Golf: Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra eventually wins inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship after longest play-off in Asian Tour history
Chacarra made a par on the par-five 18th, two putting from 30 feet, while Jones, 20 years his senior, missed a five-footer for a five at Fairmont St Andrews – after one of the most exciting ever finishes on the Asian Tour.
Both players had birdied the final hole in normal time to finish tied on 19-under, with Chacarra carding a five-under-par 67 and Jones a 69.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAustralian Andrew Dodt (68) and Jaco Ahlers (69) from South African finished one stroke short of the play-off.
Chile’s Mito Pereira and Gaganjeet Bhullar from India both returned 70s, and were another shot back.
The previous longest play-off took place at the 2001 SK Telecom Open in Korea, when local player Charlie Wi triumphed after seven holes against countryman Kang Wook-soon and Simon Yates from Scotland.
“It was a long day,” said Chacarra.
“Happy it came out my way, but I mean, Matt had a tremendous day as well. Tremendous 10 holes, I think we all know he's a great player. Thank you very much it came out my way but I'm sure Matt will win a lot of more events.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“It was amazing, I think the Asian Tour is doing amazing things. I mean, they're growing the game of golf and I had a lot of fun.
"We normally don't get these good days in Scotland, so it was awesome. I mean, obviously I got the win so it would make it a little more fun, but it was awesome.
"Yeah, thanks to the Asian Tour and International Series for what they're doing and hopefully we can come back a lot more years.”
This is 23-year-old Chacarra’s first 72-hole victory since turning professional last year, while he also claimed the individual title in last year’s LIV Golf Bangkok.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdTwo-time Australian Open winner Jones, who like Chacarra plays on the LIV Golf League, was looking for his first win since the 2021 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour and felt it was his putting that let him down.
He said: “I threw away a golf tournament with the way I putted during the tournament, and in the play-off. I putted pretty awful all week."
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.