Young Spaniard Chacarra on course for incredible LIV Golf breakthrough
Eugenio Chacarra admits he didn’t have much fun in his first four LIV Golf events since turning pro as he found it a bit of a struggle.
So coming into this week’s LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok, the 22-year-old Spaniard returned to his mindset of simply having fun and avoiding bogeys.
Through two rounds at Stonehill, he’s been extremely successful on both counts.
Tying a LIV Golf record with a nine-under 63, Chacarra headed into this morning’s final round with a five-stroke lead at 16-under-par and has yet to make a bogey through 36 holes.
The field’s youngest golfer, Chacarra is just 18 holes away from a spectacular breakthrough victory.
“Just try to have fun and then play to not make bogeys,” said Chacarra, who tied Dustin Johnson for the lowest LIV Golf round in relation to par.
“Kind of play smart on the course – and that’s what I’ve started doing this week.”
The closest pursuers to Chacarra are a group of four players at 11-under – Richard Bland, Sihwan Kim, Harold Varner III and Patrick Reed. The five-stroke lead is the largest after any round in LIV Golf’s inaugural season.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Branden Grace entered yesterday with a share of the lead and a chance to catch Dustin Johnson atop the season-long individual points race.
However, just three holes into his round, he was forced to withdraw with an acute muscle strain on his left side, leaving his status in doubt
for next week’s event in Jeddah, where the Individual Champion will be decided and its $30 million purse distributed to the top three players.
▪ Matthew Baldwin will take a onestroke lead into the final round of the British Challenge presented by Modest! Golf Management after posting a three-under-par round of 69 at St Mellion Estate.
The Englishman carried a onestroke advantage with Scotland’s Euan Walker heading into day three and he was able to extend that lead throughout the afternoon to reach 10-under-par, one ahead of New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier, who carded a brilliant six-under 66 to move into second place.
The 36-year-old’s two birdies on the front nine meant he made the turn at two-under-par before a bogey and two more birdies put him in pole position ahead of the final round, where he will aim to pick up his second European Challenge Tour title.
“It was a good day today,” he said. “I made four birdies and just one bogey so I can’t complain. The conditions were perfect today
“I let a couple of birdie opportunities slip by and then to make that putt on 17 to put me back on top again was important.”
Walker sits in third place on seven-under-par, while Germany’s Jannik De Bruyn occupies fourth on six under after he carded a three under par round of 69.
Ireland’s Conor Purcell, Spaniard Javier Sainz and Englishman Jamie Rutherford share fifth place on fiveunder-par, while eight players share eighth on four under including Scotland’s Liam Johnston who carded the low round of the day – a seven-under 65.