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I bought a car three years ago. A nice car. An Audi A4 that was only a handful of years old and with 30,000 miles on the clock.
I won’t lie, it was a wee treat to myself. An ‘attaboy’ with alloys.
The guy at the dealership didn’t need to give it the big sell but, bless him, he wasn’t to know that.
“If I could, I’d buy it myself.”
“Unbelievable condition.”
“You can’t go wrong with a German car.”
“Made with the very best parts.”
Dude, shut up and take my money.
Alas, thirteen months later, I was trading it in. The clutch had gone. So, too, the gearbox. And when they went, so did a bunch of other stuff.
By the time the damned thing was back on the road, I was £6,000 worse off.
And you know what? It was totally my fault.
Did I buy an extended warranty that would largely have covered me? Nope. Did I Google ‘most common issues with an Audi A4’? As if. Did I do any research of any kind? Not even for a split second.
Instead, I sat nodding away like Garth Crooks as Arnold Clark’s finest walked me through the terms and conditions.
My bad.
I don’t think about it often – for plainly obvious reasons – but Eugenio Chacarra’s comments about LIV Golf at the weekend brought it all back. Like me with my car, he was seduced by the good bits and seemingly paid no mind to the bad.
In any event, the young Spaniard was cut loose by the Saudi-funded league when his contract expired at the end of last year. And let’s just say he’s no feliz.
“On LIV, nothing changes, there is only money,” groused Chacarra. “It doesn’t matter if you finish 30th or first, only money. I’m not a guy who wants more money. What will change my life is playing in Hawaii and qualifying for the majors, qualifying for the Masters, the Ryder Cup.
“When I joined LIV, they promised OWGR and majors. But it didn’t happen. I trusted them. I was the first young guy, then the others came after I made the decision. But OWGR and majors still hasn’t happened.”
Heavy “my girlfriend, who I loved very much, just dumped me and, honest to God, I never liked her in the first place” vibes.
Compare and contrast with what the same Eugenio Chacarra said when he joined LIV in June 2022.
“My position is that of a player who is not a member of the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour and I have not earned money while I have been an amateur, so I can play in this league without problems,” he said.
“This contract gives me peace of mind and ensures the future of my family. I had already achieved everything as an amateur and now I will be able to gain experience as a professional.
“They have given me an opportunity, and my grandfather always told me that when you have (an opportunity) to take the train. On this circuit, they not only wanted legends, but young players with projection, and Greg Norman has noticed me.
“Here, the philosophy is that the players start with a contract and that gives security. There will be people who do not think it is good and there are others who have chosen this option.”
He went on to describe the offer shoved under his nose as “irrejectable”.
Except it was. And maybe he should have.
Chacarra was a young amateur when LIV came along, offered him a huge cheque, made a ton of promises and, in the nicest possible way, he made his bed.
He talks of being promised world ranking points and major starts – and yet he must surely have known that there were zero guarantees. No matter how earnest the assurances made by Norman & Co., he should have known that, without anything having been agreed or announced, he was taking a leap of faith.
He weighed it all up and jumped.
That’s why where he finds himself now is entirely on him. It was his decision to make, and make it he did. Take some responsibility. Don’t suddenly start throwing shade and other stuff beginning with ‘sh’ just because it didn’t work out.
When it launched, the only thing LIV was in a position to offer anybody was money. Everything else was an unknown. A hope. A dream. A “well, if we get our way”.
Chacarra took them at their word, presumably because it was too lucrative not to. And therein lies his mistake; a mistake he should have the maturity and sensibility to own. Instead, he wants your pity.
Chacarra wasn’t some helpless, down-on-his-luck, nowhere-to-turn-and-nobody-to-turn-to weakling whose lack of options was shamelessly exploited by Big Bad Greg. He was the world No.2 amateur, a two-time first-team All-American at Oklahoma State University who was inside the top-five on the PGA Tour University Rankings as recently as April 2022.
He had options galore, and no doubt plenty of people he could call on for advice.
When push came to shove, he picked LIV, got rich overnight, made 27 guaranteed starts for guaranteed money, and rubbed shoulders with major champions, former world No.1s, Ryder Cup stars and more.
He did well out of it.
But now – and only now – he’s pleading unfair treatment? What a load of Fireballs. I’d play him a tune but there’s not a violin small enough.
His remarks about Ludvig Aberg – I’ll spare you the details but he’s jealous of the young Swede and the attention lavished upon him – speaks to an ego in need of a reality check.
Maybe being kicked to the kerb by LIV will prove to be just that. Perhaps he’ll be all the better – tougher, at least – for the experience.
I genuinely hope it works out for Chacarra. He’s a terrific young player. He just needs a bit of Kipling in his life.
If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same… you’ll be a man, mi amigo.
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Michael McEwan is the 2023 PPA Scotland ‘Columnist of the Year’ and ‘Writer of the Year’
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