Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra recovered from successive bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes to close out the final round at the LIV Golf Thailand tournament and seal his first victory since turning professional
Sunday 9 October 2022 11:48, UK
Former top amateur Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra shot a final-round 69 to secure victory in the LIV Golf Thailand tournament by three strokes.
The 22-year-old Spaniard recorded a three-round, 19-under total of 197 after a storm-delayed finish on the Stonehill Golf Club course near Bangkok.
He finished ahead of Patrick Reed, who shot a closing 67, while Paul Casey (65), Richard Bland (68) and Sihwan Kim (68) were all tied for third place.
Lopez-Chacarra, who was the world's No 2-ranked amateur player before he turned professional to play on the Saudi-backed LIV series, had led outright from the second round.
Having opened with a birdie, Lopez-Chacarra then had back-to-back bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes to give his rivals renewed hope.
However, those proved to be his only bogeys of the tournament as he closed out a maiden professional victory.
"I hit the ball great all week," said Lopez-Chacarra. "I had two bogeys in 54 holes and my goal was to have zero.
"The course is in great condition so you can go low, but also I think I played really good. More birdies than bogeys - that will make it."
Lopez-Chacarra was also a member of Fireballs, the team captained by Sergio Garcia, who finished seven shots clear of Crushers to land the team prize.
The tour moves to Saudi Arabia next week for the LIV Golf Invitational-Jeddah tournament.
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