Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra is enjoying life on the DP World since leaving LIV Golf, and the Spaniard has the chance to play with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald this week
Eugenio Chacarra is playing with Luke Donald(Image: Getty Images)
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra’s run on the DP World Tour continues at the Austrian Open this week, and it could well be one of his important starts yet.
Chacarra, who left LIV Golf late last year after being dropped by Sergio Garcia, has enjoyed a strong start to the season on the DP World Tour. The Spaniard won his maiden Tour title at the Indian Open in March, only earning a spot in the field thanks to a tournament invite.
Since then, though, he has not looked back, taking advantage of his new DP World Tour exemption and going on a run that even helped him qualify for this month’s PGA Championship.
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This week, Chacarra is back in action, with the European setup returning to Austria for the first time since 2021. In the opening two rounds, the former Fireballs member is playing alongside Martin Couvra of France and the captain of the European Ryder Cup team, Luke Donald.
Chacarra will hope to put in a strong showing in front of Donald, who is chasing a maiden Ryder Cup start at Bethpage Black this September. The Indian Open champion will undoubtedly need an impressive run between now and the fall to break into the team.
But he has the opportunity to take advantage of a first-person audition in Austria this week. Donald is already more than aware of the youngster’s talents, having placed him on his radar alongside a number of other European rising stars this season.
Eugenio Chacarra won the Indian Open(Image: Getty Images)
The Euro captain had also reached out to Chacarra with a message of congratulations when getting over the line at DLF Golf and Country Club two months ago. “Everyone’s on the radar,” European captain Donald told Bunkered at the recent Turkish Airlines Open.
“Anyone European who wins, I’m always sending them a message of congratulations and keeping in contact. We’ll keep an eye on Eugenio, a young talent who played college golf at Oklahoma State. Winning on a difficult golf course like India, that shows a lot, and we’ll keep an eye on him.”
Chacarra hopes to one day follow a similar path to Ludvig Aberg, who rose to stardom in a matter of months to make the 2023 Ryder Cup team. Starting the year as a relative unknown, Aberg won twice across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and featured for the Europeans in Italy.
Competing at the Rocket Mortgage Classic that year, Aberg was paired with Donald in the opening two rounds, similar to Chacarra this week. “We obviously knew what he was doing in the college scene,” Donald said of the Swede at the time.
“You look at what he did in those four years, and the only comparables really were Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm. He is that good. I played with him in Detroit and was blown away by his game.” When it comes to Chacarra, the Spaniard made a strong start in Austria.
Chacarra carded a two-under-par 68 in his opening round, making three birdies on day one. His playing partner, Donald, meanwhile, will have more work to do on Friday, after the Ryder Cup captain finds himself four-over after the opening 18 holes.
