Outside a couple shaky moments at the onset of his final round, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra looked at ease en route to his first professional victory at the 2022 LIV Golf Bangkok. Firing a 3-under 69 to reach 19 under and fend off the likes of Patrick Reed, Paul Casey and Richard Bland, the former All-American at Oklahoma State successfully entered the winner’s circle with his Fireballs teammates looking on.

Beginning his day with a birdie, Lopez-Chacarra was able to maintain his overnight lead of five strokes. This would be fleeting as a pair of bogeys on Nos. 4-5 — his first two of the week — opened the door for his pursuers to walk through. Reed did just that as the former Masters champion quickly became Lopez-Chacarra’s main competition with three birdies in a five-hole stretch.

With this run from Reed, the Spaniard saw his lead shrink to two before a rain delay forced players off the golf course late on Sunday. Like a perfectly timed timeout in an NBA game, the break in action was exactly what Lopez-Chacarra needed to resettle his nerves and finish his LIV Golf Bangkok experience the way he started it.

“[I] knew it was going to be hard today,” Lopez-Chacarra said. “It was going to be a long day. There’s such good players coming from behind and they want to win as much as I do. I just stayed patient, and I feel like when the rain and the cold out on 15 helped me a lot. I needed some time off.” 

Faced with a delicate chip on the par-4 15th, the 22-year-old hit it to gimme range and successfully saved his par. 

“I was kind of pretty nervous, and being with my family, my coach and my best friend Gonzalo 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,” Lopez-Chacarra said. “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.”

At the same time, Reed’s first swing out of the rain delay was one he wish he had back. Teeing off on the par-3 16th only two strokes off Lopez-Chacarra’s lead, Reed made a fatal mistake and found the water with his tee shot. This additional breathing room was more than enough for Lopez-Chacarra as he added a birdie on the par-5 17th to ultimately win by three strokes over Reed.

“Feels great. I mean, I don’t think there’s a lot of secret. Just trusting yourself and working hard every day,” Lopez-Chacarra said. “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 not only claimed the individual trophy, but also the team title as the Fireballs waltzed to the first-place podium. Finally disarming the 4 Aces — winners of four straight team events — Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz and captain Sergio Garcia were able to follow in the footsteps of their youngest team member to reach 45 under as a squad and win by seven strokes over the Crushers.

“It’s an amazing week,” Garcia said. “I think that we all played really, really solid, and to be able to, like you said, Four Aces were coming off four wins in a row, I think, so we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but we all had a lot of faith in each other. We’ve been playing really, really well and been quite close a couple of times. We felt like we just needed to click a little bit here and there, and that was going to make the difference, and that’s what happened this week.”

The 4 Aces were unable to carry their U.S. momentum to Asia despite Reed’s best efforts. LIV Boston winner Dustin Johnson was stuck in neutral for most of the week and despite a final round 5-under 67 finished solo 16th. This marked the first time the 4 Aces captain’s name fell outside the top 10 on the leaderboard, but still Johnson remains in a good position to win the season-long individual points race with only one event left.

The First Cut podcast crew is back to bring you their recap for the Shriners Children’s Open and the LIV Bangkok event. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  

Team leaderboard

What is next for LIV Golf?

There is no rest for the weary as LIV Golf is set to wrap up its regular season next week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Playing in back-to-back weeks for the first time in the tour’s existence, players will hop on the jet from Bangkok to Jeddah and quickly assimilate themselves to the new venue from Oct. 14-16.

After putting the finishing touches on the regular season, players will have a week to prepare for the team championship at Trump National Doral. Taking place Oct. 27-30, a recently announced format featuring byes, alternate shot, singles matches and stroke play will pin teams head-to-head against each other before crowning the first LIV Golf Team Champion.

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Beginning the second round alongside Richard Bland and Branden Grace atop the 2022 LIV Golf in Bangkok leaderboard, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra forged ahead. Once again getting around Stonehill Golf Course in a bogey-free fashion, the Spaniard improved on his first day effort with a second-round 9-under 63 to put a stranglehold on this tournament.

Beginning his day on the first hole, Chacarra was after it at the jump. Making birdie in his first two holes, he saw his name rise above the rest on the leaderboard. Tacking on another birdie on the par-4 fifth and an eagle on the par-5 sixth, the 22-year-old’s advantage had grown to four by the time his group made its way to the inward half.

Not only had Chacarra ascended to the top spot alone, but one of his closest competitors Branden Grace had fallen out of the competition. Citing an acute muscle strain on his left side, the LIV Portland winner was only able to complete three holes in his second round before withdrawing.

Adding three birdies on his back nine, Chacarra ultimately signed for his second consecutive round in the mid-60s to put him at 16 under for the week. With Grace’s absence, a number of suitors have lined up behind Chacarra heading into the final round of LIV Bangkok where a massive effort will be needed in order to overcome a five-stroke deficit.

Former Masters champion Patrick Reed played himself back into the mix with a 7-under 65 and is in a tie for second alongside Bland, Sihwan Kim and Harold Varner III at 11 under. Just one stroke back is Brooks Koepka who is well-positioned to capture his first top-10 finish with LIV Golf and possibly his first victory if Chacarra is to struggle after two straight rounds of 67.

The leader

1. Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (-16)

If able to sign for a third straight bogey-free round, it is more than likely Chacarra will be your LIV Golf Bangkok winner. Breaking a streak that has included victors such as Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith, the inclusion of the youngest member of the circuit in the winner’s circle is welcomed news for the upstart golf league. The 22-year-old still has his work cut out for him, but he is insistent that — much like Matthew McConaughey — by going back, he is actually moving forward.

“I think the key was I went back to see what I was doing in college because I was working so good and I didn’t do as good the first four weeks as a pro, and it was just try to have fun and then play to not make bogeys,” said Chacarra. “Kind of play smart on the course, and that’s what I’ve started doing this week. I feel my game — I’m actually hitting it pretty good, but I’m playing smart and I’m having fun, so that’s the key for these couple rounds.”

Other contenders

T2. Richard Bland, Sihwan Kim, Harold Varner III, Patrick Reed (-11)

T6. James Piot, Brooks Koepka (-10)

T8. Marc Leishman, Lee Westwood, Kevin Na (-9)

There are some strong pursuers in this group if Chacarra is to slip up. Koepka is the most intriguing I would say just given his lack of recent quality but also his ability to seal the deal when in contention. Motivation is a word that has been thrown around in regards to some of these players and while some are still working away on their off-weeks, Koepka has been seen yachting around the Mediterranean and enjoying his life to the fullest. This has led to some poor efforts in the LIV Golf Series but maybe, just maybe, he decided enough was enough and put his head to the grindstone ahead of this week.

Grace’s injury comes at a horrible time

The man from South Africa was right in the thick of it before his untimely departure from LIV Golf Bangkok due to injury. Grace entered the week 39 points behind Johnson in the season-long race and was primed to cut into the American’s deficit with a strong effort in Thailand. It is unknown how long the LIV Portland winner will be sidelined, but with his absence, Johnson’s grasp on the regular season trophy most certainly tightens.

Team standings

With Branden Grace’s WD, Stinger GC must use each team member’s score (3) in the final round.

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