Eugenio Chacarra secured his maiden DP World Tour title at the Hero Indian Open after battling hard to earn a two-shot victory at DLF Golf and Country Club.
Related: Eugenio Chacarra takes slender lead into Sunday of HIO
The Spaniard entered the final round with a one-shot advantage over playing partners Keita Nakajima and Brandon Stone, however that was quickly diminished with a double-bogey at the first followed by another dropped shot on the third.
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The 25-year-old bounced back with birdies at the sixth and ninth to make the turn one over for the day, before he regained his advantage at the top of the leaderboard with back-to-back gains at the 11th and 12th holes.
The highlight of Chacarra’s round came at the 14th, where he holed out from a tricky spot in the rough for a bonus birdie and opened up a four-shot lead. He survived a late scare on the 17th after finding himself near the long grass following his second shot, escaping with a bogey, before closing his round with a par to stroll to victory at the difficult DLF Golf and Country Club.
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Chacarra becomes the first Spanish winner of the Hero Indian Open and he is now looking forward to building on this victory with more DP World Tour success.
Japan’s Nakajima finished in second place on two under par, while Dutchman Joost Luiten was another stroke back in third. Sweden’s Jens Dantorp finished fourth on level par, while Frenchman Adrien Saddier was two shots further back in fifth.
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The top Indian was once again Veer Ahlawat (75) alongside Om Prakash Chouhan (71) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (73), who finished with a bogey and a double bogey in the last three holes to drop from T10 to T17.
Player Quotes:
Eugenio Chacarra: I’m very grateful for that opportunity. You guys probably changed my life from today so thanks for that. It was a tough day, we knew it was going to be a long day with a lot of pressure and obviously not having the start I really wanted to.
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I think I did a great job all week of staying patient and I know God was helping me today. I got a couple of good bounces including that chip on 14. I got some luck that you need to win but very proud. This course is so tough and at times the wind changed a little on me. My goal was to give myself a chance coming down the stretch and that’s what I did. I felt like I played well all week and things went my way today.
I know when I play my best I’m one of the best players in the world, I’ve already proved that a million times. It’s just awesome – it’s going to need to sink in but really proud and just happy.
I’m going to sit down with my team now and I get to plan a schedule. I’m so excited because I love the DP World Tour and the places, I will now get to play golf in. I’m so proud and looking forward to the next few weeks.
