Eugenio Chacarra caused a stir with his bitter exit from LIV Golf. He’s now explained why he lost motivation on the league…

Not many golfers have turned their back on LIV Golf since its inception in 2022. 

Brooks Koepka, who walked out on his contract with the breakaway league just before Christmas, is certainly the most high-profile player to jump ship and then jump ship again. 

But the five-time major champion’s exit was described by LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil as “amicably and mutually agreed”.

The circumstances around Eugenio Chacarra’s exit, however, were far from amicable. 

The Spaniard, who joined LIV in 2022 and won in the league’s inaugural season, made a bitter departure at the end of the 2024 season – albeit $7 million richer – as he cited “broken promises”. 

Chacarra was not retained by Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC team after his three-year deal expired and then expressed his frustration that the rewards on the circuit were merely financial. 

Since then, the dust has settled and after playing almost a full season on the DP World Tour, Chacarra reflects on his time at LIV with mixed emotions.

“I always said it was a great time of life,” he told TG. “I learned a lot, I played with great players, but I thought my time there was done. And I wanted to experience something else. I wanted to play more tournaments. I wanted to be playing every week, I wanted to fight for cuts, I wanted to fight for goals.

“I have a lot of goals and I was losing a lot of motivation. I knew it was going to be difficult because I had a year’s suspension on the PGA Tour for joining LIV, but thankfully I got a couple of sponsors’ invites, had a chance to win in India, and I took it. Now I’m focusing on new goals and hopefully I can get my PGA Tour card. That’s what I’ve been dreaming of since I was a kid.”

Chacarra says LIV’s failure to secure world ranking points added to his disillusionment while competing on the league.

“They told me a lot of things that never really happened, and I don’t know if it bothered me or not, but I lost motivation because of it,” he added. “I wanted to play in majors and be in contention for the Ryder Cup. I love competing, but not just for 13 weeks a year. I want to play 30 or 25-plus [events], so that’s one of the things I want to move forward towards.

“Once you win out there, like I did, your life doesn’t change that much. You don’t get into majors, you don’t get a chance to be in the Ryder Cup, you don’t get a chance to play a lot of events. That affected me as a player and I lost motivation. So me and my team thought the best way to move forward was to try to get on the DP World Tour, win on there, and then work my way up to the PGA Tour. It might take us one year, it might take us six years, but that’s the goal.”

Chacarra is certainly on course to reach his goal. He describes his victory at the Hero Indian Open in March, when playing on a sponsor’s invite, as life-changing as it secured him full-time DP World Tour playing rights which allowed him to compete for a PGA Tour card. 

He missed out on one of the ten cards made available to the US circuit in 2025, but is poised to contend for one of the golden tickets again this upcoming season.

“When I’m healthy and I’m happy and I’m working hard, I’m one of the best players in the world,” the bullish Chacarra stressed. “I was one of the best players in college. I was one of the best players as an amateur, and my goal now is to become one of the best players in the world on the professional side.”

Chacarra believes his current Official World Golf Ranking of 123rd belies his true potential. 

“I’m still trying to move up,” he said. “But I think I have everything I need to be the No.1 player in the world. I’m excited for the grind and for getting better. Next season, we’ll start again on the DP World Tour and I’ll try to do my best. Good golf will take care of everything.”

As for the long-term future and a potential five-year plan? Chacarra is dreaming big. 

“I know that if I do the right things, I have the capacity to be one of the best players in the world,” he said. “I’ll want to be in the Ryder Cup, contending for majors, and at least in the top 20 in the world. I know I’ve got a way to go, but I’m only 25 years old and I know what I’m capable of.”

You can read the full interview with Eugenio Chacarra in the latest issue of Today’s Golfer magazine.