Eugenio Chacarra wanted more. After Sunday\u2019s win at the Italian Open, his second in a row on the DP World Tour, he has it in his grasp. <\/p>\n
Chacarra was one of the top amateurs in the world when he left for LIV Golf in 2022. His future was bright, and his decision to bolt for the rebel league was seen as a big coup \u2014 a way for LIV to siphon off emerging young talent before it got to the PGA Tour. Chacarra won on LIV in its inaugural season but then saw his play dip as he dealt with injuries. Sergio Garcia\u2019s Fireballs didn\u2019t renew his contract at the end of the 2024 season, and Chacarra said he left LIV Golf with renewed perspective about what he wanted<\/a> out of professional golf. He said on LIV there was \u201conly money,\u201d and pointed to the success and acclaim Ludvig Aberg, who was in Chacarra\u2019s amateur class, received on the PGA Tour. That was something he wanted, something he had always wanted before he strayed from his initial plan. <\/p>\n \u201cI see what it\u2019s like to win on the PGA Tour and how your life changes,\u201d Chacarra told Flushing It in 2025<\/a>. \u201cHow you get major access and ranking points. On LIV, nothing changes, there is only money. It doesn\u2019t matter if you finish 30th or first, only money. I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI know this is what my heart tells me is right and it works for my motivation to wake up and grind and get better, and to say I can be a PGA Tour player one day,\u201d Chacarra told Flushing It. \u201cSo this decision is what\u2019s best for me. I\u2019m very thankful for what they\u2019ve done, but my mind is different now and I want to get to what I was dreaming about when I was little. Because obviously LIV didn\u2019t exist when I was growing up. I was watching Tiger Woods winning on the PGA Tour, and I want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n So Chacarra left LIV Golf, served a mandatory one-year PGA Tour suspension and played on the DP World Tour via sponsor invites to try to climb the professional ladder to where he wanted to be \u2014 the PGA Tour. He won last year\u2019s Hero Indian Open,<\/a> but his play tailed off at the end of the year, causing him to miss out on a promotion to the PGA Tour, which is given to the top 10 players in the DP World Tour final standings who aren\u2019t already exempt. <\/p>\n This year, Chacarra has played even better. <\/p>\n One month ago, Chacarra left a playoff at a U.S. Open qualifier early <\/a>before he had a chance to earn an alternate spot. Chacarra needed to catch a flight to get to Belgium to prepare for that week\u2019s Soudal Open. Playing in the U.S. Open is important, but Chacarra\u2019s path to his dreams is by playing well on the European circuit throughout the remainder of 2026. He finished T22 that week and T12 the following week in Turkey. Then he won the next week at the KLM Open<\/a>. That win vaulted him to No. 6 in the DP World Tour\u2019s Race to Dubai Standings, placing him on the cusp of his dreams. <\/p>\n