Chacarra becoming local legend with Cedar Ridge ace, Golf Club of Oklahoma record
By Ken MacLeod
Whatever the future holds for 24-year-old Spanish golfer Eugenio Chacarra, the present has been pretty entertaining for the former Oklahoma State star.
Finally mostly recovered from a hip injury he suffered playing basketball in his final season at OSU in 2022, one that had seemingly gotten progressively worse despite early success in his three years playing on the LIV golf circuit, Chacarra has been pulling off some incredible local feats while waiting to see what his professional future holds.
He finished 39th in LIV standings this year and his contract with The Fireballs was not renewed by captain Sergio Garcia. He is a free agent but could potentially sign with another LIV team or his future may be elsewhere. He is currently off to play three events on the Asian Tour including the Hong Kong Open, International Series Qatar and PIF Saudi International.
Chacarra, who moved to the Tulsa area this year to be near his girlfriend, has a membership at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Broken Arrow. While there playing with three friends on Aug. 29, Chacarra became the first player ever to make a hole-in-one on the course’s quirky par-4 third hole.
The hole is a sharp dogleg to the left with a split-level green bordered by a pond on the right, but from the back tees a few golfers attempt to drive the green by hitting a high fade over the tall intervening trees. Chacarra did just that, hitting a drive that covered most of the intervening 326 yards and made a pitch mark on the green.
“When I hit it, I literally said that it could be in the hole, short or off the green in the pond,” Chacarra said. “There was no way to see where it landed.”
When two of his friends reached the green, Chacarra was back in the fairway with his other friend who was playing the hole the way it’s designed. No one saw his ball anywhere so they took a look in the cup. Sure enough. “And then all four of us went nuts,” Chacarra said.
Fast forward to Nov, 7 and Chacarra was playing his first round ever at the Golf Club of Oklahoma, a course he instantly liked due partly to its similarities to OSU’s home course Karsten Creek, as both are Tom Fazio creations carved out of rolling wooded terrain, with each hole providing a sense of isolation.
Taking video of the round was Ross MacDonald, the owner of Tour Quality, the respected home of custom club repair, component assembly, equipment sales and golf simulators located on Sheridan Road in Tulsa. The two met at Tour Quality and have become friends.
Playing from the back tees, Chacarra began the round by making birdie on the par-5 first hole and then made birdies on five of the next six holes to get to 6-under par through seven holes.
“I was hitting everything pretty close and making a lot of 8 to 15-footers,” he said. “The game just feels great and all the hard work I’ve been putting in is paying off.”
The hiccup of the round was making par on the par-5 eighth and then bogey on the par-4 ninth to make the turn at 5-under. But he went on to shoot 4-under on the back for what is believed to be a course record 63, the lowest round ever shot from the back tees at the course that opened in 1983 and has hosted two events on The Ben Hogan Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) as well as many other competitive events. The previous record from the back tees of 64 was shared by pros Karsten Majors and Jake Istnick.
While he waits for clarity on his professional future – and who knows what will happen regarding any potential merger with LIV and the PGA Tour – Chacarra again feels like the golfer who was the No. 2 ranked amateur in the world when he left OSU to join LIV, not the one struggled through much of 2024.
“I like living in Tulsa and playing at Cedar Ridge and sometimes Southern Hills,” he said. “My girlfriend has a good job and I’m only an hour away from my coach (former OSU assistant Donnie Darr). I love the state of Oklahoma and the way it has embraced me and I’m grateful to be in the position I’m in. Hopefully now I am going to start playing great again.”
Keep an eye out for Chacarra if he comes to a course near you, who knows what feat is next? Making an ace on No. 3 at Cedar Ridge and a course record in your first crack at The Golf Club of Oklahoma is how legends get started.