tour, noted his frustration over feeling he was on the same level of a player such as Ludvig Åberg but without the same fanfare or opportunity.
“I see what it’s like to win on the PGA Tour and how your life changes,” Chacarra told Flushing It Golf’s Tom Hobbs in January. “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.”
Chacarra won in his fifth event, capturing the LIV Golf Bangkok event in 2022. He also won an event on the International Series in 2023 but was not particularly strong in LIV events last year, making himself vulnerable.
He became the first player to speak out against LIV who participated in the circuit.
“I think that’s what major golf is, (what) PGA Tour golf is,” he said about his goals after leaving LIV. “And that’s what I wanted since I was little, to call myself a PGA Tour player. That’s my goal. That’s my dream and, yeah, like I said, I just need to keep working hard and hopefully one day that opportunity comes to me.”
Now that opportunity is within reach. At the very least, Chacarra, 25, has a place to play on the DP World Tour, where his victory earned him an exemption for the rest of this season and the next two through 2027. He was in the tournament on a sponsor invite.
When he officially takes up DP World Tour membership — a formality — after winning, he will be credited with the Race to Dubai points for winning and give himself a chance at qualifying for the 2026 PGA Tour by finishing among the top 10 players on the European circuit not otherwise exempt.
That has been the path already for several players and and could allow Chacarra to avoid the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, which might be a problem because he needs to wait a full year from his last LIV event — played at the Team Championship in September — before he can play in any PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
Depending on the Q-School dates for the first stage, he’d possibly be out of luck in 2025.
Chacarra now has matters in his own hands after shooting a final-round 71 at DLF Golf & Country Club to win by two shots over defending champion and former world No. 1 amateur Keita Nakajima of Japan.
“I think I did a great job all week of staying patient and I know God was helping me today,” Chacarra said. “I got a couple of good bounces including that chip on 14 (that hit the flagstick and went in for a birdie). I got some luck that you need to win but very proud. This course is so tough and at times the wind changed a little on me. My goal was to give myself a chance coming down the stretch and that’s what I did. I felt like I played well all week and things went my way today.
“I know when I play my best I’m one of the best players in the world, I’ve already proved that a million times. It’s just awesome — it’s going to need to sink in but really proud and just happy.
“I’m going to sit down with my team now and I get to plan a schedule. I’m so excited because I love the DP World Tour and the places I will now get to play golf in. I’m so proud and looking forward to the next few weeks.”
Final-round 62 earns Gary Woodland best finish since 2019 U.S. Open win (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Big finish for Woodland
He didn’t win the Texas Children’s Houston Open, but charging into contention felt almost like a victory for Gary Woodland on Sunday.
The 2019 U.S. Open champion has struggled for the last several years due a scary health situation that saw him need brain surgery in late 2023. He remarkably played much of the 2024 golf season but his tie for second — a shot behind winner Min Woo Lee and alongside Scottie Scheffler — was his best result since his comeback.
“It was great just to get those juices flowing again, just to see some results for that matter,” said Woodland, who shot a final-round 62. “I’ve worked my tail off when I’ve been able to. And (coach) Randy Smith, being back with him, he just keeps telling me just to keep going, just to keep going, that I have everything.
“It was nice to finally see it. It’s one thing to tell yourself and to believe it, but it’s another thing to see it in person. I saw and felt everything that I wanted to feel today. The good thing is from where I’m at health-wise, it’s hard for me to get ahead thinking-wise because I don’t have the stamina to do it.
“So a lot of breath work, a lot of things to slow everything down. I was in really good control of my thoughts and my emotions, which hasn’t been the case for me for a long time. With that said, today was a great day for me.”
It was also important because Woodland is in the last year of his exemption for winning the U.S. Open (extended one year due to COVID-19). The tie for second moved him to 46th in the season-long FedEx Cup standings, with only the top 100 being fully exempt for 2026.
Big week looms for LIV Golf
LIV Golf plays its fifth event of 2025 this week in Miami but its first in the United States with 12 players in the field prepping for the Masters a week later.
It is also the first time a LIV event can be judged equally versus a PGA Tour event.