Former LIV Golf pro explains why he walked out of play-off at U.S. Open qualifier
Eugenio Chacarra has explained the reason why he decided to give up the opportunity to try be an alternate at the third men's major of the year.
Former LIV Golf pro Eugenio Chacarra has explained why he decided to walk out of a play-off at a U.S. Open final qualifier.
Chacarra teed up at Dallas Athletic Club on Monday in a bid to earn his tee time for the third men's major of the year at Shinnecock Hills next month.
After 36 holes, the Spanaird came up a one stroke shy of automatic qualification.
But he did enough to compete for the ninth spot up for grabs in a six-man play-off.
Jon Rahm's LIV Golf teammate, 23-year-old Caleb Surratt, birdied the first extra hole to secure the golden ticket, leaving the rest to carry on and compete for the two alternate spots that remained.
That's when Chacarra decided to exit stage left.
The bizarre situation was first reported by Ryan French aka MondayQInfo on X.
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Chacarra has now taken to the same platform to explain the reason for his abrupt exit.
According to Chacarra, it fell down to priorities.
He had a flight booked to compete in this week's Soudal Open on the DP World Tour.
It is his primary goal to earn his PGA Tour card this season and had he not left he felt as if he wasn't going to be suitably prepared for this week's tournament in Belgium.
"When you fly to Europe, you lose on day and that's the only chance I had to get there on time to get some rest and practice the course," Chacarra said.
Chacarra added that he chose to take part in the qualifier in Texas and not Walton Heath in England as he lives in Tulsa.
In the end, Chandler Phillips and Henrik Norlander earned the first and second alternate spots in the qualifier.
Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell was among the notables to qualify.
See below the players who qualified:
Rank | Player | Score |
1 | Uihlein, Peter | -9 |
2 | Kim, Tom | -8 |
3 | Dossey, Cooper | -7 |
4 | Shah, Manav | -5 |
T5 | Stanger, Jimmy | -4 |
T5 | McDowell, Graeme | -4 |
T5 | Dumont de Chassart, Adrien | -4 |
T5 | Kim, TK | -4 |
9 | Surratt, Caleb | -3 |
Chacarra is currently ranked 18th in the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai rankings.
The top 10 players at the end of the season earn PGA Tour cards.
Chacarra is best known for his short stint with LIV Golf.
He linked up with Sergio Garcia's Fireballs team in 2022 after graduating college.
After leaving the league when his contract expired, he hit the headlines for lashing out at the broken promises that were made.
Chacarra admitted that he was grateful for the money he was paid to join LIV in the first place and the cash he earned on the course.
But he was upset about the fact the league never secured world ranking points during his time there.
"I see what it's like to win on the PGA Tour and how your life changes," he said. "How you get major access and ranking points.
"On LIV, nothing changes, there is only money. It doesn't matter if you finish thirtieth or first, only money.
"I'm not a guy who wants more money. What will change my life is playing in Hawaii and qualifying for the majors, qualifying for the Masters, the Ryder Cup.
"When I joined LIV they promised OWGR and majors. But it didn't happen. I trusted them."
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