Eugenio Chacarra will take a one-shot lead into the weekend of the 2026 Hero Indian Open as he looks to successfully defend his title at DLF Golf & Country Club.
The Spaniard carded a three under par round of 69 to reach eight under in Delhi, one ahead of playing partner Casey Jarvis who posted a sensational eight under 64, the best round of the week so far.
Chacarra secured his maiden DP World Tour title at the 2025 Hero Indian Open and has put himself in a strong position at the midway point in his quest to defend his title.
The 26-year-old, who began his second round on the tenth tee, made a slow start to Friday, recording a bogey on his opening hole and at the 14th.
He had to watch Jarvis pour in five birdies on the pair’s back nine but found a response with an eagle three at the 18th to get back to level par for the day and give himself some momentum to take through the turn.
A bogey from Chacarra at the third, where Jarvis made the second of another pair of consecutive birdies, was quickly cancelled out by a birdie at the fourth; in contrast, South African Jarvis recording his only blemish of the day.
A magnificent tee-shot to the island fifth set up another gain for the defending champion and both players made a late pair of birdies, Jarvis at the seventh and eighth and Chacarra at the eighth and ninth.
“I think the good vibes when I got here, the good memories came up and, when I’m having fun playing golf, I already proved I’m one of the best players in the world,” Chacarra said.
“It’s been a great two days, a great group obviously. Casey (Jarvis) and Francesco (Molinari) are great guys and tremendous players. Casey showed us all today on how to score, how to play golf and it was fun to watch.
“My game is there. I didn’t have the best of the starts on my putting, it’s not been the best the last two days, but I feel like my ball striking has been outstanding and around these places you have that you’re going to take advantage of the course.
“From the tee I’ve been really good and especially the driver – I think I hit it on five holes and I hit every fairway so that gives you advantage on the par fives.
“I like the grass, I like how it lies, I like to be imaginative on the greens. For me this is like real golf, it’s fun to play around. You need to think your way around, not just try to hit it hard and try to make up to make birdies. I’m enjoying my time and hopefully I can keep doing well and have a good weekend.
“Every time I tee off, I want to win. That’s the way I have been since I was little and that’s the goal. I’ve got a great team surrounding me. We didn’t have the greatest start of the season, but I think we’ve been working really hard and that’s showing. Obviously it will be great to win again but like I said, I try to win every time I tee off.”
MJ Daffue, who won last week’s DP World PGTI Open on the HotelPlanner Tour, was a shot further back in third, with first-round leader Freddy Schott five under after a battling 73 alongside Jacob Skov Olesen and Alex Fitzpatrick, who both have four holes left to play as round two was suspended due to darkness.
Frenchman Ugo Coussaud sits in seventh place on four under par, while Scottish duo David Law and Euan Walker, New Zealand’s Nick Voke, England’s Matthew Baldwin and Spaniard Quim Vidal are a shot further back in eighth.
Players will return to finish their second round on Saturday at 7:15am local time, with third round action to commence later in the morning.
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