Eugenio Chacarra pulled ahead of the rest of the field.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Eugenio Chacarra stayed on course to try and become only the fourth golfer to successfully defend his Hero Indian Open title with a four-stroke lead at the top on the penultimate day at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Saturday.
A win on Sunday would also make the Spaniard the first to do so on this course that has hosted the event since 2017. SSP Chawrasia was the last golfer to defend his title in 2017 but his 2016 win had come at the Delhi Golf Club. Before that, Jyoti Randhawa too had successive wins at the DGC.
Chacarra, who won last year as one of only three players in the red on what is considered to be one of the toughest venues on the DP World Tour, shot a 70 for a three-day total of 10-under 206. The lowest four-day total belongs to Japan’s Keita Nakajima, who shot a 17-under to win in 2024.
A well-judged putt on the seventh secured the first of three successive birdies. He then made back-to-back bogeys on the 13th and 14th. But Casey Jarvis, his nearest challenger at the time, did worse with a bogey and a double on the same holes to ease pressure on Chacarra.
MJ Daffue and Alex Fitzpatrick were tied second with Freddy Schott and David Law a further shot back. Jack Senior at five-under had the best round for the day to be tied 10th. Experienced Om Prakash Chouhan was the best of the three Indians in the fray – Kshitij Naveed Kaul sinking an eagle on the 8th hole early in the morning en route to completing his overnight second round to sneak past the cut line — at one-over for tied 20th.
Top scores: 206: Eugenio Chacarra (Esp, 67-69-70); 210: Alex Fitzpatrick (Eng, 70-68-72), MJ Daffue (RSA, 71-67-72); 211: David Law (Sco, 71-70-70), Freddy Schott (Ger, 66-73-72); 212: Andy Sullivan (Eng, 72-71-69), Ewen Ferguson (Sco, 70-73-69), Casey Jarvis (RSA, 73-64-75); 213: Euan Walker (Sco, 71-70-72); 214: Calum Hill (Sco, 69-73-72), Jack Senior (Eng, 73-74-67), Ugo Coussaud (Fra, 71-69-74); Indians: Om Prakash Chouhan 217 (73-71-73), Manoj S 222 (76-70-76), Kshitij Naveed Kaul 225 (73-75-77).
Published – March 28, 2026 08:50 pm IST
