Guthrie breaks par in first round of his Korn Ferry Tour season in Astara Golf Championship

BOGOTA, Colombia — Luke Guthrie’s season debut featured a rocky start, a steady stretch after the turn and emphatic finish.

There’s work to do in the second round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship to ensure he plays the weekend, but Guthrie created a little momentum to chase the cutline.

Playing the Pacos Course at Country Club de Bogota-Lagos, Guthrie birdied his final two holes to finish off a round of a 1-under 69 that leaves him tied for 71st. Although he’s eight strokes off the first-round lead, Guthrie is just three strokes out of the top 20.

Starting on the back nine, Guthrie followed a birdie on the par-4 10th with back-to-back birdies. However, he closed his first nine with a couple of hiccups. He bogeyed three of the final four holes — the other was a birdie — and made the turn at 1-over.

Guthrie calmed down the topsy turvy nature of his round by making six straight pars and then rolled in back-to-back birdie putts on the par-5 seventh and the par-4 eighth. A par on the ninth hole allowed him to sign for a 1-under 69.

Guthrie, who is playing with Rob Oppenheim and Brett Drewitt, will tee off at 6:30 a.m. Friday in the second round on the Lagos Course.