A composed Eugenio Chacarra cruised to the DP World India Championship title by two shots here on Sunday, and as a result, leapfrogged Patrick Reed to take the top spot in the Race to Dubai standings.
After returning a superb nine-under 63 in the third round in the morning session, Chacarra carded a two-under 70 final round to claim the $6,80,000 winner’s cheque.
The Spaniard pulled well ahead of the field in the last hole of the third round, where he holed a chip from 16 yards to make an eagle.
There was a brief slip in the championship round when he missed a nine-foot putt to return a bogey. In the next hole, however, Chacarra made a clean par and celebrated with a fired-up fist pump to indicate that he was back on track.
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier finished second, on the back of an exceptional three rounds. The Kiwi seemed lost after a two-over opener, but soared back into contention with 64, 64 and 67 outings.
Rory McIlroy was not at his best, making a two-over 74 to finish on four-under overall and tied-42nd. A messy approach on the third hole, resulting in a double bogey, proved costly for the six-time Major champion.
The Northern Irishman enjoyed his time in India, even if the result was not particularly encouraging. “It is great to be back in India. We all got a tremendous welcome. It was a great week off the course, and we did a lot of fun things. I wish I had played better on it, but I’ll get to go home for a couple of weeks and practise and sharpen up,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy, who stayed in third spot in the Race to Dubai — a season-long points competition on the DP World Tour — added, “India is a really important market for golf going forward, and it’s only going to keep growing. It’s important that we come here. This week was another step in the right direction for golf in India and international golf as a whole.”
Lahiri the best Indian
A four-under 68 helped Anirban Lahiri finish with the best performance among Indians. Lahiri moved up 18 spots to take tied-23rd.
A two-time winner on the European Tour, Lahiri spoke about being in an “uncomfortable position” in this phase of his career, given that LIV Golf — where he has spent four seasons — faces a potential shutdown after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) withdrew its financial backing.
“At the moment, there are a lot of questions and not enough answers. To be honest, I don’t know how many events I’ll be playing or what 2027 looks like. That’s a very uncomfortable position for a professional golfer. I’m technically starting my 20th season, and I haven’t lost my card for a long time, but this is the most uncertainty I’ve experienced,” Lahiri said.
Om Prakash Chouhan (four-under overall), who led the Indian contingent at the start of the day, slid to tied-42nd.
The scores (top five): 267: Eugenio Chacarra (67, 67, 63, 70); 269: Daniel Hillier (74, 64, 64, 67); 273: Adrian Meronk (67, 69, 69, 68), Angel Hidalgo (68, 68, 68, 69); 275: Gregorio De Leo (67, 74, 66, 68), Tommy Fleetwood (70, 69, 68, 68), J.C. Ritchie (67, 71, 67, 70), Joost Luiten (68, 68, 67, 72).