Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra of Spain shot a final-round 69 to win his first professional tournament at the LIV Golf Invitational Series Bangkok event Sunday in Pathum Thani, Thailand.
For his three-stroke win over Patrick Reed, Lopez-Chacarra won $4 million in his fifth pro tournament.
“Feels great,” said Lopez-Chacarra, 22. “I mean, I don’t think there’s a lot of secret. Just trusting yourself and working hard every day. That’s what they teach me when I was young and what these guys tell me you need to do, and trusting your team, having a good team, and just work and work I would say.”
Lopez-Chacarra, who decided to forgo his final season at Oklahoma State and sign with LIV Golf, entered the third and final round alone in first place, up five strokes. After a birdie on the first hole at Stonehill Golf Course, Lopez-Chacarra posted bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes, his first over-par holes of the week.
He rebounded, however, with a birdie at the sixth hole and three more on the back nine to finish the three rounds at 197, or 19-under.
Reed’s solid round of 67, which included seven birdies, was undone by a pair of bogeys that left him in second place at 16-under.
Finishing at 15-under par for the tournament and another shot back, tied for third, were Paul Casey (65) and Richard Bland (68), both of England, and Sihwan Kim (68).
James Piot (68) and Harold Varner III (69) finished in a tie for sixth place at 14-under.
Lopez-Chacarra hadn’t finished higher than 24th in his first four LIV tournaments. And he had some time to think about the possibilities of his first win when a weather delay stopped his round with three holes to go for more than 1 1/2 hours. He birded No. 17 after his return to all but seal the win, and he said the break helped.
“I needed some time off,” he said. “I was kind of pretty nervous, and being with my family, my coach and my best friend … kind of helped me relax and just see how life is and how nice is my life right now and just kind of going out there and trust all the work I’ve put in. And when I was on 15, I think that’s the best chip I ever had in my life. It was an easy shot, downhill, a little wet, but it came out like I wanted to, and I think that was big momentum coming into the last three holes, and here I am right now. Couldn’t be any more proud.”
Lopez-Chacarra won an additional $750,000 by leading the Fireballs to the team championship. He split the $3 million prize with Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz.
The first-time champ said he appreciates the support he’s receiving from other players.
“I’m learning a lot. I’m playing with the best players in the world, and that’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was little and I’m learning from each of them in particular these guys by my side,” Lopez-Chacarra said. “They’re trying to help me as much as (they) can and I’m always there learning, and it’s been a dream, and I can’t be more excited for the next years to come.”
–Field Level Media
Menu
