BERTHOUD, Colo. — There was inclement weather in the area and drama in the air.
Soon after the late final-round delay during The Ascendant at TPC Colorado, Cristobal Del Solar dispensed with the drama via a virtuoso finish to capture his first Korn Ferry Tour win Sunday at 22-under par.
The 30-year-old Chilean was tied at 18 under before the lightning delay with tour rookie Matthew Riedel, who made a big final-round push.
Del Solar played the final four holes after the stoppage in 4 under, pulling away with a final-round 6-under 66 for a win that earned him a PGA Tour card for next year.
“It was crazy,” del Solar said. “I don’t have the words for that.”
This was the latest monumental moment for Del Solar in what has already been a life-changing year.
He earned the nickname “Mr. 57” after shooting a round of 57 — the lowest score ever recorded in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event — during February’s Astara Golf Championship in Colombia.
Three weeks ago, Del Solar and his wife Alexandra welcomed their first child, a daughter. They also celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary earlier this week.
Now? A win that fulfills his childhood dream of reaching the highest level of golf, as he moved into fifth on the Korn Ferry Tour points list with less than 10 tournaments left.
“Everything is just coming together, on and off the course,” he said. “I’m just happy that all the work is paying off.”
The top-30 Korn Ferry Tour golfers all earn PGA Tour cards for the ensuing season.
While Del Solar had won four times on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica from 2018-23 after a strong collegiate career at Florida State, this was his true professional breakthrough moment.
“My career is just starting from this point, so hopefully this only the beginning,” he said.
And Del Solar set a tournament course record with his winning score, besting Nicholas Lindheim’s 20 under mark last year.
He is also the first Ascendant winner with a margin of more than two shots.
It didn’t look that way during the delay, as he was tied for first with a clustered leaderboard all around.
But Del Solar turned on the jets immediately, ripping a lengthy second shot to 40 feet on the par-5 15th hole. Despite a severely-sloping putt, he buried the putt for his second Sunday eagle and ignited the post-delay crowd.
“I was just trying to keep it on the green,” Del Solar said with a hearty laugh.
He followed by drilling a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and finished in style with another birdie on the final hole.
The veteran pro took some lessons from a similar delay during Saturday’s third round. He mixed relaxation (watching soccer’s European Championship final) with a focused mindset (doing his stretching routines several times over).
“Yesterday, I was playing great when we had a rain delay and wasn’t as sharp after, so that stung a bit.
“I told myself (Sunday) to stay active, stay in the moment. And I played amazing after we started back.”
Riedel and Brian Campbell charged into a tie for second with scores of 66 and 67.
Timmy Crawford surged with a final-round 65 to tie for fourth, capping an incredible weekend.
He aced the par-4 third hole on Saturday, just the sixth-ever ace on a par-4 at a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. He eagled it Sunday, playing it in 5 under for the weekend.
But the sixth edition of The Ascendant belonged to Del Solar, who won’t be long for the Korn Ferry Tour now.
“It’s one of the dreams to be on the (PGA) Tour,” he said, beaming toward the crowd. “You guys have no idea. We think about this since we were little and now it’s here.”
