American Ian Holt and Canadian Stuart Macdonald have taken the first round lead at the Panama Championships.
The first round of the golf championships in the Korn Ferry Tour was suspended due to darkness with 10 players needing to complete the first round.
Holt carded seven birdies and two bogeys en route to 5-under 65, his best score in five career rounds at The Panama Championship.
He had won the previous Korn Ferry Tour event – The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club – for his first Tour title.
Macdonald carded six birdies prior to a closing bogey at the par-4 18th en route to his 5-under 65, his lowest score in 15 career rounds at Championship.
He finished T42 at the 2020 Panama Championship, his best finish in four previous starts at the event.
Mason Andersen (T3/-4) and Kevin Velo (T6/-3) previously won Korn Ferry Tour events contested in Latin America, with Andersen winning the 2024 Argentina Open, and Velo winning the 2024 Astara Golf Championship.
Caleb VanArragon (T3/-4), who finished 56th on his Korn Ferry Tour debut last year, recorded top-20 finishes in the first two events this season (T13/The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island; T17/The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club)
Korn Ferry Tour winner Spencer Levin (T3/-4) is in line to stand inside the top five through 18 holes of a Korn Ferry Tour event for the first time since the 2023 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open.
Four-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Ben Kohles (T6/-3) and Korn Ferry Tour winner Julian Suri (T6/-3) were the only two players to complete bogey-free rounds, while Jorge Garcia (T6/-3) has not made a bogey through 15 holes of his first round.
Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | Total |
| T1 | Ian Holt | 65 (-5) |
| Stuart Macdonald | 65 (-5) | |
| T3 | Caleb VanArragon | 66 (-4) |
| Mason Andersen | 66 (-4) | |
| Spencer Levin | 66 (-4) | |
| T6 | 12 Players Tied | 67 (-3) |
