LIV Golf’s Eugenio Chacarra Wins on Asian Tour After Historic 10-Hole Playoff
Eugenio Chacarra captured his first non-LIV professional victory on Sunday at the Asian Tour’s inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship in dramatic fashion.
Chacarra, 23, defeated Australia’s Matt Jones, another LIV golfer, in a 10 hole playoff—the longest playoff in the Tour’s history.
The suspenseful finish topped the 2001 SK Telecom Open in Korea, which saw a seven-hole playoff. The longest playoff on the PGA Tour was 11 holes at the 1949 Motor City Open.
Chacarra and Jones both finished at 19 under par in regulation after shooting 67 and 69 on Sunday, respectively. Jones’s fate was almost sealed on the third extra hole, but he holed a chip shot for birdie from 25 feet to extend the sudden-death playoff.
It took two hours and 8 minutes before a champion was crowned.
“It was a long day,” Chacarra said after finally clinching the victory.
“Happy it came out my way, but I mean, Matt had a tremendous day as well. Tremendous 10 holes. I think we all know he’s a great player.”
Prior to the event, Chacarra was ranked No. 1,952 in the world, having only earned world ranking points at one event in the past two years—the International Series Oman in February.
According to Nosferatu on Twitter, a world golf ranking projections expert, Chacarra could jump into the top 500 on the OWGR with his victory in Scotland.
Chacarra won LIV’s Bangkok event in 2022, defeating Patrick Reed by three shots.
Before turning professional and joining LIV Golf, Chacarra was the No. 2-ranked amateur in the world. Chacarra was a first team All-American at Oklahoma State and won three times during his senior season with seven top-10 finishes.