Thursday, November 4, 2021

Meet Eugenio Chacarra of Madrid, Spain - The Next Great Golfer

Eugenio Chacarra is a name you might not know.  But one day soon, you will.

The first-team All-American senior from Oklahoma State University is ranked eighth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, has excelled at every level of the game so far, and already possesses an elite game that's going to keep getting better on the professional circuit.

Chacarra's early development as a player in Spain was shaped by the legendary Seve Ballesteros.  Ballesteros told Chacarra that no matter what he accomplished or how hard he worked, he could always do more.  And Chacarra must have taken Seve's words to heart.

Chacarra won over 100 junior tournaments, was the first player to be the top-ranked junior in Madrid, Spain for eight consecutive years (from 2009 to 2016), and was the top-ranked player in Spain in 2016.

A seamless transition from junior golf to the college game included being named ACC Freshman of the Year while at Wake Forest, earning first-team All-America status at Oklahoma State University his junior season, and being an All-Nicklaus team selection while improving his stroke average each year.

Chacarra will be teeing it up this week on a sponsor's exemption at blustery El Camaleon Golf Club for the Mayakoba World Wide Technology Championship, and it's going to be fascinating to watch how he stacks up against one of the strongest fields of the PGA Tour's fall schedule.  Seven of the top-20 players in the OWGR will be in Mexico, including major champions Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka.

This won't be the first time Chacarra competes in a Tour event however.  Earlier this year he finished T-45, shooting 10-under at the Sanderson Farms Championship, and his 321.5 yard average off the tee was 12th best in the field.  This wealth of experience Chacarra is gaining by playing on Tour will certainly pay dividends and bodes well for him once he officially makes the plunge into the professional game.

I met Chacarra at the East Lake Cup last week and followed him around East Lake Golf Club all three days of the competition.  He showed all the makings of a superstar and none of the nerves that can cripple a top collegiate or amateur player with lofty expectations.  Chaca plays with emotion, is always on the offensive, and never takes his foot off the gas.

Chaca (by the way) is his nickname given to him by his family and friends in Spain.  And his mom even painted "Chaca" on a pair of his shoes that he told me he brings out for special tournaments.

East Lake Golf Club (much like Augusta National) requires you to play well in all facets of the game.  Fairways slope against the ball flight you need off the tee, and the slopes, speed, and bunkering of the green complexes allow you to be bold or to play safe.  And I can tell you Chacarra's game is not about playing it safe.

Hole after hole Chacarra absolutely bombed his drives, took aggressive lines, and more often than not found the fairways.  His swing is powerful, compact, precise, and repeatable under pressure.

Chacarra hit greens with surgical precision, and many of his shots were of the spectacular kind.  At times he displayed the short game touch of a veteran maestro.  And he went on hot streaks with the putter that made me wonder if he'd ever miss (like when he made five consecutive birdies on the back-nine at Sanderson Farms for a final round 67).

During the individual championship round of the East Lake Cup, Chacarra let some opportunities to grab the title slip away, and ultimately finished fourth, two shots back of co-individual champions Preston Summerhays and Chris Gotterup.

And as I watched Chacarra during this round two things about his personality became very obvious to me.  He's a pure ball-striker who expects to win every time he sticks a tee in the ground, and he absolutely hates to lose.  And I'm talking almost Michael Jordan-like hates to lose.

The next day in the Match Play Semi-Finals Chacarra drew co-individual champion Summerhays and played like a man possessed.  Chacarra took it to another level and closed out Summerhays 4&3 in one of the most impressive performances of the East Lake Cup.  I didn't get a chance to ask him, but I'm sure that losing to Summerhays less than 24 hours earlier was extra motivation for Chaca.

In the Finals Chacarra was three-up through 14 holes in his match against Oklahoma's Jason Dowell.  But a series of missed putts over the next four holes opened the door for Dowell who then closed out Chacarra in 19.  It was a gut-wrenching loss for Chaca, but for everyone watching it was also another glimpse into the special type of player he is.

When Chacarra walked off the first extra hole I heard him say to his coach, "I hit the ball really well, I putted the ball really bad."  And that was it.  No excuses, no pouting.  Just a matter of fact take that showed me Chacarra embraces and understands it's how you deal with struggles that determines if you rise above or sink below them moving forward.

Over the three day competition I saw Chaca jump in the air like a young Sergio at Medinah, pound his chest like vintage Ryder Cup Poulter, and even bust out a red-hot triple fist pump that would have made Tiger envious.  It was marvelous to watch.

Chacarra's a fiery competitor, and I got the sense he lives and dies with each shot.  But he's also mature enough to completely reset and do it all over again with each successive shot.  And that mixture of intensity and poise is not often or commonly found in any athlete.

Chacarra sat alone just off the green for a while after his finals loss, and I wondered what was going through his head.  A few moments later someone pointed to Chaca and asked me who that was?  I paused for a moment... and then replied, "that's Eugenio Chacarra of Madrid, Spain, the game's next great golfer."

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