Eugenio Chacarra is not treating Rory McIlroy as untouchable. Ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, the Race to Dubai leader has a reminder of his own: he has already beaten the world No. 2 this season.
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At his pre-tournament press conference, Chacarra was asked whether his lack of experience at the Earth Course could put him at a disadvantage against McIlroy.
“Yeah, obviously we know how good Rory McIlroy is, and he’s one of my idols. 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, as I did already a couple of weeks ago.”
The two will start Thursday’s opening round together after McIlroy’s third-place finish in Abu Dhabi moved him into the final group. Chacarra leads the Race to Dubai standings by 533.93 points, with the season finale offering a $3 million winner’s check, the season-long title, and ten PGA Tour cards.
The stakes are particularly high for McIlroy. He is chasing an eighth Race to Dubai crown, which would tie Colin Montgomerie’s record. He has won the title in each of the last four seasons and can secure it outright with a victory this week. His record at the Earth Course also speaks for itself: three wins and nine other top-10 finishes in 14 starts.
Chacarra, meanwhile, has good reason to believe he can challenge him. He won the DP World India Championship in October by two strokes at 21 under, while McIlroy closed with a 74 to finish tied for 42nd. The Northern Irishman even went through the week without using his driver.
There is also an interesting backstory to their rivalry. Chacarra turned professional in 2022 and joined LIV Golf with Fireballs GC, while McIlroy became the PGA Tour’s leading voice during golf’s civil war. The India event Chacarra went on to win did not exist until McIlroy threw his support behind it.
Now in his first full season on the DP World Tour, the 26-year-old from Madrid has already won three times, adding the KLM Open and Italian Open in June to his India victory. He has also told European captain Luke Donald that he wants an automatic Ryder Cup spot for Adare Manor.
Still, Chacarra knows McIlroy has the advantage at the Earth Course. He has played it only once and did not fare particularly well.
“Obviously, this is a course that he’s had a lot of success in, 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.”
Chacarra also believes last week’s experience playing alongside McIlroy in Abu Dhabi will help him this time around. Asked whether it could help him slip into match-play mode, he said:
“I think it really helped for me to play with him last week, to be honest. I made a lot of mistakes that I probably shouldn’t have done, but it was the first time playing with him, you know. So that’s going to help me a lot. I learned from it. I had a great talk with my team after that first round.”
McIlroy, who finished third in Abu Dhabi, sounded equally comfortable heading into the final event.
“That’s where I wanted to be. It’s a pretty familiar spot for me going into the DP World Tour Championship, and I’m excited for it.”
Rahm, Reed, and the Rest of the Field Still in the Hunt
Jon Rahm arrives in Dubai with momentum after winning on his Abu Dhabi debut. The victory lifted him to sixth in the standings, around 1,700 points behind Chacarra. A four-time winner of the event? No, Rahm has won it three times, but his path to another Race to Dubai title is complicated. He needs Chacarra to finish no better than eighth and McIlroy to finish second.
Patrick Reed sits third in the standings after winning the Dubai Desert Classic in January and the Qatar Masters in February. However, his form has cooled since a September injury withdrawal. He missed the cut in Spain before finishing tied for 23rd in India and 43rd in Abu Dhabi.
Aaron Rai, Ryan Fox, Casey Jarvis, Jayden Schaper, and Daniel Hillier are also mathematically in contention. Each needs a win and some help from the players ahead of them. Hillier was the closest of that group to Chacarra in India.