Eugenio Chacarra will make history next week.
Chacarra will play the Puerto Rico Open on a sponsor exemption, becoming the first former LIV Golf member to receive an invite to a PGA Tour event.
The 25-year-old Chacarra, who starred at Oklahoma State, joined LIV out of college in 2022, but his contract with Fireballs GC was not renewed after the 2024 season. Chacarra transitioned to playing DP World Tour events, winning the 2025 Hero Indian Open.
“Playing LIV was a tremendous opportunity for me, for my family, for my future family,” Chacarra said Tuesday. “It was something that we thought at the time was the best for me, and I don’t regret anything of it. … But my dream since I was little was to be on the PGA Tour, so I thought it was time for me. Like I said, back in the day when I left, that I’m going to try to go back to my best level, get my game where it needs to be. I know when my game’s good, I can compete with all the best players in the world. Yeah, I’m excited to have a chance to compete on the PGA Tour.”
Chacarra’s exemption comes after Laurie Canter became the first player to qualify for and play in a PGA Tour event, at last year’s Players Championship. Canter earned his PGA Tour card for this season via the Race to Dubai, though he opted to rejoin LIV this year. Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour as a full-time member at the Farmers Insurance Open via the Returning Member Program, which was created after Koepka decided to leave LIV this past December.
Chacarra served a year-long suspension from the PGA Tour that ended last September. He has, however, already teed it up in a co-sanctioned PGA Tour tournament since leaving LIV, missing the cut at last summer’s Genesis Scottish Open. Before that, he qualified for the PGA Championship last May via his play internationally but missed the cut there, too. As an amateur, Chacarra played three PGA Tour events, including the 2021 Sanderson Farms, where he tied for 45th, his best career finish.
Recently, Chacarra has been on a mental-health break from competitive golf. After missing two of his last three cuts, he withdrew from last week’s Magical Kenya Open.
“Lately, the biggest challenge hasn’t been physical – it’s been mental,” Chacarra wrote on social media. “I believe in being honest about the ups and downs, and right now I need time to reset, heal, and take care of my mind so I can come back stronger, healthier, and truly ready to compete. It hurts to step away from competing that’s what I most love, but sometimes the strongest thing you can do is listen to yourself.”
Chacarra has spent the past few weeks home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He’s been practicing at Southern Hills, where he is a member, and the Cowboys’ home facility, Karsten Creek. He’s lost some weight in recent months as he strives it get healthier. He also had his wisdom teeth removed last week.
“We all know how golf is,” Chacarra said. “One day it’s there, one day it’s not there. I’m trying to be more steady, not highs and downs. And, yeah, I’m excited to see where my game is with the PGA Tour. I feel like it’s pretty much my first PGA Tour event for me being healthy and being getting my game where I want it to.”
Chacarra’s immediate goal: Win, or at least finish top 10 in Puerto Rico.
And if not, head back to the DP World Tour, play his way into majors (he’s currently No. 141 in the world) and aim for a top-10 finish in the Race to Dubai to get his PGA Tour card that way (he’s No. 27 in points thanks to a third at the Alfred Dunhill last December).
“When I’m playing good, I’m capable of winning,” Chacarra said. “I already proved that to myself and to the world. So, obviously every time I go tee off, I want to win. So, that will be the first goal. But like I said, I have also started pretty decent on the DP World Tour rankings this year. ... If I keep playing good out there I also have a chance to get my PGA Tour card through there. But every opportunity I can have on the PGA Tour and get sponsor invite or hopefully finish top 10 in Puerto Rico or win, and that will make my path even easier. The goal is to try to get better every single day, work hard, and hopefully that will lead me to the PGA Tour, I don’t know, in a month, in a week, or in a couple years.
“But obviously the goal is to be out there as soon as possible.”