James Nicholas eagles the last hole at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard to earn his first Tour title.

Charting the champion (stats updated through tournament)

James Nicholas (first/19 under)

• Counters three bogeys (Nos. 4, 12 and 14) with six birdies (Nos. 2, 5, 6, 8, 13 and 16) and a 13-foot eagle putt at the par-5 18th to close in 5-under 66 and earn a two-stroke victory over Norman Xiong, totaling 19-under 265 for the tournament
• Converts his first 54-hole lead into his first Korn Ferry Tour title in his 69th career start on Tour; his previous career-high finish on Tour was T3 at the Compliance Solutions Championship in October 2025
• Played 29 holes on Sunday due to play being suspended during the third round for inclement weather
• Third appearance at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard (MC/2022, T19/2025, won/2026)
• New York native finished No. 64 in the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points
• Turned professional in 2019, played on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020, 2022-2023 and 2025
• Played collegiately for four seasons at Yale University (2015-19), winning five NCAA events, highlighted by medalist honors at the 2019 Ivy League Championship, named the 2018 and 2019 Ivy League Player of the Year, a 2018 and 2019 All-Ivy First Team selection, and a 2018 All-America Scholar; also won three consecutive Bosordi Student Championships

Additional player notes

• Norman Xiong (second/17 under), who finished No. 117 in the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, carded seven birdies against two bogeys to post a final round 5-under 66; the two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner posted his best finish at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard in his fourth appearance (previous best finish: T65/2025).
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Carson Young (third/16 under), who played his last two seasons on the PGA TOUR and finished No. 129 in the FedExCup Fall, went bogey-free his last 54 holes and carded a final-round, 6-under 65, highlighted by an eagle on No. 10.
• Jackson Suber (T4/14 under), who is making his season debut this week, closes with a 5-under 66; he marks his 10th top-10 finish in 46 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour.
• Ricardo Celia (T49/5 under), who is a conditional member closes with a 1-over 72; the Barranquilla, Colombia, native’s best finish in five starts at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard was in 2019 (T25).
• Camilo Villegas (T49/5 under), who is a native of Medellin, Colombia, closes with a 1-under 70; the five-time PGA TOUR winner holds Korn Ferry Tour membership this season via a T7 finish at Final Stage of 2025 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, where he fell one stroke shy of a playoff for a PGA TOUR card.
• Jimmy Stanger withdrew (illness) during the third round.