LIV Golf in Bangkok leaderboard: Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra holds off Patrick Reed for first professional victory

Outside a pair shaky moments on the onset of his closing spherical, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra checked out ease en path to his first professional victory on the 2022 LIV Golf Bangkok. Firing a 3-under 69 to succeed in 19 beneath and fend off the likes of Patrick Reed, Paul Casey and Richard Bland, the previous All-American at Oklahoma State efficiently entered the winner’s circle together with his Fireballs teammates trying on.

Beginning his day with a birdie, Lopez-Chacarra was capable of preserve his in a single day lead of 5 strokes. This can be fleeting as a pair of bogeys on Nos. 4-5 — his first two of the week — opened the door for his pursuers to stroll by. Reed did simply that as the previous Masters champion shortly grew to become Lopez-Chacarra’s major competitors with three birdies in a five-hole stretch.

With this run from Reed, the Spaniard noticed his lead shrink to 2 earlier than a rain delay compelled gamers off the golf course late on Sunday. Like a wonderfully timed timeout in an NBA recreation, the break in motion was precisely what Lopez-Chacarra wanted to resettle his nerves and end his LIV Golf Bangkok expertise the way in which he began it.

“[I] knew it was going to be hard today,” Lopez-Chacarra stated. “It was going to be a long day. There’s such good players coming from behind and they want to win as much as I do. I just stayed patient, and I feel like when the rain and the cold out on 15 helped me a lot. I needed some time off.” 

Faced with a fragile chip on the par-4 fifteenth, the 22-year-old hit it to gimme vary and efficiently saved his par. 

“I was kind of pretty nervous, and being with my family, my coach and my best friend Gonzalo kind of helped me relax and just see how life is and how nice is my life right now and just kind of going out there and trust all the work I’ve put in, and when I was on 15, I think that’s the best chip I ever had in my life,” Lopez-Chacarra stated. “It was an easy shot, downhill, a little wet, but it came out like I wanted to, and I think that was big momentum coming into the last three holes, and here I am right now. Couldn’t be any more proud.”

At the identical time, Reed’s first swing out of the rain delay was one he want he had again. Teeing off on the par-3 sixteenth solely two strokes off Lopez-Chacarra’s lead, Reed made a deadly mistake and located the water together with his tee shot. This further respiration room was greater than sufficient for Lopez-Chacarra as he added a birdie on the par-5 seventeenth to in the end win by three strokes over Reed.

“Feels great. I mean, I don’t think there’s a lot of secret. Just trusting yourself and working hard every day,” Lopez-Chacarra stated. “That’s what they teach me when I was young and what these guys tell me you need to do, and trusting your team, having a good team, and just work and work I would say.”

Lopez-Chacarra not solely claimed the person trophy, but additionally the group title because the Fireballs waltzed to the first-place podium. Finally disarming the 4 Aces — winners of 4 straight group occasions — Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz and captain Sergio Garcia had been capable of comply with in the footsteps of their youngest group member to succeed in 45 beneath as a squad and win by seven strokes over the Crushers.

“It’s an amazing week,” Garcia stated. “I think that we all played really, really solid, and to be able to, like you said, Four Aces were coming off four wins in a row, I think, so we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but we all had a lot of faith in each other. We’ve been playing really, really well and been quite close a couple of times. We felt like we just needed to click a little bit here and there, and that was going to make the difference, and that’s what happened this week.”

The 4 Aces had been unable to hold their U.S. momentum to Asia regardless of Reed’s finest efforts. LIV Boston winner Dustin Johnson was caught in impartial for a lot of the week and regardless of a closing spherical 5-under 67 completed solo sixteenth. This marked the first time the 4 Aces captain’s identify fell outdoors the highest 10 on the leaderboard, however nonetheless Johnson stays in an excellent place to win the season-long particular person factors race with just one occasion left.

The First Cut podcast crew is again to carry you their recap for the Shriners Children’s Open and the LIV Bangkok occasion. Follow & take heed to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  

Team leaderboard

What is subsequent for LIV Golf?

There isn’t any relaxation for the weary as LIV Golf is ready to wrap up its common season subsequent week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Playing in back-to-back weeks for the first time in the tour’s existence, gamers will hop on the jet from Bangkok to Jeddah and shortly assimilate themselves to the brand new venue from Oct. 14-16.

After placing the ending touches on the common season, gamers may have every week to arrange for the group championship at Trump National Doral. Taking place Oct. 27-30, a just lately introduced format that includes byes, alternate shot, singles matches and stroke play will pin groups head-to-head in opposition to one another earlier than crowning the first LIV Golf Team Champion.