Rising star Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, who only turned professional in June this year, secured a massive $AU5.4 million payday on Sunday by winning the breakaway LIV golf tour event in Bangkok.
The Spaniard, whose loss decision to join the LIV Golf Series instead of the PGA Tour was a big blow, landed a monster cheque after carding a final round three-under 69 to hold off former US Masters champion Patrick Reed by three strokes at Stonehill golf club.
The 22-year-old followed up his opening two rounds of 65 and 63 to finish on 19-under par.
There was a three-way tie for third in the 54-hole event with Englishmen Paul Casey and Richard Bland finishing on 15-under par alongside American Sihwan Kim.
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Australian star Cameron Smith finished the 54-hole tournament at four-under, but that was only good enough for tied-41st.
Marc Leishman was the pick of the Australians, finishing 11-under for tied-10th. While Matt Jones was tied-15th, Jediah Morgan was eight-under and Wade Ormsby was one shot further back.
Lopez-Chacarra, who until a few months ago was still a college student, described the victory as “great”.
“I’m playing with the best players in the world, and that’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was little and I’m learning from each of them.
“It’s been a dream, and I can’t be more excited for the next years to come.”
Despite his victory, Lopez-Chacarra won’t earn a single point on the Official World Golf Rankings, with the governing body opting not to recognise the tournament despite LIV officials joining the developmental MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Tour.
It means one of the rising stars of golf, who went to the famous Oklahoma State, faces a tough road to qualify for a major next year despite beating some of the world’s best golfers, including Smith, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.
Over in Europe, world No.6 Jon Rahm became the first three-time winner of the Spanish Open since Seve Ballesteros 27 years ago by cruising to a dominant six-shot victory in Madrid on Sunday.
Yet, the 2021 US Open champion admitted his victory in Spain came against a field lacking star power.
“It might not be the strongest field I’ll play all year but sometimes those can be the hardest,” he said.
Rahm won 18 official OWGR points for his victory.
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