If you ask Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, or any number of top pros, almost everyone benefited from the years-long battle between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and LIV Golf.
If you stuck with the established tours, LIV’s emergence forced them to make needed changes; purses increased and stagnation ended. If you defected to the then-Saudi-backed league, you secured riches that were exponentially greater than what pro golfers had thought possible. Some, like Bryson DeChambeau, increased their popularity. Some, like Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, got a nice payday as their careers reached the final stage. Others, like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, got in early and left before the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) withdrew funding, sending LIV into a tailspin that has landed the league in bankruptcy court, where it is sinking as players exit. Time will tell how much the defection cost players like Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith when it comes to major opportunities and overall legacy, but they still benefited greatly from the move and will likely get to return to the tour whose shores they once torched in due time.
But while most of pro golf’s many stakeholders finished the civil war in the green, perhaps no one was a bigger winner than Eugenio Chacarra.
The young Spaniard was one of the first to leave for LIV Golf. He was the No. 2-ranked amateur in the world while at Oklahoma State and elected to take a signing bonus to join Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC team in 2022 instead of pursuing his initial dream: the PGA Tour. Chacarra, a ball-striking star, won early on LIV but then struggled with injuries. His contract wasn’t renewed after the 2024 season, and he chose not to try to earn his spot back on the rebel tour via LIV Q School. Instead, Chacarra aired his grievances about how things were done on LIV. He said it was about “only money” and he wanted more. After earning $16 million in 34 starts on LIV, Chacarra wanted to chase his original dreams and believed his game could get him there in due time.
“I see what it’s like to win on the PGA Tour and how your life changes,” Chacarra told Flushing It after he left LIV. “How you get major access and ranking points. On LIV, nothing changes; there is only money. It doesn’t matter if you finish 30th or first, only money. I’m 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.”
Chacarra left LIV Golf and had only Asian Tour status. He got a few sponsor invites on the DP World Tour, and made the most of them by winning the Hero Indian Open. He faded toward the end of the 2025 season, which meant he missed out on earning his PGA Tour card. Now 26, Chacarra invested in his nutrition and recovery in 2026 so that he wouldn’t fade down the stretch of the DP World Tour season. He won the KLM Open and then backed it up with a win at the DS Automobiles 83° Open d’Italia, all but securing his spot on the PGA Tour in 2027.
But Chacarra had bigger goals. Playing through a fractured toe, he posted a T3 finish at the French Open and a T2 at the Spanish Open to jump to No. 2 in the Race to Dubai standings ahead of Rory McIlroy and right behind Patrick Reed. The world-class talent that many believed was destined for Ryder Cups and major championships is arriving on the big stage after a brief detour to LIV. Chacarra showed up at this week’s DP World India Championship nipping at Reed’s heels, hoping to become just the third Spaniard ever to win the Race to Dubai title. He said he’d need his “A game” to catch Reed and fend off McIlroy down the stretch of the season. He brought it this week at Delhi GC, posting rounds of 67-67-63-70 to beat Daniel Hillier by two and claim his third title of the season and the top spot in the Race to Dubai standings.
After surviving the test at claustrophobic Delhi GC, Chacarra was asked about his journey from world-class amateur to LIV defector to Race to Dubai leader. Chacarra, now a four-time DP World Tour champion with so much of his dreams within his grasp, looked like someone who had played golf’s civil war perfectly. He got the initial financial windfall, played against some aging greats and then bet on himself, believing that his game could get him to where he always wanted even if the road was different than expected.
“When I left LIV, I wanted to be in majors, be in Ryder Cups, win tournaments on the DP World Tour, be on the PGA Tour. That’s what I dream of since I was little,” Chacarra said on Sunday in India. “Obviously, when I grew up, LIV [didn’t exist], but when LIV came up, as one of the best amateurs in the world, they offered me something that I couldn’t say no to. I’m very thankful for that. My time there was great. It helped [with a lot of] things for my career. I have a great team surrounding me thanks to LIV. I can travel a little better. I can go to nicer hotels. I can give my family and my future family a great life.
“I’m always grateful to LIV. Nothing bad to say. My time was done. Decided with my team and family that the next step was ready for me. Like I said, I believe in myself. I believe I can be one of the best players in the world, and that’s what I wake up every single morning dreaming of being one of the best players in the world and contending in majors.”
Chacarra said he “lost motivation” toward the end of his time on LIV. That’s why he chose not to pursue Q School and a return to the rebel league. He saw players he grew up competing against and beating playing in majors and Ryder Cups and winning on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Eugenio Chacarra still had big goals — a trip to LIV didn’t change his ultimate desire. But he needed one thing before he was ready to become the player who arrived on the DP World Tour this year: belief.
“I lost motivation back in the day, and we went towards the other path,” Chacarra said. “I believe in myself. I know what I’m capable of. I was No. 2 amateur in the world. … I believe that I could be one of the best players in the world professional-wise, and that’s why I work hard every single day. For me, the last thing you need is belief in yourself, and obviously it wasn’t easy, but that motivates me more to work hard every day to achieve great things.”
When Eugenio Chacarra tapped in for a closing par on Sunday, he pierced the air with a mighty fist pump and was met by European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who congratulated him and noted he was now on top of the Race to Dubai standings. The 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor is 11 months away, and Chacarra has put himself squarely on Donald’s radar as the Europeans eye a historic three-peat.
Chacarra has a few more tournaments this year. He knows he’ll have to play well to hold off Reed and McIlroy, who is gunning for a record-tying eighth Race to Dubai title. He hopes to finish the year inside the top 50 in the OWGR to earn his first-ever invite to the Masters. But one of Chacarra’s ultimate goals is to get a different kind of congratulations from Donald next year — one that says he’s finally made it to where he always envisioned.
“I told Luke back in the day I want to be on that team, not just a pick,” Chacarra said on Sunday of making Donald’s team. “I want to be one of the six [automatic] spots. So that’s one of the goals we have on the team. I’m working really hard for it. We are still a year away, but I know what I’m capable of. I know I’m a good player. I got a lot of charisma, and I just want to keep getting better and keep winning.”
He’s already got the biggest win under his belt — one he achieved by playing golf’s civil war perfectly — and now everything Eugenio Chacarra wanted is right in front of him.
