LIV Golf quietly scored one of its biggest wins by signing the world No. 2 amateur player, Eugenio Chacarra. The former Spain standout at Oklahoma State has entered the LIV Golf tournament and will probably make his debut at the Portland event next weekend, just a month after losing the NCAA individual title playoffs. before Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent.
“My position is that of a player who is not a member of the PGA Tour or DP World Tour, and I didn’t make any money as an amateur, so I can play in this tournament without What’s the problem?” Chacarra told the Spanish newspaper, Marca. “This contract gives me peace of mind and secures my family’s future. I achieved everything as an amateur, and now I will be able to gain experience as an amateur. professional.”
Chacarra – who is senior with one season left because of the COVID-19 pandemic – has won the title three times so far in 2022 and is just behind Keita Nakajima in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Chacarra is expected to return for the final season before deciding to sign with LIV, by Golf Channel.
It also represents the dichotomy in decision-making among college stars. Chacarra chose LIV, but when presented with a similar choice, Texas superstar Pierceson Coody refuse moneyinstead determined to do it on the Korn Ferry Tour as a path to the PGA Tour.
“I could be sitting on the couch with millions of dollars in my bank account watching my friends play on the PGA Tour, and that would be horrible.” Coody told Golf.com.
Chacarra is a major island for LIV Golf, clearly trying to gather as much talent as possible in its first year of existence. While most golf fans don’t know his name, this represents a bigger blow to the PGA Tour than Branden Grace or Kevin Na signing to LIV Golf. Why? LIV is trying to sign enough versions of Chacarra that it hits a Will Zalatoris. Meaning, if it signs 10 elite amateur players, perhaps one of them will thrive in the majors and obviously be in the top 10 in the world.
The problem for LIV, though, is that there’s currently no great path for those players to become stars or superstars. Their flow doesn’t fit all contexts at all – we don’t know what winning a LIV event in Portland even means – and without Official World Golf Ranking scores, the LIV golfers will have a tougher (though not impossible) path to qualifying for the major championship.
This highlights the PGA Tour’s biggest flaw – or greatest quality, depending on how you look at it. Due to its 501(c) 6 status, it is not possible to create a structure in which warrant contracts are awarded. Even if it could, it might not matter, because LIV Golf has a lot more money to play. But for some 22-year-olds, having money secured instead of fighting their way through the financing of smaller tours to get to the PGA Tour would be an easy decision.
The other interesting part is what Chacarra suggests in his quote above. There may be an easier (legal) path for golfers who have never competed on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour to play those tournaments later even if they decide to play LIV Golf now. hours. Even banning players from trying to remain a member of the PGA Tour can be inadmissible in court, and it’s even harder to see a person take on the burden of going up against a player who hasn’t yet. used to be a member.
