Eugenio López Chacarra was going full throttle in the final round of the Volvo China Open after pulling a magical birdie out of the hat on the 9th hole at the Enhance Anting Golf Club. The initial problems, with two bogeys on holes 1 and 5, were behind him, and he was leading the tournament solo with a score of -13. The 9th hole was the third most difficult today, and until the Spaniard arrived, only three birdies had been made. Chacarra achieved it with an excellent putt from off the green.
The tournament headed into the final nine holes with the Spaniard in command and with power. He had also made an ‘easy’ birdie on the 8th and was showing vital signs very similar to those of the last day at the Hero Indian Open, where he achieved his first victory on the DP World Tour two weeks ago.
At the same time, Haotong Li, the great favourite and playing partner of Eugenio, couldn’t hit a clean shot. Jordan Smith was the one pressing the most from behind, but a double bogey on the 9th, with an unplayable ball from the tee, left him shivering. Yannik Paul hadn’t said his last word, although he wasn’t the living image of solidity either. Tapio Pulkkanen held on as best he could, going every time he had lost the tournament, and coming back every time he seemed to be a real alternative. Zecheng Dou clung to the lead with tooth and nail, but without showing strength. There was no news of Ashun Wu… Everything was in favour of the Spaniard’s second consecutive victory, a historic feat rarely repeated on the circuit, although last season Dean Burmester and Louis Oosthuizen achieved it.
Chacarra arrives at the 10th tee, bends down, touches the grass of the tee with his fingers, and crosses himself. The last nine holes of the tournament begin. The moment of truth. Any help is little. The truth is that both he and Li play at full speed, it’s appreciated, although precisely because of this they have to wait a while to hit that tee shot.
Perhaps because of this, who knows, it certainly isn’t a help for a fast golfer, Chacarra misses his tee shot with the driver, one of the few errors in this area all week. He closes it more than necessary and ends up in the hungry bushes that define this Shanghai course by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Suddenly, his determined and powerful march is halted. He’s lucky to find his ball, but he can barely get it back to the fairway, he protects too much to the right with his third shot and can’t make the recovery. Bogey.
Eugenio loses the lead and momentum, but remains the main favourite for the win. However, the tournament takes a sudden turn on holes 13 and 14. The Madrid native misses two very short par putts. Two three-putts fall at the worst moment and now he does lose crucial ground. In five holes, he has signed a three-over-par and is forced to attack to regain the initiative. He won’t achieve it…
Coinciding with Chacarra’s bad moment, the figure of Ashun Wu emerges. The Chinese comes from nowhere, picking up the baton of local hope left on the ground by the erratic Haotong Li. His tournament finish is tremendous. He starts with a birdie on the 8th, adds two more on the 10th and 11th, adds another on the 13th, one more on the 15th, and seals this definitive blow with a final one on the 17th. His six-under-par in the last ten holes is unanswerable. He finishes with -14 half an hour before the star match. Already there, it seems like a winning score, although there will be two final attacks.
Jordan Smith leaves himself a chance to force a playoff, but his eagle putt on the 18th has no chance of going in. On the other hand, Haotong Li hits one of the shots of the tournament on the 17th tee, a short par 4, and leaves himself an eagle chance that he converts. The incredible things of Li. In a second, he goes from being sentenced to leaving himself a chance for a finale for the annals. However, he needs another eagle on the 18th, a par 5. He hits with everything from the tee and leaves nothing in the second, a big wood to the green seeking the flag. It’s a very risky shot and he’s just a metre left of being glorious. It ends up in the hazard, he can play it, but it’s impossible, half submerged in water, and he finishes with a bogey.
The Volvo China Open is for Ashun Wu with -14, one stroke ahead of Jordan Smith (-13), two over Yannik Paul (-12), and three over Chacarra, Li, and Dou. It’s the fifth victory for the Chinese golfer on the DP World Tour and, above all, the most significant. Not in vain, he didn’t have the DP World Tour card in 2025. He lost it last year by just a handful of points and had only been able to play four tournaments. This friendly and veteran 39-year-old player guarantees himself two more years on the circuit and reconquers the Volvo China Open ten years later. It was precisely in this tournament where he achieved his first victory on the DP World Tour in 2015. A perfect cycle.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, beyond that fourth place of Chacarra, a Sunday to forget. Only Nacho Elvira (-3) managed to play under par, with a card of 69 strokes. One of those golf rounds where many valuable points slip away. Special mention for Joel Moscatel. He started the day at the doors of the top 10, five strokes from the lead, and finished with a card of 77 strokes in 36th place. A too cruel end. A tough day at the office that serves to keep learning and growing.
