With the arrival of the pleasant winter sun, golfers emerge like snails populating the Madrid courses. It's mid-morning on a January Saturday at one of the impressive four courses of the Real Club de La Moraleja. Here, they have been seeing Eugenio and Carolina López Chacarra for years. They stood out as children. Now, like Christmas turrones, they come back home only for Christmas, but they do so as golf references, with the curiosity that two siblings have reached the elite. There are some male siblings, but they, a boy and a girl, are unique. Only the Australian Min Woo Lee, winner of a PGA tournament, and his sister Minjee Lee, with 11 victories in the LPGA (three Majors), are a similar case.
"Since we were little, we trained together, and that helps, but without our parents, it would have been very complicated to get where we are," says Eugenio, the older and more well-known. He played in the LIV Golf, being the first Spaniard to win. He triumphed on the Asian Circuit and left the Saudi league demotivated and aimless until last year when he won at the DP World Tour playing in India with an invitation. This will finally be his first season with a full schedule and a very clear roadmap.
"Euge is the reason why I play. When I was little, golf didn't interest me either, but since he played, I started. He is my reference at all times. Someone who has fulfilled his dreams through hard work, and that encourages me to keep going," says Carolina, three years younger than Eugenio, the new sensation of Spanish women's golf. She had a great amateur career, but her breakthrough came in her first month as a professional with one of the feats of the year: in two weeks, she secured the cards to play on the demanding American and European circuits, a feat achieved by few.
"One could be a coincidence, but two," says Ignacio López Chacarra, although the father of the siblings downplays his role. "The sacrifice of both and their daily work throughout the year," he defines as the key to success. Eugenio's gaze exudes fire. His eagerness to conquer the world on every course is contagious. Carolina seems more serene and composed. "We are very similar in many things, but very different in others," they affirm, although both agree that in terms of golf, they have more similarities. "Both of us are good at the long game, and our results depend a bit more on putting; perhaps we have always trained more on the long game," says Eugenio, who was close to winning in South Africa at the end of 2025: "I finished third, ranking around 80th in putting statistics."
Maribel Coto, the mother, is another pillar of the family. In fact, she did not leave her daughter's side during the qualifying school in the United States or in Morocco, where she secured the European Tour card. In America, supported by her mother, Carolina's first call was to her brother. "If you do something, do it as best as you can," is the advice she has always given her sister, although she admits that disagreements are not uncommon. "I don't tell her what she wants to hear, I tell her what I believe is good for her." Carolina interrupts her brother: "A sibling is there for the good and the bad; he has already experienced everything I am going through, he has helped me a lot." Their parents acknowledge that they did not have to push their children to train. It was more the other way around, and there was only one condition: golf was allowed if their school grades were good. "At least a B," adds Ignacio.
Driven by the hunger to win, Eugenio has trained every day during this preseason: "I didn't care, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, January 1st...". His season will start in just a few days in Dubai, and he is in the best shape ever: "It has been the best preseason of my life, and I have surrounded myself with the best possible team," he says. Pello Iguarán is his new and experienced caddie, the only Spaniard with a major in his record, the Open he won alongside Francesco Molinari. On the other hand, Carolina is more composed: "I am very eager, but due to my rookie status, I cannot enter the first tournaments. I will probably have to wait until March in China to debut in the LPGA. You always dream of winning in your first year, it would be a dream, but I have to keep improving and learning," she says calmly.
Eugenio is very clear: "My main goal is to play and win on the PGA Tour." After his time in the LIV Golf, he has served the corresponding sanction and does not rule out being able to compete this year in America through an invitation or a previous qualification. Eugenio is currently around the 120th position in the world and is not far from the Top 100, which would give him access to one of the majors, the PGA Championship, where he competed last year.
The recent news of Brooks Koepka's resignation, the first major dropout from the LIV Golf, does not surprise him. "The truth is that it did not surprise me; I experienced something similar. I made that decision, and time has proven me right: I am more motivated, much better in terms of gameplay and physically, and I suppose that at his level, Koepka must have gone through a similar process to mine," he points out.
During July, Eugenio went viral on his social media with a post about a day of golf and lunch with the President of the United States himself, Donald Trump. His friendship with the president and his family stems from his time in the LIV Golf. "I am fortunate to be very close friends with the Trump family; it all started in the LIV Golf when I played with Erik, his son. We had a good match, got along well, stayed in touch, and then I was lucky enough to be made a Trump ambassador; I carry his logo on the bag. I see him as someone I can ask for help and advice, I talk to him quite often, and with Erik, and they are people who have always helped me. Putting politics aside, which I don't get involved in, they are magnificent people, and I am delighted to have them supporting me. Now that it's very cold in Oklahoma, I go to their courses in Florida." I play matches with everyone, have a relationship with the whole family; they have always treated me as one of their own."
From the first day they played, Eugenio was surprised by the competitive level of the president: "He is very good for someone almost 80 years old, he likes to win, and it's always fun to play with him; there are always bets and laughter. It is very surprising to me, at his age, how long and well he hits the ball. We usually play on his courses, which he knows well, he rarely misses, and he is very competitive; it's fun to play with him."
One of the things that never ceases to amaze Eugenio in his encounters with Trump is the security surrounding the most powerful man in the world. "I have played with him when he was not president and when he was. Before, he had security, but now it's madness: there are about 300 people behind you, between security and secret service, there are agents hidden in the trees, snipers, they always cut three holes ahead and three holes behind, it's like being in a video game. He is one of the most powerful people in the world, but when I'm with him, you forget that and I see him as a friend. You are not aware that you are playing with someone who can change the world from one day to the next."