Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, 25, had a life-changing moment at the Hero Indian Open
The US$2.25 million 2025 Hero Indian Open (HIO) became a life-changing moment for 25-year-old former LIV golfer Eugenio Chacarra, who, by claiming the DP World Tour title earned a two-year exemption for the DP World Tour and a winner’s cheque of US$387,000. This brought him back from an abyss where, earlier, he was no longer welcome either on the LIV Tour or the DP World Tour.
Chacarra was relying on sponsor invitations for starts on the DP World Tour after being let go by LIV Golf, which is how he got his spot in the HIO. The former world No. 2 amateur signed with LIV in 2022 and won in just his fifth start on the breakaway circuit, but he went unsigned this past offseason after finishing 39th in LIV’s Individual Rankings.
“It means everything,” Chacarra said Sunday after the win. “I decided when I was an amateur to go to another side of golf (LIV). Coming out (of LIV), I didn’t know where I was going to play but I stayed patient.
With his win in India, he now has full membership of the DP World Tour through 2027. That membership enables Chacarra to play a full schedule and play his way up the Race To Dubai Rankings in an attempt to secure a PGA TOUR card for the 2026 season.
Chacarra was the only player in the field who delivered 3 under-par rounds with scores of 70-70-73-71 for a winning total of 4-under 284, 2 shots clear of defending champion Keita Nakajima of Japan.
2024 HIO champion Nakajima left no stone unturned in his pursuit of a successful title defense, carding rounds of 74-66-74-72 for a total score of 2-under 286.
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