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Eugenio Chacarra aims for the sky after Kapil Dev pep talk
The Spaniard leads the Race to Dubai rankings over Rory McIlroy going into this week's year-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
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After two life-changing DP World Tour titles in the past two years in India, the country figures very prominently in Eugenio Chacarra’s conversations these days.
The Spaniard leads the Race to Dubai (Order of Merit) rankings on the DP World Tour going into this week's season-ending $10 million DP World Tour Championship here. He played the ProAm on Tuesday with Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev, and is savouring the motivating chats he had with the World Cup-winning captain.
“I did not know much about him, but I did some research on the internet afterward, and I now know he won the World Cup for India in 1983,” said Chacarra, who claimed the Race to Dubai lead at Delhi Golf Club when he won the DP World India Championship last month.
The big day for Chacarra would be on Sunday, when he has the chance to become only the third Spaniard to win the European No.1 crown, after Seve Ballesteros and Jon Rahm. The week started well as Chacarra and his team of Kapil, Hardeep Singh and Sunil Kaushal won the ProAm convincingly by four points.
“He’s a tremendous cricket player and a great golfer, too. We had good fun. The group was great. They made a lot of putts, and they got the win.
“Every time I play with Indian people, or I go play in India, I have good results and good vibes. Hopefully, we can have these vibes coming into this week.”
Chacarra leads the standings by 533.93 ranking points over Rory McIlroy, who is bidding for an eighth win that would tie him with Colin Montgomerie’s record. He has enough cushion to finish last and still win the Race to Dubai as long as McIlroy finishes in a two-way tie for fourth or worse and Patrick Reed finishes in a two-way tie for third or worse.
He revealed that Kapil, now the President of the DP World-PGTI, passed on advice on how to handle the pressure this week.
“He’s very successful in sport, so it was nice to talk to him about it. He obviously knew I had a chance to win the Race to Dubai this week,” Chacarra added.
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“He just gave me a couple of pieces of advice on how to handle pressure and how to just focus on myself and try to just remind myself that this is what I have dreamed of since I was little, just to be in this position. It’s a position that not a lot of people can have in their careers, so just try to enjoy the four days as much as possible.
“If I do that, he said I’m going to have a chance to get it done on Sunday. That’s what I’m going to be focusing on.”
Chacarra also praised Kapil, the golfer.
“He’s very good. You can tell he’s an athlete. He does it his own way, but it works,” said the world No.37.
“He hits it pretty far for his age (67), and he’s a fast player. He obviously likes to play golf.”
With someone of the stature of six-time Major champion McIlroy chasing him, Chacarra again brought India into his answer.
“We all know how good Rory is, and he is one of my idols. It’s going to be a tough test, but that’s what I have dreamed of since I was little,” said the man who has secured one of the 10 cards on offer for the PGA Tour through the DP World Tour.
“But I already beat him in India. So, I need to remind myself that I can compete with him and I can beat him like I did already a couple of weeks ago.”
