In a round that could make or break his DP World Tour hopes for next season, Ivan Cantero opened the Genesis Championship with a scorching 66, grabbing a one-shot lead and putting himself in prime position to secure his 2025 tour card.
With so much riding on the final event of the Back 9, every shot counted for the Spaniard, who came into the week sitting precariously at 117th in the rankings.
Only the top 114 will keep their tour status, meaning Cantero has zero room for error in these critical rounds.
At the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, Cantero was ice-cold in his execution, carding seven birdies against a lone bogey to finish the day at six under par.
Right from the jump, he made his intentions clear with a laser-like approach shot on the first hole, leaving him just three feet for an easy birdie.
That set the tone for a front nine where he found himself two under after three, capitalising on the par-five third hole. Then, with a pair of back-to-back birdies from the sixth, Cantero’s momentum was undeniable.
By the time he made the turn, Cantero had already put together a stunning 31, buoyed by a brilliant birdie at the ninth hole.
When he rolled in another birdie putt from 11 feet at the tenth, he found himself sitting pretty at six under.
Though he dropped a shot at the 16th, Cantero wasn’t about to let one slip-up derail his round.
He responded instantly with a superb tee shot at the par-three 17th, leaving himself just six feet for a birdie and returning to the clubhouse with his head held high at six under par.
Ivan Cantero: Obviously I need a good week or I am out of the the main Tour, but I have one more week, one more chance and my game is good condition. I hit good drivers and with this course, if you are in good position, it is possible to have a good score.
I think no difference. Today I made putts and the last couple of weeks I missed a lot of putts and my confidence was down all the time, and now I am confident with my putting and my driver.
Of course playing with Pablo (Larrazabal) is always good, he gave me a lot of advice on the golf course and I am very happy.
Following close behind Cantero at five under are a crowd of challengers, including local favourites Byeong Hun An and Hongtaek Kim, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, South African standout Casey Jarvis, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson, Sweden’s Jonas Blixt, and Englishman Richard Mansell.
Byeong Hun An: It was special, I played pretty good. So iffy swings, I maybe had two of those, but other than that I hit a lot of fairways and hit some great shots, so quite happy with five under.
It was pretty tricky, it has a generous fairway but the course was very soft so the ball is not flying as far, it just has very tricky greens, so you need to play the right shots and be really accurate. I feel I did that pretty good for 16 holes, apart for two of them, but I feel it is a second shot golf course.
I feel like you feel where you are at. Three years ago I was 300th player in the world and now I feel like I am the top 30,40 players in the world. I didn’t do much different, I had a bit of a swing change, which is always a hard kind of spell and I had a few iffy swings here and there, and I have worked pretty hard.
I’m sure there are guys who have worked harder than me but compared to ten years ago, I feel like I am working it harder and taking care of myself a bit better, and everything is coming along. I had a pretty decent year last year, and this year has been my best year so far in my career, so hopefully I can get a little bit better next year.
Defending champion Pablo Larrazábal and a slew of familiar names—including Alejandro Del Rey, Manuel Elvira, and Tom Kim—are sitting just two shots off the lead, while play was briefly halted with six players, including Blixt, yet to complete their opening rounds.
As the Genesis Championship continues, the pressure will mount for those on the bubble-like Cantero, who needs to keep his foot on the gas to hold onto his DP World Tour future.
It’s not just about leading after Round One—it’s about maintaining that form when the stakes are sky-high.
