Ryan Gerard’s ‘unbelievable’ Honda Classic as Monday qualifier

Ryan Gerard felt the nerves of PGA TOUR contention this weekend at The Honda Classic.

He relished it so much, he’ll do it again next week.

The Korn Ferry Tour rookie earned a tee time at PGA National via a Monday qualifier playoff, completed on Tuesday morning, and the spotlight fit the University of North Carolina alum (he completed his fifth year as a Tar Heel last spring) like a glove.

Gerard closed The Honda Classic in 3-under 67 for a solo-fourth finish at 10 under, four strokes shy of the Chris Kirk-Eric Cole playoff in south Florida, won by Kirk for his fifth TOUR title.

Gerard, 23, earns a spot in next week’s Puerto Rico Open via a top-10 finish, an appreciative addition to his winter schedule as the Korn Ferry Tour is in the midst of a five-week break.

The North Carolina native was bogey-free in Sunday’s final round before his second shot at the par-5 18th found the water en route to bogey. Gerard remained upbeat, though, realizing the magnitude of his accomplishment. He was greeted off the 18th green by fellow UNC-Chapel Hill alum Ben Griffin, who finished T21 at the Honda, as well as fellow pro and friend Austin Hitt – who will compete in Monday’s open qualifier for the Puerto Rico Open.

Gerard had a tee time in the Monday qualifier, but he won’t need it.

“It was unbelievable,” Gerard said of his week at the Honda. “It’s everything you could dream of. When you’re a kid practicing at night on a putting green, you’re like, ‘I have this putt to win a PGA TOUR event.’ It’s funny to say because I was just there four or five years ago in high school thinking about it, and now – I never had a putt to win, but I kind of felt like I had a chance coming down the stretch if I put some stuff together.

“Every time you have an opportunity where there's pressure or where you feel like you might be in a situation to do something, you learn a lot about yourself as a person and as a player, and I think that's something that you can grow from and that I can take myself and use it to help me play better in the future.”

Gerard earned $411,600 for his work at PGA National, stringing rounds of 69-63-71-67 on one of the TOUR’s most trouble-infested tracks. He entered the week with 150/1 odds to finish top-five at the Honda, per DraftKings, despite a recent T3 at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard earlier this month.

The betting public may not have expected Gerard’s magic around the Bear Trap, but he believed in himself, and he showed it.

“I have the game that translates out here if I play well,” Gerard said of his learnings from the week. “Maybe not every week, maybe not every course right now, but one day I believe that I can play and win out on the PGA TOUR. That is a very important thing for me confidence-wise.

“I have high expectations for myself. I have lofty goals. I see a lot when I'm practicing at home, and I see a lot about myself when I'm on the course, and I see what other guys are doing, and I believe that I have the ability and the opportunity to put something together that's special.”

Gerard accrues 135 non-member FedExCup points, suddenly positioned to chase Special Temporary Membership, which allows a player to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season. This season’s number for Special Temporary Membership is 175.228 points (Dylan Wu, No. 150 on 2022 FedExCup); Gerard could surpass that mark with a three-way T9 or better in Puerto Rico.

He's got a decent backup plan at any rate; he stands No. 22 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, well positioned to chase a TOUR card via the top 30 on the season-long standings.

If he returns to the Korn Ferry Tour, he’ll be armed with invaluable experience from the week at the Bear Trap. Or maybe he’ll carry the magic to Puerto Rico and not look back.

“I feel like I learned a lot about myself as a player, how to mentally handle myself in front of big crowds, and getting that feel of competition at the next level,” Gerard said. “I’m thrilled with the finish. I’m thrilled with the opportunities that I get because of it … keep grinding and see what happens.”