Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra Tops Patrick Reed to Win LIV Golf Tournament in Bangkok
October 9, 2022
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra held on to claim the LIV Golf Invitational Thailand on Sunday at Stonehill Golf Club in Bangkok.
The 22-year-old carried a five-shot lead into the final day, which provided him with a big enough buffer to cover his worst round of the event. He carded a three-under 69 to finish at 19 under overall. Patrick Reed was three strokes back in second place.
LIV Golf Invitational Thailand
1. Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (-19)
2. Patrick Reed (-16)
T3. Paul Casey (-15)
T3. Richard Bland (-15)
T3. Sihwan Kim (-15)
T6. James Piot (-14)
T6. Harold Varner III (-14)
T8. Charles Howell III (-13)
T8. Brooks Koepka (-13)
T10. Abraham Ancer (-11)
T10. Laurie Canter (-11)
T10. Ian Poulter (-11)
T10. Marc Leishman (-11)
Full leaderboard is available at LIVGolf.com
Thanks in large part to Lopez-Chacarra's performance, Fireballs GC earned its first team win as well. They were seven shots better than second-place Crushers GC, with their victory snapping 4 Aces GC's four-event winning streak.
LIV Golf @LIVGolfInvThe final team leaderboard from the LIV Golf Bangkok Invitational 🇹🇭⛳️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIVGolf?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIVGolf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIVGolfBangkok?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIVGolfBangkok</a> <a href="https://t.co/RDEIwVUtmI">pic.twitter.com/RDEIwVUtmI</a>
Because he was so dominant in the first two rounds, Lopez-Chacarra didn't need to go above and beyond Sunday.
Back-to-back bogeys on holes 4 and 5 were the closest he came to a late collapse. He immediately birdied the sixth hole to get to even par for the round, and three birdies on the back nine left little doubt about the outcome.
LIV Golf @LIVGolfInvOn the doorstep 🥇<br><br>Watch Now ⬇️<a href="https://t.co/NBTxcCJHoj">https://t.co/NBTxcCJHoj</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIVGolf?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIVGolf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIVGolfBangkok?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIVGolfBangkok</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Eugeniochacarra?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eugeniochacarra</a> <a href="https://t.co/CqXd7hopme">pic.twitter.com/CqXd7hopme</a>
A par putt on No. 18 finally sealed the deal.
LIV Golf @LIVGolfInvWE HAVE A NEW CHAMP 🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/Eugeniochacarra?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eugeniochacarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIVGolfBangkok?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIVGolfBangkok</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIVGolf?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIVGolf</a> <a href="https://t.co/u3RIXlJnlC">pic.twitter.com/u3RIXlJnlC</a>
Lopez-Chacarra told reporters he "played great golf" and "hit the ball great all week."
"I had two bogeys in 54 holes and my goal was to have zero," he said. "But the course is in great condition so you can go low, but also I think I played really good. More birdies than bogeys. That will make it."
A seven-under 65 in the second round moved Reed into a share of second place. On a day when he had zero margins for error, bogeys on the ninth and 16th holes proved costly.
Paul Casey, meanwhile, was left to rue his one-under 71 in the first round. He went seven under for the second straight round Sunday, but that wasn't nearly enough to bridge the gap on Lopez-Chacarra.
Among the other notable finishers, Brooks Koepka tied for eighth at 13 under. Bryson DeChambeau settled for 14th at 10 under. Coming off a win at LIV's last stop, Cameron Smith struggled from the outset and wound up with the third-worst score (four under) and in a tie for 41st.
The LIV Invitational Series has two more tournaments left on the calendar. The LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah will tee off Oct. 14 from Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.