Spencer Ralston, Julian Etulain share first-round lead at Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank

About the leaders:

Julián Etulain (T1/-8)

• Cards a bogey-free 8-under 63 via six birdies (Nos. 3, 4, 9, 10, 13, 17) and one eagle (No. 18) to post his lowest opening round since the 2018 Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS (62/-9)
• Second 18-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career in what is his 167th start (other: 2018 Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS/finished first)
• Finished T47 at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard via sponsor exemption as a conditional member, climbed the Korn Ferry Tour Priority Ranking following the first reshuffle
• Ties the lowest opening round of the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank (others: Tain Lee/63/2015, Spencer Ralston/63/2025) and shares the lowest first-round score in the tournament’s history at Prince Wales Country Club with Ralston
• Best finish in three previous starts at the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank is T40/2012
• Earned his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the 2018 Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS in his 73rd career start on Tour
• Made 50 starts on the PGA TOUR with 27 made cuts, highlighted by a top-five finish at the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans; earned his first PGA TOUR card for the 2016-17 season via a No. 20 finish on the 2016 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season money list and regained membership for the second time for the 2018-19 season through a No. 17 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season money list
• Made seven cuts in 13 starts on PGA TOUR Americas last season with three top-10s to finish No. 29 in the Fortinet Cup.

Spencer Ralston (T1/-8)

• Holds first 18-hole lead/co-lead in a Korn Ferry Tour event, with his previous career-high 18-hole position being T6/2022 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH (finished T10)
• Records his lowest opening round on the Korn Ferry Tour in 8-under 63 (previous: 66/twice/2022 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH, 2023 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health)
• Cards one eagle (No. 18) and seven birdies (Nos. 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 17) against one bogey in the first round
• Seeking first made cut of the season in what is his fourth start
• Ties the lowest opening round of the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank (others: Tain Lee/63/2015, Julián Etulain/63/2025) and shares the lowest first-round score in the tournament’s history at Prince Wales Country Club with Etulain
• Best finish in two previous starts at the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank is T47/2024
• Finished T50 at Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Q-School to earn conditional status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season
• Played five seasons at the University of Georgia (2016-21); teammates with PGA TOUR winner Davis Thompson for four seasons (2017-21) and two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Greyson Sigg for one season (2016-17)

Additional player notes:

• Korn Ferry Tour rookie and the highest-ranked player in the field, Kensei Hirata (T3/-6), sits inside the top-three following the first round for the second time this season (other: T2/The Panama Championship/finished T17).
• In his first season on the Korn Ferry Tour, Caleb VanArragon (T3/-6) establishes a new career-high 18-hole position (previous: T28/2025 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club/finished T19) and posts his career-low round in 6-under 65 (previous: 6-under 66/2025 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club).
• In what is his eighth career start on the Korn Ferry Tour, rookie Marcus Plunkett (T6/-5) posts his career-low round in 5-under 66 (previous: 2-under 68/2025 The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island) earning starts in the first eight events of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season via a T43 finish in what was his first appearance at Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
• Making his first appearance at the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank, Nicolo Galletti (T6/-5) establishes a new career-high 18-hole position (previous: T43/2025 The Panama Championship/finished T59) and cards a career-low round in 5-under 66 (previous: 3-under 67/2025 The Panama Championship); finished T26 at Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, earning starts in the first 12 events of the 2025 season.
• Colombian Marcelo Rozo (T6/-5), who co-led after the first round of last week’s 118th Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro (finished T11), stands inside the top-10 following the first round for the second time this season.
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Jorge Fernández Valdés (T6/-5) looks for his first made cut in his fifth start of the season; sits inside the top-10 following the first round for the first time since the 2024 Panama Championship.
• Hank Lebioda, the current No. 1 player on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, cards a bogey-free 2-under 69 and sits T39.