Eugenio Chacarra Takes Italian Open Lead as Niemann Stumbles

Eugenio Chacarra fired a seven-birdie 65 to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the DS Automobiles 83° Open d’Italia at Circolo Golf Torino. The Spaniard finished Saturday at 17-under par after reeling in long-time leader Joaquín Niemann with three consecutive birdies from the 15th.

Niemann and Matt Wallace, both at 15-under, will join Chacarra in Sunday’s final three-ball, with start times brought forward due to the weather forecast.

Niemann’s back nine unravels

Niemann looked in full control for most of the afternoon. He went out in 32 with five birdies and was briefly five strokes clear approaching the turn. At the ninth, he faced a 51-foot eagle putt to extend that margin, rolled it three feet past, then missed the return. The three-putt par became a turning point: three successive bogeys followed.

Wallace and Chacarra both moved to within two, only for the 13th to bite back. Wallace found water in front of the green, while Chacarra three-putted from 44 feet. Both bogeyed. Wallace recovered with a birdie at the 14th, but it was Chacarra who finished strongest, birdieing the 15th, 16th and 17th to pull clear. Niemann dropped another shot at the 15th before a birdie at the 17th steadied his round, but he finished by going over the green at the last and signed for a 71.

Chacarra’s mindset for Sunday

The 26-year-old from Madrid is chasing his third DP World Tour title and a second straight win after this month’s KLM Open. He made his breakthrough at the 2025 Hero Indian Open.

“I think I did a great job staying patient like I did all week,” Chacarra said. “That’s one of the things I work a lot with my team and with my mental coach, just control what I can control, and that’s my game, my decisions, my swings.”

He acknowledged the course remains scorable. “Tomorrow with the early tee time, greens are going to be a little more receptive. So obviously people can go low.”

Wallace, who set the course record with a 62 on Friday, backed it up with a solid 67. “You can’t win it on Saturday and it felt out there a few times that people were trying to win it today, and I was just trying to stick in,” he said. “Tomorrow’s my day to go out there and try and win it.”

Niemann, despite a back nine of 39, remained upbeat. “After shooting a 39 on a back nine, and on Saturday, I still have a chance to win tomorrow,” he said. “I’m lucky.”

Chasing pack

Ángel Ayora and Nicolai von Dellingshausen shared fourth place at 13-under, with Von Dellingshausen surging into contention via a bogey-free 64. Dylan Frittelli sat one stroke further back after his own 64.

Jeff Winther (63) and Richie Ramsay reached 11-under, while Italian amateur Filippo Ponzano produced one of the rounds of the day, a 66 that began with five straight birdies.

Circolo Golf Torino, which is staging the Italian Open for the first time since 2014, has already yielded a 62, a 63 and multiple 64s this week. Sunday’s final group will tee off with the title still up for grabs.

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