Rob Oppenheim, Thomas Walsh share first-round lead at Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank

Things to know

• Rob Oppenheim and Thomas Walsh share the 18-hole lead after carding matching 8-under 65s.
• Oppenheim recorded a bogey-free 8-under 64, his lowest round of the season.
• Walsh rolled in seven birdies and an eagle against one bogey for his first 18-hole lead/co-lead on the Korn Ferry Tour.
• Four players sit one stroke behind the leaders at 7-under: Curtis Luck, Jon Pak, Garett Reband and Grant Hirschman.
• This week marks the sixth playing of the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank.
• The event made its return to the Korn Ferry Tour schedule last season after last being contested in 2015.
• Second-round tee times will run from 7:35 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. local time.

First-round lead notes

0 - First-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank

0 - First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Korn Ferry Tour in 2024

Charting the co-leaders

Rob Oppenheim (co-leader, -8)

• Carded a bogey-free 8-under 64, his lowest round of the season
• Birdied three of his first four holes (Nos. 1, 2, 4) with two more on the par-3 seventh and the par-5 ninth for a front-nine 31; rolled in three consecutive birdies on the par-4 12th and 13th while settling for a birdie on the par-5 14th after lipping out an eagle putt to finish with a back nine 33
• Marks his fourth appearance at the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank and first since 2015 (the event was not contested from 2016-22)
  • Best finish came in the 2012 inaugural playing when he finished T4 at 16-under
• Started all six events in the 2024 season, tallying one made cut (The Panama Championship/finished T48)
• Marks his fourth lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career and second 18-hole lead (T1/2017 2017 El Bosque Mexico Championship by Innova/finished T49))
• Making his 247th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour, has one career victory that came in 2015 at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open when he carded a 6-under 64 in the final round
• Made 51 cuts in 104 career starts on the PGA TOUR with four top-10 finishes; his best finish came at the 2021 Puerto Rico Open where he tied for seventh
• A four-time All-American at Rollins College, earning Division II Player of the Year honors in 2002 en route to helping lead Rollins College to a Division II National Championship
• Turned professional in 2002
• Native of Andover, Massachusetts and now resides in Orlando, Florida

Thomas Walsh (co-leader, -8)

• Began his round on the back nine where he made five birdies (par-4 10th, par-3 11th, par-4 13th, par-5 14th, par-4 17th) and an eagle on the par-5 18th against one bogey on the par-4 16th for a 30 on his first nine holes
• Tallied two more birdies on his second nine (Nos. 1 and 9) to finish with a first-round 8-under 64
• Making his second start in the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank (2022/T61)
• Marks the third lead or co-lead after any round of his Korn Ferry Tour career and the first 18-hole lead of his career
• Made the cut in three of five events to begin the season; best finish came in the form of a T3 at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard in Bogotá, Colombia, where he held the outright 54-hole lead
• In his third season on the Korn Ferry Tour he has made 46 career starts with five top-10s and a runner-up
  • Best career finish was a T2 last season at the Price Cutter Championship presented by Dr. Pepper
• Turned professional in 2019 and played primarily on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica during the 2020 season where he logged three top-25 finishes in seven starts
• Played collegiately at the University of Virginia for four seasons (2015-19), winning two individual titles, including the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, earning 2018 All-American third-team recognition

Quotables

Rob Oppenheim on his bogey-free 8-under 64… “I started out, made a 10-footer on one and about a 15-footer on two, so just kind of got the round going with a couple made putts. Then hit a few shots close. Overall, just a solid round. Did a little bit of everything and it was nice to get off to a good start. I haven't played great so far this year, so it's nice to get off to a good start to the week.”

Oppenheim on not starting the year the way he wanted… “I've been doing this a long time so you kind of know that you're going to go through ups and downs in a season. It's a long season, just started the year. This is a tough start, you're playing all these events out of the country, a lot of travel, the bus rides to and from the golf course, they're long weeks. This is the last one, so just trying to get off to finish the stretch in a good way. I've been working hard and you just never know when it's going to all come together. It's nice to start off with a good round today.”

John Pak on what he learned playing PGA TOUR Canada last season… “Just every shot matters and don't take a week – if you're not playing well, try to turn it into something good – don't just take it for granted. Out here every week, especially not having the greatest opportunity other than getting into Panama, taking advantage of every week.”

Notes

• John Pak (T3, -7), one of four players tied for third, carded a bogey-free 7-under 65 with birdies on four of his first five holes (Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5), making three more on the par-5 ninth, par-4 16th and the par-5 18th
  • Pak notably finished No. 1 in the inaugural PGA TOUR University Class of 2021; played four seasons at Florida State University (2017-21), winning eight times as an individual and garnering All-America honors all four seasons (first-team selection in 2019 and 2021, second-team honoree in 2020, and third-team selection in 2018)
  • Swept the three NCAA Division I national player of the year awards – Jack Nicklaus Award, Ben Hogan Award, Fred Haskins Award – in 2021, becoming the sixth player to sweep those honors since the creation of all three awards
  • In 10 PGA TOUR Canada events in 2023, made seven cuts and earned two top-10s and four top-25s
• Australian Curtis Luck (T3, -7) led the field in birdies with nine (Nos. 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18) on the day against two bogeys (Nos. 2 and 12)
  • Luck is making the 110th start of his Korn Ferry Tour career this week and his first appearance at the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank
• Grant Hirschman (T3, -7), making his third start of the season, turned in a bogey-free 7-under 65, highlighted by birdies on his first three holes of the day (par-4s first and second, par-5 third)
• In his second start of the season, Garett Reband (T3, -7) totaled eight birdies, including four consecutive on Nos. 8-11, against one bogey on the par-3 15th for a first-round 7-under 65
  • Reband competed on PGA TOUR Lationamérica last season where he made two cuts, including a T6 at the Kia Open
• Second-year member Tim Widing (T7, -6), who finished No. 46 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, posted a 6-under 66 with seven birdies (Nos. 3, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17) against one bogey on the par-13 15th
  • Widing is seeking his fifth made cut through six events this season; he has recorded three top-25 finishes and one top-10 (T8/Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard)
• German Thomas Rosenmueller (T7, -6) sat 1-over par at the turn Thursday before a back-nine 29 to finish with a first-round 6-under 66
• In his return home, Chilean Cristobal Del Solar (T13, -5) posted 5-under 67 with six birdies (Nos. 3, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18) against one bogey on the par-4 fifth
  • Last month, Del Solar set the lowest 18-hole score ever recorded in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event with a bogey-free 13-under 57 at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard
• 13 players recorded bogey-free rounds Thursday
• Of the 156 players in the field, 101 finished the first round under par