COL L EGE PR EV I EW OSU, OU hunt for nat iona l cha mpionsh ip
Broomstick has Chacarra flying when I go home over winter break, we will see what happens. I took it to Spain and pracombine boyhood tips from Seve, ticed at least two hours every day. “ Sure enough, Chacarra started to make weekly swing dissections with Sergio, broomstick lessons from Aaron putts. Then more putts. Then course records Wise, a broken wrist and 200 pairs of out- started to fall. After shooting some crazy low rounds in landish socks and what do you get? Meet Oklahoma State’s Eugenio Cha- Spain, he returned to school and promptly carra, a 21-year-old senior brimming with set a course record in the Cowboys’ first event, shooting a 62 in the confidence and enthusiasm final round of the Amer Ari and sporting a short list of Invitational on the Hapuna goals that begins with a Golf Course in Kamuela, second collegiate victory Hawaii. and ends with him topping Remarkably his younger the world golf rankings. sister Caroline, a freshman The sweet-swinging Spanat Wake Forest, matched his iard took boyhood lessons final-round score with a 62 from Seve Ballesteros’ brothof her own three days later er, Vincente as a beginner in the UCF Challenge to win which allowed him to meet her first event as a collegian. and get pointers from Seve, It wasn’t the first time they though he was already sick had struck gold within days with cancer. Later, he took of each other. When Eugenio lessons from Sergio Garcia’s won the under-18 champifather, Victor, and developed onship in Spain, Caroline a strong friendship with SerEugenior Chacarra responded by winning the gio that endures today, His wrist injury at age 15 derailed a prom- under-16 title the same week. Next up was the Gators Invitational in ising soccer career. Concentrating just on golf, Chacarra developed into a creative, versatile Gainesville, Fla. Using an unfamiliar driver ball striker, a throwback to a time when play- because his was cracked, Chacarra sprayed ers routinely worked the ball left, right, high his tee shots, but his putter led to an 8-birdie and low rather than overpowering courses final-round 65 and a tie for third. Since then he has finished ninth in the Cabo Collegiate, with towering dsdrives and wedges. “Eugenio is very unique among today’s 32nd in the General Hackler, then won the players in that regard,” said OSU coach N.I.T. at Omni, Tucson by five shots. “He’s a really good ballstriker,” said forAlan Bratton. “He’s very creative and can manufacture shots that others don’t even mer OSU All-American and now PGA Tour winner Talor Gooch. “He’s going to be a recontemplate.” There was just one problem. Chacarra ally good pro.” To say the change in putting style has uncould not putt, at least not well enough to win anything significant. It got to the point leashed him would be an understatement. “Now my mind thinks I can make everywhere he struggled to make a 2-footer, threeputting from short range twice down the thing,” Chacarra said. “It has completely stretch of a 19-hole loss to Oklahoma fresh- changed my game. I get on the green and man Jaxon Dowell in the 2021 finals of the have a 30-footer and think I can make it, where before I would have a 2-footer and be East Lake Cup. Poor putting led to him missing the cut by nervous. It’s been ridiculously good and I’m eight shots when he got an opportunity last excited for the future.” When Chacarra came to the U.S. after winfall to play in the PGA Tour’s World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, ning over 100 junior tournaments, his intent Mexico. But it was where he met Wise, who was to enroll at Stanford, but his ACT scores uses a 47-inch Odyssey two-ball putter and were not quite there. He found a spot at Wake the broomstick method similar to ageless Forest and helped the Demon Deacons reach the match-play portion of the NCAA ChamGerman wonder Bernhard Langer. Desperate for something that would pionships in 2019, where they lost ironically to Stanford. He was the ACC Freshman of work, he gave it a try. “It felt strange, horrible,” Chacarra said. the Year and had six top-10 finishes. After the COVID-shortened 2019-20 sea“Just super weird. But I felt if I grind with it
by ken macleod
C
70
GOLF OKL AHOMA • 2022 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
son, he entered the transfer portal and Bratton was happy to offer him a new home in Stillwater, having just lost Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolfe, Zach Bauchou, Hayden Wood, Brendon Jelley, Sam Stevens and others from the teams that won the NCAA Championship in 2018 and the stroke-play portion of the same by 31 shots in 2019. Now with Austin Eckroat on to the pro ranks, it’s a vastly different squad, 12 deep with stars from across the globe, including Germany (2), China, Japan, Spain, Dubai, Denmark, India and the U.S., including Oklahoman Jordan Wilson. “We’ve got 12 really good players and the lineup could change every event,” Chacarra said. “If we can keep getting tougher, keep listening to the coaches and what they tell us, I think we have a good chance to win the national championship.” That would only increase Chacarra’s popularity on campus. He already is a familiar face to athletes from all the programs, making it a point to attend their events and offer his enthusiastic support. His trademark attire is shorts and one of his 200 pairs of often zany socks featuring cartoon characters or logos. “They all represent the brand, the school and the logo and they deserve our support,” Chacarra said. “It’s a great way to meet them and to make new friends.” In his phone are a short list of goals, starting with winning two or more times in college, followed by a top-five finish in PGA Tour University, first team All-American, winning the NCAA Championship, achieving a GPA over 3.0 and playing well in the starts he is afforded on the PGA Tour. Longer term goals include winning on the PGA Tour and eventually being ranked No. 1 in the world. Chacarra figures his ball striking already is the equal of most in the game. If the broomstick is a long-term solution to his putting, watch out. One obstacle to one of his immediate goals – winning the national championship – is just 70 miles away in the form of the currently top-ranked OU Sooners. Chacarra is friends with many of their top players, competes against them both in tournaments and in friendly games at Oak Tree National, and welcomes a potential Bedlam match in the NCAA Championships. “I like the rivalry,” he said. “I like all their players and coaches, but we’re competitive. I know they’re working hard. I tell my team, these guys want to beat us, but we’re better than them. We’ve got to trust ourselves, keep working hard, and things will work out.” W W W.GOLFOKL AHOMA.ORG
