Ryan Gerard takes four-stroke lead into weekend at Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS

Things to Know

• The 36-hole cut was made at 7-under 135 – tying the Korn Ferry Tour record for lowest 36-hole cut score (fifth occurrence) – with 73 players advancing to the weekend.
• Ryan Gerard cards a bogey-free 8-under 63 to take a four-stroke lead into the weekend, setting the 36-hole scoring record for the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS with a 17-under 125; tied for the third-lowest 36-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history.
• Jackson Suber cards a bogey-free 11-under 60 to match Rob Oppenheim for the course record at Panther Creek Country Club (2022 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS/R3).
• Jackson Buchanan, a rising senior at the University of Illinois, records a second consecutive 5-under 66 to make the cut in his first career start in a Korn Ferry Tour event.
• Third-round tee times will run from approximately 9:45 a.m.-noon local time with groups teeing off Nos. 1 and 1

Second-Round Lead Notes

1 – Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS

5 – Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2024

Ryan Gerard (Leader/17-under)

• Records a bogey-free 8-under 63 to set the 36-hole scoring record at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS with a 17-under 125 (previous; Paul Barjon/127); tied for the third lowest 36-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history
  • Made seven birdies (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12) and an eagle (No. 16)
• Posted the lowest round of his career with a 9-under 62, making eight birdies (Nos. 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17) and an eagle (No. 16) against one bogey (No. 18) in the first round
  • Previous career low was a 63 (most recent; 2024 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD Synnex/R3)
• Making first career start at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS
• Claimed first career Korn Ferry Tour victory at the 2024 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD Synnex
• No. 13 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List
• Played the first four events of the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season, highlighted by a T3 at the 2023 Astara Golf Championship, but earned and accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR in April 2023 and played the rest of the year on TOUR
• Finished solo-fourth as an open qualifier at the 2023 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches (stood T3 through 36 holes), followed by a T11 at the Puerto Rico Open, T71 at the Valspar Championship, and T56 at the Valero Texas Open en route to Special Temporary Membership
• Added a second top-10 on TOUR at the 2023 Barracuda Championship (5th)
• Finished No. 5 in the 2022 Fortinet Cup Standings on PGA TOUR Canada with a victory and two additional top-four finishes
• Turned professional in 2022 after five seasons at the University of North Carolina (2017-22), where he won one collegiate event, garnered 2022 All-America Second Team recognition, and finished as the program’s career scoring average leader (71.65), breaking the school record previously established by Ben Griffin (72.02)

Quotables

Ryan Gerard on his 8-under 63… “Yeah, I just hit it really well. Hit a couple squirrelly shots on the front nine and was able to make par pretty smoothly. It's always nice when your short game bails you out. I had a nice up and down from a plugged lie in a bunker and just a really nice chip shot on one hole. So just trying to stay positive and played really solid. It got pretty windy there towards the end, course isn't playing too easy at least right now, so was happy to get out there early and do some damage.”

Gerard on carrying his momentum into the weekend… “Yeah, I'm not gonna try and do anything different. I think this weekend it could be windy, it could be soft, who knows. I'm just going to go out there and continue with the game plan that I have and just try to keep hitting good shots and just stacking good scores on top of each other. If I do that, I'll be just fine. It's nice to have a little bit of a cushion hopefully kind of going into the weekend. You don't need to be perfect, you don't need to overdo things, you don't need to go out there and make stupid mistakes for the sake of making stupid mistakes. I'm going to go out there and play my game and plod along. Just hope the ball striking and putting that has gotten me to this point is just going to keep going.”

Jackson Buchanan on his play through the first two rounds… “I thought today was honestly completely different. I hit it relatively bad after the first six holes and scrambled up and down for par more often than I would have liked. That's why they give you a putter and a wedge. It was fun, though. It's great to be out here.”

Buchanan on making the cut in his first Korn Ferry Tour event… “It's great. Just one shot at a time. Obviously, I'm already seven shots behind the lead, so it's going to take an unreal weekend to get up there. Just to be T9 right now, probably T20 at the end of the day in a Korn Ferry event, my first one, is a good start. Just shot by shot right now really.”

Notes

• Austin Greaser (T2/-13), who finished No. 3 in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking, makes his first cut on the Korn Ferry Tour in his fifth career start.
  • Greaser followed up his career-low round on Thursday with a 6-under 65, rolling in seven birdies (Nos. 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16) against one bogey (No. 15).
• Second-year member Patrick Welch (T2/-13) turns in the lowest round of his professional career with a bogey-free 8-under 63.
  • In 2023, he finished T39 in his only other previous start at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS.
• Max McGreevy (T2/-13) heads into the weekend four strokes off the lead after a 5-under 66 in Friday’s second round.
  • McGreevy makes his second cut in his third start at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS (2021/T44).
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Steven Fisk (T2/-13), who is No. 3 on the points list, plays the second round bogey-free with an 8-under 63; ties the lowest round of his career (2023 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health).
  • Fisk earned his first career victory earlier this season at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club.
• Scott Harrington (T6/-12), who leads the fields in eagles with three, heads into the weekend seeking his first top-10 finish of the season after a second-round 4-under 67 to put him in solo fifth.
  • The four-time PGA TOUR winner matches his career-low 36-hole score to begin an event with a 12-under 130 (2019 WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz).
• McCook, Nebraska, native Brandon Crick (T6/-12) improves upon his opening round bogey-free 5-under 66 with a bogey-free 7-under 64.
  • Crick rolled in five birdies (Nos. 3, 6, 8, 10, 16) and one eagle (No. 13) on Friday.
• Second-year member Jackson Suber (T8/-11), who finished runner-up at last year’s event, turns in the lowest score of his career with a bogey-free 11-under 60, matching Rob Oppenheim for the lowest round in the tournament's history (2022/R3).
  • Suber, who finished the first round with an even-par 71, climbed 127 positions in the second round and up to T8.
• Patrick Cover (T8/-11) makes 10 birdies (nine birdies, one eagle) en route to a 10-under 61, surpassing his previous career low of 62 that he set at the 2023 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS (R2).
  • The Charlotte, North Carolina, native surrendered his first bogey of the day on his last hole (No. 18) to fall just short of matching Suber for the course record.
• University of Illinois product Dylan Meyer (T18/-10) records the lowest round of his career with a bogey-free 10-under 61, making on six of his final seven holes (Nos. 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18).
  • Previous career low was a 7-under 64 at the 2024 Veritex Bank Championship (R2).
• Jackson Buchanan (T18/-10), a rising senior at the University of Illinois, makes the cut in his first career start in a Korn Ferry Tour event after a second consecutive 5-under 66.
• Open qualifier Peter Bradbeer (T32/-9) makes the cut in his first-ever start in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event with a second-round 4-under 67.
  • Bradbeer turned professional in 2021 after playing four years at Bucknell and a fifth season at Temple.