Hard-fought maiden DP World Tour win for Chacarra at Hero Indian Open 

Eugenio Chacarra took a giant step towards his ultimate goal of qualifying for the PGA Tour with a gritty display to win the $2.25 million 58th Hero Indian Open at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon on Sunday. He acknowledged that the result had “probably changed my life”. 

It was the 25-year-old Spaniard's maiden DP World (European) Tour title, and he was playing in only his second event of 2025. Sunday’s result brings several benefits, the most tangible of which is status on the DPWT until 2027 and a real chance to push for a PGA Tour berth by the end of the season. 

“Yeah, it means everything,” Chacarra said immediately after sinking the winning par putt on March 30. “I stayed patient. I know when I play my best, I'm one of the best players in the world. I  proved that a million times. I surround myself with good guys, have a good team. They trust me. My family probably didn't sleep tonight. It's just awesome. It is going to need to sink in, but really proud and I'm just, just happy.” 

It wasn’t the best of starts to the day for Chacarra, double-bogeying his very first hole and dropping a third shot soon after. The overnight leader by just one stroke from defending champion Keita Nakajima of Japan and South Africa’s Brandon Stone, he was suddenly in their wake and at level par for the tournament. 

Just as he had done on Saturday, Chacarra (70-70-73-71 ) sparked his challenge back to life with birdies on holes six, nine, 11, 12 and 14 to take a four-shot lead and regain control, which he did not let go of till the end despite a late scare on 17 when his second shot flew into the long grass round the green. 

A bogey was the result but with just the final hole to go and still leading by three, Chacarra, who played the Hero Indian Open on a sponsor’s invitation, calmly tapped home a par putt on 18 even as Nakajima (74-66-74-72) birdied to take sole second place from Joost Luiten ((69-73-74-71) of the Netherlands. 

Gaganjeet Bhullar (72-73-78-73), 2024 joint runner-up Veer Ahlawat (70-77-74-75) and Om Prakash Chouhan (72-76-77-71) finished as the best-placed Indians at tied 17th on 8 over par 296. 

The highlight of Chacarra’s round came on 14, where a fast-paced chip-on from the rough ran straight into the flagpole and dropped in instead of streaking off the green. He also made several crucial par saves that helped to keep his closest pursuers, Nakajima in particular, well in his wake. 

Italy's Andrea Pavan made a hole-in-one at the Par-3 12th hole from 189 yards. 

Chacarra was a little emotional after sinking his final putt and thanked the sponsors for the opportunity to play the Open barely two months after finishing in the top five at January’s International Series India presented by DLF. 

“Obviously, I need to start by thanking Hero for giving me a chance to compete. Very grateful for that opportunity. Without them, it's probably I am not on this spot right now. So, first of all, thanks Hero, and everyone involved with Hero. I appreciate it, and you guys probably changed my life today. So thanks for that. 

“But yeah, man it was a tough day. We knew it was going to be a long day, going be a lot of pressure and I didn't have the start that I really wanted to without missing shots. But we know how this course is. The wind changes for one second and then you're like 20 yards short. So, but I think I did a great job all week staying patient. 

“I think, don't know, God was helping me today. I got a couple of good bounces. That's chip on 14 and that ball on 17, they were good shots and then they ended up in the bad spots. I think I got some good bounces and you need some like that to win. But very proud of obviously I don't have words right now.” 

The result also ensured playing status on the DPWT, which Chacarra said meant a great deal. “Awesome, awesome. I mean, being so keen yet. I will sit down with my team and hopefully, I get a lot of opportunities after having status. It's amazing. I love the DP World Tour. I love the places you got to go. Yeah, I'm just really proud and we'll see what the week looks like.