Almost eight hours on the golf course and 28 holes was not the ideal plan for the physical problems of Eugenio Lopez-Chacarrabut the man from Madrid, already more than recovered from a hard year, demonstrated his predatory instinct and wore down his prey until he achieved victory, his second professional after the LIV Golf de Bangkok with which he dazzled the world of golf last year and the first in the Asian Circuit.
It is also one of the tournaments belonging to the International Series, el St Andrews Bay Championship. with a higher status, which brings together many of the players who usually compete in the LIFE Golf. The Spanish had to suffer a lot against the veteran Australian player Matt Jones 43 years old. In total, 10 playoff holes, the longest in the history of the Asian Tour in an end that seemed to never come. In total, they made twelve birdies on the 18th hole in just the first six playoff holes played between the two players, a sequence that was repeated in a loop, on the fourth hole, Chacarra seemed to have the title in his pocket, but Jones pulled out a miraculous birdie with an approach from off the green that caused both players to return to the tee to continue the sudden death.
From the sixth hole and as the afternoon fell in St. Andrews, fatigue set in, a couple of slips in Chacarra’s swing, the first mistakes. But after making six birdies at the 18th hole in the nine times he played it in the last two hours of the tournament, fate wanted a couple of Chacarra on this last par five to be enough for the Spaniard to take the victory. Matt Jones the final blow failed from less than two meters. Both had finished the regular 72-hole tournament with a result of -19. “It’s been a very long day,” Chacarra was right to say before receiving the trophy. “Very happy with what I have achieved, Matt has had a tremendous day, he has played 10 spectacular holes, he is a great player, the Asian Tour is doing incredible things and making the game of golf grow, I am very grateful”, concluded the golfer 23 years old.
Chacarra finds the relief of victory in a very tough year, where physical problems have accompanied him throughout the season. The Spaniard has made real efforts to stay in competition and fulfill his commitments with LIV Golf and has given up playing other tournaments such as the previous ones for the majors to preserve his physique. And although he has experienced an improvement, the discomfort still persists and the Spaniard continues to work and undergo medical tests to fully recover.
In addition to Chacarra’s victory, we must highlight the good performance of another of the jewels of the Spanish golf academy, David Puig who was the leader after the first 36 holes, although a bad weekend relegated him to 14th place. Sergio García and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño they failed to make the tournament cut.