Eugenio López-Chacarra will not be present this Tuesday at the Final Qualifying of the Open, which takes place at four venues in the United Kingdom and offers around twenty spots for the last Major of the year in Portrush. The Spanish golfer was registered at West Lancashire, but has ultimately withdrawn at the last minute.
Chacarra participated last week in the Italian Open of the DP World Tour, held at the Argentario Golf Club, in Monte Argentario (Tuscany). There, he played in the leading group on Sunday, although he finished the event in seventh place, but a traffic jam on his way to Rome airport prevented him from catching the flight that was to take him to the United Kingdom to compete in the decisive 36 holes of the qualifier. It wasn’t his best Sunday, after losing his chances of victory in the final stretch of the tournament, he also missed the flight that would take him to West Lancashire.
“I missed yesterday’s flight, and today I wouldn’t arrive in Bristol until late. Without practising on the course, tired and with a slightly strained back, my team and I decided it was best to prepare well for Germany and Scotland,” explains the Madrid player to Ten-Golf.
The immediate goal for the Madrid native is now the BMW International Open, which starts this week in Munich. “In Germany, if I win, I get close to the top 5 of the RACE to Dubai, which also opens the door to the Open,” adds Chacarra. Additionally, in the Genesis Scottish Open, co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, there will be three spots up for grabs for the Open, providing an additional route to be in Portrush.
“A shame, but the Rome traffic jam played a bad trick on us,” he concludes. As we say, although he misses the final qualifier, Chacarra still has real chances to secure his ticket to what would be the third Major of his career.
Following this news, there will finally be six Spaniards competing in the final qualifier. Ángel Ayora remains ‘alone’ at West Lancashire. Additionally, at Royal Cinque Ports, David Puig, Luis Masaveu, and amateur Raúl Gómez will play. Rafa Cabrera Bello, on the other hand, will play at Dundonald Links alongside Ángel Hidalgo.
