Eugenio Chacarra arrived in South Korea with momentum. He holds a commanding position in the Race to Dubai standings after his DP World India Championship win, and he can strengthen his lead while Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed sat out the Genesis Championship 2026. However, his decision to play at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club has yet to pay off, after an opening-round 72 left him tied for 53rd on Thursday.
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“It’s not playing easy; the pins are tucked, the greens are pretty firm, and obviously this morning was really cold. The first five holes, the ball was going nowhere. I didn’t have my best out there,” the Spanish golfer said about his struggles in Korea.
He then revealed the reason why he didn’t skip the event like Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed.
“I could’ve skipped this week, but I like this course, and with Rory and Patrick (Reed) not playing, I could get a few more points if I have a good week and all the help I can get ahead of those two, I’ll take,” Eugenio Chacarra added.
He said the same thing during the pre-tournament presser. He said that he needs all the help he can get if he wants to keep those two at bay and win the Race to Dubai title.
Playing in Korea carries significant implications for the season-long standings. Chacarra entered the week about 618 points ahead of Reed and 948 points ahead of McIlroy. But even with that lead, he knew a single event could turn the tables on him. So he wanted to extend his advantage without responding immediately.
The potential reward is substantial. The Genesis Championship offers 835 Race to Dubai points to its winner, and a victory would increase Chacarra’s advantage over Reed to approximately 1,453 points.
However, the two upcoming Play-Off events offer even greater rewards. The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, scheduled for November 5-8, awards 1,500 points to the winner, while the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, running November 12-15, offers 2,000.
The leading 70 available players following Korea will qualify for Abu Dhabi, with the top 50 advancing to the season finale. Eugenio Chacarra’s Korean campaign is therefore an opportunity to build a buffer before the standings face two potentially decisive tests.
The Spaniard carded a one-over-par round on the par-71 course. He finished seven strokes behind early leader Casey Jarvis. For Chacarra, who had won the DP World India Championship just four days earlier, it was an unfamiliar setback after a remarkable run of results.
Chacarra’s scorecard featured three birdies, two bogeys, and a double bogey. Birdies at the fifth, eighth, and 12th holes offered some encouragement. However, his mistakes at the third and 14th, along with a five at the par-three seventh, prevented him from making meaningful progress.
He shot a one-over-par front nine and a level-par back nine. The closing nine suggested he had steadied his game, though earlier mistakes left him with considerable ground to recover.
“It wasn’t the start that we wanted but I played good,” Chacarra said.
He identified a three-putt and a ball in the water among the issues he needed to address.
The round ended his run of avoiding over-par scores since the third round of the Amgen Irish Open. Still, Eugenio Chacarra was determined to use the experience as motivation rather than allow one difficult day to derail his week.
However, Casey Jarvis’ six-under 65 round will add pressure.
The South African is currently fourth in the Race to Dubai standings. If he holds his position and wins, he would move ahead of McIlroy and Reed. This would intensify the competition for the Spanish professional, who wants to win the season-long Race to Dubai.
Eugenio Chacarra on the importance of Race to Dubai win
The 26-year-old had a demanding week in India. After recently dealing with a fractured toe and a neck problem, he won the DP World India Championship. Chacarra finished at 21-under par, two shots ahead of runner-up Daniel Hillier. The weather-disrupted tournament forced him to play 25 holes on Sunday, adding to the physical challenges he faced.
No one has confirmed that those physical issues affected his opening round in Korea. However, his schedule makes the choice to compete particularly noteworthy.
Eugenio Chacarra’s immediate priority is to recover from his opening-round disappointment, but his ambitions extend beyond the Korean leaderboard. His recent results have put him in contention for the Harry Vardon Trophy.
Winning the Race to Dubai would put him alongside Spanish greats Seve Ballesteros and Jon Rahm as season-long champions.
“Those two guys are heroes for me as a Spanish golfer,” Chacarra said after his Indian victory.
His one-over-72 has complicated the immediate task, but it has not settled the larger contest. With three rounds remaining at the Genesis Championship, Eugenio Chacarra still has time to turn his decision to play in Korea into a meaningful advantage before the season reaches its defining stages.