Chacarra wins in India to take Race to Dubai lead

Eugenio Chacarra won the DP World India Championship by two strokes to move top of the Race to Dubai standings ahead of Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy.

Spain’s Chacarra finished on 21 under, with American Reed and world number two McIlroy well off the pace by the final round of this event.

After opening with successive scores of 67 in his first two rounds at Delhi Golf Club, bad light halted play with Chacarra still on the 11th hole of his third round on Saturday.

That left the 26-year-old with extra work on Sunday and he concluded his third round with a five-shot lead after a nine-under 63.

A two-under 70 in his final round was then enough to see off the challenge of New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier who birdied the last to put the pressure on the victor.

The win was Chacarra’s third of the season as he looks to emulate Jon Rahm and Seve Ballesteros to become the third Spaniard to top the season-long standings on the DP World Tour.

“Those two guys are heroes for me as a Spanish golfer,” Chacarra told Sky Sports.

“Seve did everything for European and Spanish golf, and then Jon, it’s a guy that I’ve been looking up to since he went to college and professional golf. What he has accomplished, it’s amazing.

“Hopefully I can put my name on that trophy too. That’s one of the goals.”

Reed, the Masters champion of 2018, had led the way since March after early-season victories in Qatar and Dubai, but he has been overhauled with just three events remaining before the winner is crowned next month.

A final-round 69 in Delhi meant Reed finished on eight under and in a tie for 23rd, while McIlroy was four shots further back with his disappointing weekend only good enough for a share of 42nd.

The 37-year-old from Northern Ireland was playing this event for the second consecutive year and started solidly before a two-over 74 in his concluding round.

McIlroy’s compatriot Tom McKibbin fared better at 12 under, a score that was good enough for ninth place alongside Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre. Belgium’s Thomas Detry and United Arab Emirates’ Adrian Otaegui.