The future has arrived in the shape of one Eugenio López-Chacarra Coto. The 26-year-old, 6ft 2in Spaniard will – as number one on the Race to Dubai standings – have the task of going toe-to-toe with Rory McIlroy over the next four days of the season-ending $10 million DP World Tour Championship, which will also decide the recipient of the Harry Vardon Trophy for topping the order of merit.
Mathematically, six men – down to Jon Rahm, last week’s winner of the Abu Dhabi Championship – have a chance to have their name engraved on the coveted trophy. In reality, you suspect the battle will primarily be a duel between Chacarra, looking to become just the third Spaniard to top the order of merit, and McIlroy, who is seeking to do so for an eighth time in his career and looking to equal Colin Montgomerie’s record.
“We know how good Rory McIlroy is, and he’s one of my idols,” said Chacarra, adding: “It’s going to be a tough test, and that’s what I dreamed of since I was little. 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 [last month].
“This is a course that he’s had a lot of success and I only played once and didn’t do very good. They are just numbers. This is golf and crazy things happen. I’m just going to enjoy myself, and if I bring my A game, I’m going to be able to compete with him on Sunday.”
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Chacarra is a player with plenty of self-belief, and his form this year – which has included three wins on the DP World Tour, most recently adding the India Championship to his victories in the KLM Open and the Italian Open – has seen him make significant career moves, rising from 124th in the world rankings when he got his season under way in the Dubai Invitational back in January to 37th, and to number one on the order of merit.
After a successful golfing scholarship at Oklahoma State University in the US, during which he reached number one in the amateur world rankings, Chacarra had a brief spell on LIV before earning his full DP World Tour card with a win in last year’s Hero Indian Open.
“I always believe in myself,” said Chacarra. “I had a tremendous amateur career. I was one of the best at one of the best universities in America, and I was number two player in the world, and you could say number one because Keita Nakajima was playing a lot on the Japan professional tour, so it was hard to catch him. Of all the players that were in the US, I was the highest ranking. I think I had a great college career, great amateur career, had a bunch of wins.
“Obviously when you turn pro, and expect the same thing ... I believe in myself, and when I turned pro, my goal was to be one of the best players in the world and that’s what I’m working every single day for.”
Chacarra is paired with McIlroy for the opening round in Dubai, and has a 533.93-points lead over the Northern Ireland golfer going into the final event of the season, with 2,000 points available to the winner and 1,000 to second.
For McIlroy to win an eighth order of merit, the permutations are: he wins the tournament (which guarantees the season-long prize); or, he finishes solo second, as long as Chacarra and Reed finish third or worse. Indeed, McIlroy can finish as low as fourth, as long as Chacarra finishes in a two-way tie for 46th, Reed in a three-way tie for second and no player fourth-ninth wins.
THE LOWDOWN
DP World Tour Championship
Purse: €8.98 million (€2.5 million to the winner).
Where: Dubai, UAE.
The course: The Earth Course – 7,706 yards, Par 72 – is a Greg Norman design that manages to incorporate lush fairways and copious water hazards on what was previously a desert landscape. The Great White Shark once described the last stretch of four finishing holes as “the most challenging mile in golf” which could be construed as hyperbole from the Aussie. Still, it has proven a worthy and often testing venue for the end of the European Tour season, featuring risk-reward Par 5s coming home (the 14th and 18th, both measuring more than 600 yards).
The field: Rory McIlroy is the headline act as the Masters champion goes in search of an eighth Harry Vardon Trophy. He trails number one Eugenio Chacarra by 533.93-points. In looking to make it five straight order of merit wins and the eighth of his career, McIlroy knows a tournament win will enable him to leapfrog Chacarra. Other permutations could possibly see McIlroy finish as low as fourth and still move ahead of the Spaniard, obviously depending on how his main rival for the Harry Vardon Trophy performs.
Quote-Unquote: “It’s okay to have these secret goals and to keep things in, but if you say it out loud and you put it into the public domain, you’d better follow through. It’s a way to keep myself accountable.” – Rory McIlroy on being public in his ambition to match Colin Montgomerie’s eight order of merit titles on the DP World Tour.
Irish in the field: Just the one, Rory McIlroy, after Shane Lowry opted to skip the tournament due to safety concerns in the Middle East. McIlroy is paired with Eugenio Chacarra (first round 8.40am Irish time).
Betting: Rory McIlroy – a three-time winner on the Earth course – heads the market at 3/1 on a course where he has won three times in his career, with Jon Rahm priced at 11/2 in his bid to win in back-to-back weeks following his success in Abu Dhabi. Eugenio Chacarra is 16/1 ... Adrian Meronk is worth an each-way look at 50s.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports (live coverage from 7am).
