“Good job, kid!” Sergio García congratulated him between hugs and near the area of putting green after Friday’s round. “And that?” asked Rahm, who was also nearby. “He’s made it -3,” explained the captain of the Fireballs. “Congratulations!” responded the Lion of Barrika. And Eugenio López-Chacarra (Madrid; 24 years old), without enthusiasm but smiling, accepted the praise. “Yes, he was happy, but when you leave this course it’s like finishing a battle against a dragon. Also, he had 36 holes left, he was focused,” they say from his entourage. At night, in the house he is renting these days and sharing with the children of Raúl González Blanco, great friends (and a great Real Madrid fan himself), they did make a toast with the family for the exceptional round. This Saturday he remained standing, -2 in total and five strokes behind the leader Lahiri. López-Chacarra, Chaquias they call him, knows he is in his place. The same one that Severiano Ballesteros once told him he would reach.
His grandfather Eugenio and his father Ignacio, both from Santander, were keen golfers and soon found the Pedreña course to be their favourite place. They were also great friends with the Ballesteros family, so Chaqui received invaluable advice from the person who revolutionised golf in Spain and also in Europe, winner of five majors (two Masters and three British Opens). “I started playing golf with Vicente Ballesteros (brother) and I was also lucky enough to spend time with Seve, as we even played some par 3s. I remember that he showed me all his trophies and told me that it is never too much work and that you can always do more to make things go well,” Chacarra explained to EL PAÍS after the second day of the LIV, a work culture that he follows to the letter. But no one saw so clearly what Seve predicted to the father of that child. “Ignacio, don’t worry, this kid will surely make it,” he said. He did not fail. But Chacarra has worked hard for his part.
At the age of 11, Eugenio entered the Madrid Technical Centre under the tutelage of Antonio Barquero, his coach until he left for West Forest University at the age of 18. “He was as hard-working as he was competitive,” recalls Antonio; “because in the first tournament we played, he won his hole and asked me how the rest were doing.” At that time, whenever he played on par-3 holes, he was a genius at the short game. But when he switched to woods and drive He has found sensational consistency. “In no competition have we looked for balls off the course,” says Antonio, who is accompanying his family these days in Valderrama. A quality that he has maintained over time, because in the United States – after West Forest he was signed by the University of Oklahoma – he left everyone speechless with his long game, even in the three tournaments he played as an amateur on the PGA Tour. However, it happens that in this last year something went wrong with the drive.
On the one hand, he was not hitting the mark. “He had been left with an old model and the brand was no longer manufacturing it and there was nothing left in it either. stock…“, they clarify about their surroundings; “until he found a drive Titleist and put a shaft in it that he used in the College and he regains that confidence.” It also happens that after a year and a half of inhuman pain to the point that there were days when he couldn’t walk, his hip has been fine for a month now. “They gave me a bad injection in Oklahoma and a fluid ganglion came out that rubbed against me. Now, however, I can put weight on my left hip when I hit the ball.” And he, faithful to Seve’s advice, does not stop doing it, because yesterday (like every day after the tournament) he stayed hitting balls on the practice field.
“He is a very hard worker. He is one of those who must be taken out of the range “He always wants to improve,” they point out from his inner circle. And it has been a constant in his life with everything. Like with his studies. “He promised me that he would finish his degree, because what you start is finished,” reveals his father; “I always told him that this only adds up and that it is never too much.” And he kept his word, even when he was already playing in the LIV after receiving a check for around 10 million for signing with the Saudis. So much so that, during the 2022 Bangkok tournament, he had to take an exam on-line. He dropped out and finished his studies, a double degree in Sports Management and Finance, and Psychology. Curiously, in Bangkok he won – the only Spaniard to date to do so in the LIV – and won a cheque for almost five million euros (the largest prize ever received by a Spanish athlete). “That day,” his father adds, “he realised that he could beat the best, before he only thought about it.”
An unrepentant Madridista, friend of footballers like Marcos Alonso —he was at Valderrama yesterday to support him— and Morata, also of the pilot Carlos Sainz, brother of Carolina —who is also at Wake Forest University excelling with the sticks and close to professionalism—. the former number two in the world amateur During his university days, he continues to make strides in the competitive world of golf, having already played in the US Open last year and now gaining momentum and prominence in the LIV. At Valderrama he is third. Something that Seve, I am sure, would not be surprised by.
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