Throughout the history of golf there have been a number of epic playoffs and, at the St Andrews Bay Championship, we were treated to yet another, with Eugenio Chacarra defeating Matt Jones at the 10th playoff hole to pick up the title.
Both LIV golfers had finished 19-under-par for the tournament, with both men looking to build momentum with just three LIV tournaments remaining. However, it was the 23-year-old Spaniard who got the better of the veteran, Jones, with Chacarra parring the 10th playoff hole to win a first Asian Tour title.
We are heading into a playoff here at the 𝗦𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽!⛳Matt Jones and @Eugeniochacarra are tied at the top on -19 after carding 69 and 67 respectively in regulation play. Back to the 18th tee!#SABC #InternationalSeries #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/kjuKSoay4gAugust 27, 2023
“It was a long day,” said Chacarra, who adds to his LIV Golf Bangkok title from last October. “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."
He went on to add: “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.”
Starting the day, a number of players could have secured the title but, after a 67 from Chacarra, and a 69 from Jones, the two would face off in a playoff. After both birdied the first three playoff holes, it seemed to be advantage Chacarra, with the Spaniard making birdie as Jones was faced with a tricky chip.
However, Jones would chip in to extend the playoff further and, when both birdied the 18th for a sixth time, the playoff was forced to move to the par 3 17th. Eventually, after a few pars, it was Jones who couldn't mimic his opponent, with the 43-year-old missing a six-footer to take it to an 11th playoff hole.
The playoff was the longest in Asian Tour history and, according to Jones, it was a tournament which slid by the Aussie, with Jones stating: “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. I missed a lot of short ones. My speed was terrible, but I hit some nice shots. It is always good to get into contention, but I am done now, I am tired.”
Such was the length of the playoff, it was just one hole short of the all-time longest sudden-death play-off: the 1949 Motor City Open, between Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum, which lasted 11 holes before they decided to share the honours.
