The unexpected resignation of López Chacarra

Madrid will continue one more year competing as an ‘amateur’and waives the one obtained for the Korn Ferry Tour (second division of the PGA Tour).

• López-Chacarra, The last miracle of Spanish golf

Everything was planned so that on June 5 the Spanish golfer Eugenio Lopez Chacarra, one of the brightest promises of golf, would make the leap to professionalism. However, the golfer from Madrid communicated a surprising decision through the social networks of his Oklahoma State university: to continue one more year competing as amateur and he renounces the status achieved, being third in the university rankings, with which he had secured the automatic card for the Korn Ferry Tour (second division of the PGA Tour) and several succulent professional contracts.

“It was not an easy decision, there was a lot of money involved, but money is not everything in life. I will finish my double degree in Finance and Psychology. I made a promise to my parents to finish my degree, and I am more comfortable fulfilling what I promised them“, comments the Spaniard, fourth best amateur player in the world. “My goal is also to become number 1 in the world ranking amateur and university rankings. In addition, I will have several opportunities to play professional tournaments even though I am amateur“.

Eugenio does not verbalize it, but in his mind there is also the idea of ​​reaching the PGA Tour in the fastest way, saving a year on the Korn Ferry Tour. The only and complicated option to do it is to take advantage of the invitations that he gets in PGA Tour tournaments with good positions, something only available to the best players like Tiger, Rahm, Spieth…, but Chacarra is confident in his chances. It must be remembered that the PGA Tour regulations contemplate that a non-member player can receive up to seven invitations to participate in their tournaments.

Amateur World Cup in October

Another of his motivations is to represent Spain in the World Cup amateurwhich will be played in October in Dubai, where players of the stature of Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm or Colin Morikawa They were crowned at the time. I’ll also be fighting for some of the biggest dates in golf. amateur that are played in the summer, such as the British or the US Amateur. “The PGA Tour is not going anywhere and the college It’s only once in a lifetime. I’ve played three years and I wanted to play a fourth. And improve even more as a golfer and person and thus complete my training”.

Chacarra is the player of the moment in golf amateur. He has achieved two victories, a second place and a third, in addition to two other top-ten in his last nine tournaments played in the university leagues. He also made the cut at Sanderson Farms, one of his first experiences competing on the PGA Tour, where he finished 45th with a consistent long week of play that surprised many of the pros.