Ryan Gerard captures emotional victory at BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX

GREER, South Carolina – Ryan Gerard lapped the field at the 2024 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX, doubling his three-stroke 54-hole lead on the back nine of Thornblade Club en route to a six-stroke victory Sunday evening.

Gerard played his final 46 holes without a bogey, totaling 26-under 259 to tie Mark Anderson (2013) for the third-lowest 72-hole score in tournament history, only behind Mito Pereira’s 258 from 2021, and Michael Arnaud’s 257 from 2018. It also marked the second-lowest winning 72-hole score this season, trailing Tim Widing’s 31-under 253 from the Veritex Bank Championship.

Gerard finished six strokes ahead of runner-up Seth Reeves, marking the second-highest margin of victory this season. Only Isaiah Salinda’s eight-stroke victory at The Panama Championship was more decisive.

“I didn’t really know how many shots I had until No. 17 green,” Gerard said of his lead. “When I saw that, I figured I could get it in the house from there. It was cool to go bogey-free on the weekend.”

Holding a three-stroke lead after the third round, Gerard got a call from his father, Robert. A flight was already booked. Robert just wanted his son to know.

Although the two could not spend time together Sunday morning, Robert caught up with Ryan on the way to the driving range ahead of his 1:40 p.m. tee time.

“He had to be here,” Gerard said. “I’m glad he came, and (it) means the world that he got to be here to watch it.”

After Gerard rattled the flagstick with a putt from off the back of the 18th green and knocked in a 5-footer for par, capping a bogey-free 5-under 66, he acknowledged the crowd and headed toward the clubhouse. Gerard barely got off the back of the green before he spotted his father. Almost instantaneously, tears welled up in Gerard’s eyes.

“He’s been here for everything,” Gerard said. “My mom, too, but she can’t be here. He got me into golf. I wouldn’t be where I am without him. He taught me everything I know from a young age, and he’s been there for everything. It’s been tough, it’s been great, it’s been up and down, but he’s been there 100 percent of the time.

“I didn’t want to cry, but it’s just real special.”

Gerard grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and had his first set of golf clubs by age 2. Golf quickly became Gerard’s life. Anything he could swing became a golf club, even shovels and rakes at daycare.

Makeshift golf clubs were followed by what Gerard dubbed “Impossible Chipping Contests” with friends at Raleigh’s Wildwood Green Golf Club. The group held closest to the pin competitions after they intentionally gave each other the worst lies possible.

As Gerard played high school golf at Ravencroft School, he exceled on the junior circuit. Perhaps most notably, Gerard won the American Junior Golf Association’s Polo Golf Junior Classic, annually contested at PGA National Resort – host of the PGA TOUR’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches – in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Gerard eventually signed with University of North Carolina and played five seasons in Chapel Hill. He even broke Ben Griffin’s school record for career scoring average, finishing with a 71.65 average.

Following the 2022 NCAA Championship, Gerard turned professional and headed north for PGA TOUR Canada. A victory and two additional top-10s led to a No. 5 finish in the Fortinet Cup standings, earning him conditional membership for the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season.

Gerard posted a T3 at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard, the fourth event of the 2023 season, setting himself up for a full schedule on the Korn Ferry Tour. Little did Gerard know, he would only return to the Korn Ferry Tour for one more start in 2023.

Nine days after his podium finish, Gerard survived a 5-for-3 playoff at the open qualifier for the 2023 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, earning a spot in the field. A solo-fourth finish at PGA National Resort got him into the Puerto Rico Open, where he finished T11 and moved tantalizingly close to Special Temporary Membership. A month after Puerto Rico, Gerard finished T56 as a sponsor exemption at the Valero Texas Open and earned Special Temporary Membership, enabling him to play the remainder of the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season.

While Gerard racked up nearly $1 million in official earnings, his non-member FedExCup points total was not enough for top 125 status on TOUR in 2024. A T71 finish at Final Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry once again left him with conditional Korn Ferry Tour status.

A return trip to the PGA TOUR became Gerard’s one and only goal.

Sunday’s victory, Gerard’s first top-10 of the season, moved him to No. 10 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List. Although Gerard’s goal is far from accomplished, it’s no longer a blur in the distance.

“It gets me closer,” Gerard said. “Every shot matters, every point matters, everything matters. I’m just excited to win. It’s hard. It’s always great to finish with your name on top of the leaderboard, but the goal is to get that PGA TOUR card. I feel like my game’s in a good spot to keep trusting it and keep climbing.”

Final-Round Notes

• Coupled with Isaiah Salinda’s eight-stroke victory at the 2024 Panama Championship, this season is the first time since 2011 there were two Korn Ferry Tour events won by six-plus strokes (Steve Wheatcroft/12 strokes/2011 Melwood Prince George’s County Open; Jason Kokrak/seven strokes/2011 Miccosukee Championship)
• Korn Ferry Tour winner and two-time Korn Ferry Tour graduate Seth Reeves (2nd/-20) bounces back from third-round 2-over 73 with final-round 7-under 64 for his first runner-up finish on Tour, as well as his second top-10 of the season (T10/AdventHealth Championship)
• In his 38th career start, Cristobal Del Solar (3rd/-19) records a career-high finish and his third top-five finish of the season (4th/The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay; 5th/Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard); he recorded just one top-five finish as a rookie in 2023 (5th/NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank)
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Kevin Velo (T4/-18) records his second top-five finish of the season (Win/Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard); his season-high finish as a rookie on Tour last season was T12/2023 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank
• Six-time PGA TOUR winner and 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas (T6/-17), finishes in the top-10 for the sixth time in his Korn Ferry Tour career in what was his first Korn Ferry Tour start since 2022
• Pontus Nyholm (T6/-17), who finished No. 69 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points list, records his first top-10 of the season
• Thomas Rosenmueller (T6/-17), now in his third season on Tour, posts the second-best finish of his Korn Ferry Tour career (3rd/2023 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron) and his second top-10 of the season (T9/2024 Veritex Bank Championship); he entered this season with one top-10 in 45 career starts on Tour