'It would mean the world to me': New Spanish star out to emulate Seve and Rahm
Eugenio Chacarra determined to foil Rory McIlroy’s bid to match Race to Dubai title record
The great Seve Ballesteros won the Harry Vardon Trophy for finishing the season as European No 1 six times before Colin Montgomerie set his record of eight title triumphs.
Jon Rahm then became the only other Spaniard to achieve the feat when he topped the season-long points table on the DP World Tour in 2019.
Now Eugenio Chacarra, a 26-year-old who is playing just his second season on the circuit, is on the brink of pulling off one of the most remarkable victories in the history of what is now called the Race to Dubai.
On the back of three wins this season - the most recent came in the DP World India Championship - Chacarra leads McIlroy, who is bidding to equal Montgomerie’s record haul, by 534 points heading into the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai this week.
McIlroy, a three-time winner of this event on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, can’t afford to finish below fourth spot and, even then, that might not be good enough.
“Yeah, just coming with a chance to be able to win it this week is something very special,” replied Chacarra to a question from The Scotsman in a press conference on the eve of the $10 million Rolex Series event.
“Only me and Jon have a chance to win it this week, and there is a lot of great talent in Spain and a lot of great players on this tour from Spain. That tells you how tough it is and how good you need to play.
“I didn't play three of the four majors (this year), so I come with a little less advantage than the other European guys. I'm happy I have a chance to go win and go win it on the course. We are playing for a lot, and there's a lot of things that can happen.
“Yeah, it would mean the world to put my name where Seve's and Jon is, two of the best players of all time, will be really special.”
McIlroy has an incredible record on the Greg Norman-designed Earth Course whereas Chacarra only played it competitively for the first time 12 months ago, when he finished 13 shots off the winning score in a tie for 37th.
“Obviously we know how good Rory McIlroy is, and he's one of my idols,” said the man currently in No 1 spot. “It's going to be a tough test, and that's what I dreamed of since I was little.
“But I already beat him in India. So I need to remind myself that I can compete with him and I can beat him like I did already a couple weeks ago.
“Obviously this is a course that he's had a lot of success and I only played once and didn't do very good. They are just numbers. This is golf and crazy things happen. I'm just going to enjoy myself, and if I bring my A Game, I'm going to be able to compete with him on Sunday.”
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