A two-shot victory built over a long Sunday
Eugenio Chacarra closed out the DP World India Championship with a two-stroke margin, finishing the tournament at 21 under par at Delhi Golf Club. The Spaniard had opened with back-to-back rounds of 67, but fading light on Saturday stopped play while he was still on the 11th hole of his third round, forcing him to complete extra work the following day.[S1]
He made that backlog count. Chacarra wrapped up his third round with a nine-under 63, which gave him a five-shot cushion going into the final eighteen. A closing two-under 70 proved sufficient, even as New Zealand's Daniel Hillier birdied the last hole to narrow the gap. Hillier ended alone in second at 19 under, two behind the winner.[S1]
The title was Chacarra's third of the season. Angel Hidalgo and Adrian Meronk shared third at 15 under, with Joost Luiten, JC Ritchie, Tommy Fleetwood and Gregorio De Leo a further two shots back. Robert MacIntyre and Tom McKibbin finished at 12 under, while Shane Lowry closed at 10 under.[S1]
Reed and McIlroy fade as the standings shift
Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, had topped the Race to Dubai since March on the strength of early wins in Qatar and Dubai. In Delhi he signed for a final-round 69 to finish eight under, tied for 23rd, and surrendered the lead in the season-long table. Only three events remain before the standings are decided next month.[S1]
Rory McIlroy, the world number two, endured a difficult weekend in the Indian capital. The 37-year-old from Northern Ireland, competing in the event for a second straight year, began well but carded a two-over 74 in his last round and finished four shots behind Reed, in a share of 42nd place.[S1]
McIlroy's fellow Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin produced a stronger week, reaching 12 under for ninth place alongside Scotland's Robert MacIntyre. Belgium's Thomas Detry and the United Arab Emirates' Adrian Otaegui were also listed at that score.[S1]
A Spanish milestone within reach
Chacarra now leads the Race to Dubai, and a strong finish to the campaign would place him alongside Jon Rahm and Seve Ballesteros as only the third Spaniard to end a season at the top of the DP World Tour standings. He described both men as heroes to him as a Spanish golfer, crediting Ballesteros with everything he did for European and Spanish golf and saying he had followed Rahm since his college and professional days.[S1]
The victory in India was reported by several outlets, which described Chacarra taking the Race to Dubai lead after the DP World India Championship and noted that McKibbin secured a top-10 finish.[S2][S3][S4]
