CHARLOTTE — Eugenio Chacarra is all smiles and good vibes ahead of playing in his first PGA Championship, and first major since leaving LIV Golf after the 2024 season.
“It’s awesome,” Chacarra told Front Office Sports at Quail Hollow Club. “My time on LIV was great, but it’s something that I needed to change. It was kind of like a lack of motivation out there for me, and I’ve been enjoying life again. I’m enjoying golf.”
Chacarra, 25, made $9.12 million in individual prize money during three seasons on LIV, but he wasn’t able to earn Official World Golf Ranking points, and therefore played in only one major—last year’s U.S. Open. In January, he told the Flushing It podcast, “On LIV, nothing changes, there is only money.”
“I’m very thankful for what LIV did for me—financially, experience, and everything,” he said this week. But the young Spaniard’s focus is now making it onto his former league’s rival circuit. “My goal has always been to play on the PGA Tour,” Chacarra said. “Right now, I’m obviously banned because of LIV until September, so I’m playing on the European Tour.”
Chacarra is referring to the PGA Tour’s rule that a player can’t play in one of its events until at least one year after they played in a LIV tournament. Chacarra won the Hero Indian Open in March and subsequently earned full DP World Tour status for the remainder of the season. He has a chance to earn a 2026 PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 10 of the DP World Tour’s points list this year. “Just go day by day, and good golf will take care of the rest,” he said.
Dress to Impress
Leaving LIV also meant the opportunity for Chacarra to pick his own clothes. As a former member of Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC, Chacarra was required to wear the team uniform.
Chacarra has traded that for a new apparel deal with Eastside Golf, an emerging clothing company created by two former HBCU national champion golf stars.
“They always want to help people, and I’m always wanting to grow the game—help people that don’t have the access to play golf and hopefully I can be the image of Eastside for a long time,” Chacarra said.
While Chacarra will be wearing Eastside’s logo on his shirts this season, he’ll still be wearing a Golf Saudi hat, as his contract for that headwear deal runs through the end of this year.
