Rick Lamb holds first-round lead at Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard

Rick Lamb went bogey-free in his opening-round 8-under 62 on the Pacos course at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard, to lead by one over Colombian amateur Esteban Jaramillo and Fabián Gómez.

Charting the leader

Rick Lamb (first/8-under)

• Cards an opening round bogey-free 8-under 62 on the Pacos course, matching his career-low 18-hole score (2025 The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island/R1; 2024 LECOM Suncoast Classic/R2; 2021 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS/R1)
• Third 18-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour Career in what is his 129th start
• Making his fifth career start at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard; owns three made cuts in four previous starts with his best finish coming in the form of a T49 (2023)
• Finished No. 74 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List to earn fully exempt status for the 2025 season
• Made 15 cuts in 22 starts last season on Tour with four top-10 finishes
• Defeated Dominic Bozzelli, Rhein Gibson and C.T. Pan in a playoff to capture his first career Korn Ferry Tour victory at the 2016 LECOM Health Challenge, an event he open-qualified into
• Finished No. 24 in the 2016 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season money list to earn his first PGA TOUR card for the 2016-17 season
• Made 34 starts on the PGA TOUR with 13 made cuts, including a podium finish at the 2017 John Deere Classic (T3)
• Transferred to the University of Tennessee (2011-13) after two seasons at Santa Clara University (2009-2011); Named an All-American in 2013 at Tennessee and finished runner-up at the 2013 NCAA Championships as a senior

Additional player notes

• The 23-year-old Colombian amateur Esteban Jaramillo (T2/7-under), who is competing as a sponsor exemption this week, matches the lowest round by an amateur in a Korn Ferry Tour event with a 7-under 63 (last: Zachary Olsen/2017 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open/R4) and cards the lowest round by an amateur at the Astara Golf Championship (previous: Daniel Faccini/65/2024/R2).
• Two-time PGA TOUR winner Fabián Gómez (T2/7-under) posts a 7-under 63, matching his lowest opening-round score in any PGA TOUR-sanctioned event (2023 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX; 2009 BMW Charity Pro-Am).
• James Nicholas (T4/6-under), who is making his second career start at the Astara Golf Championship, turns in the low round of the day at the Lagos course with a 6-under 65; highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 18th.
• Two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Roger Sloan (T4/6-under) stands inside the top five after 18 holes of play for the first time since the 2018 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH (T1/finished T10).
• First-year member Harry Hillier (T4/6-under), who earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time with a No. 7 finish in the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Fortinet Cup, records the lowest round of his career with 6-under 64 in what is his fifth start on Tour.
• Colombian Ricardo Celia (T12/5-under), who finished T32 at last season’s Astara Golf Championship, made birdie on five of his final six holes (Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) en route to a 5-under 65.