Cristobal Del Solar made history Thursday in Bogota, Colombia.
The 30-year-old, who went to college at Florida State, shot 13-under 57 during the opening round of the Astara Golf Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour at the Pacos Course at Country Club de Bogata. It’s the first time in the history of professional golf that someone has shot 57 on a par-70 layout, and it’s the ninth sub-60 round on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The score is the lowest ever in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
“Incredible, man,” Del Solar said. “Honestly, I was just playing. I didn’t even know what I was at. Actually, I asked my caddie on the 18th after hitting my 18th tee shot, we were just walking and I told him, I was like, hey, am I going to break 60, because I’ve never broken 60 before. He was like, you’re going to break a little bit more than 60. Yeah, I mean, I played really good golf. I drove the ball well, chipped it well, putted well. Yeah, I mean, I’m happy. It was a great round.”
Del Solar tied history with an 8-under 27 on the front nine, the lowest nine-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history. He had six birdies and an eagle on the 330-yard par-4 ninth.
On the back nine, the Chilean added another eagle at the par-5 12th to move to 11 under after 12 holes. Birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 moved him to 13 under thru 15. Pars on the last three holes saw him sign for his record-setting 57.
The Pacos course is the shortest on the Korn Ferry Tour, playing at 6,254 yards, as well as being nearly 9,000 feet above sea level. However, narrow fairways and tricky greens always create challenges for players, and there had never been a sub-60 score until Thursday.
“It had to be a specific type of course to kind of do this stuff,” Del Solar said. “Obviously if it’s difficult, the score’s going to be higher. I haven’t even broken 60 practicing on my home course, and my home course is pretty difficult. I’m excited. I mean, maybe if I play from the women’s tee I’ll break 60 someday there. But I’m just happy, it was a great round.”
In 2019, David Carey shot 11-under 57 on the Alps Tour at the Cervino Open.
Del Solar has played three events on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. His lowest round before the 57 on Thursday was a 67.
Last week, Joaquin Niemann shot 11-under 59 in the opening round of LIV Golf Mayakoba en route to his victory. Last year, Bryson DeChambeau shot 58 at LIV Golf Greenbrier. The only 58 in PGA Tour history was Jim Furyk at the Travelers Championship in 2016.
Now, Del Solar has his own piece of history.
