Gerard wins Barracuda Championship for first PGA Tour title
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In breezy conditions at Tahoe Mountain Club in the only PGA Tour event that uses the modified Stableford scoring system, Gerard followed a two-point birdie with a five-point eagle on Nos. 2-3 and 10-11.
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The 25-year-old former North Carolina player had a 13-point round to finish with 47 points for a three-point victory over 2021 winner Erik van Rooyen of South Africa. Gerard fell short of van Rooyen's tournament record of 50 points.
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'Been playing a lot of really good golf,' Gerard said. 'Felt like I haven't been quite getting the scores out of the shots that I've hit. It's been a long time being a long grind, and it's pretty cool to end up on top.'
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Fifth in the event two years ago, Gerard won in his 47th PGA Tour start to become the 999th winner in tour history.
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'It's just like a culmination of a lifetime of work,' Gerard said. 'I can't tell you how many hours I've spent hitting golf balls dreaming of winning on the PGA Tour. Yeah, it's really special.'
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Played opposite the British Open, the tournament was co-sanctioned by the European tour. With the victory, Gerard received a spot in the PGA Championship next year but not the Masters.
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'Mixed emotions,' van Rooyen said. 'Really happy with how I fought. Left some shots out there the last few days unfortunately with the putter, but can't expect to make everything, right? So maybe I'm a bit too hard on myself.'
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Todd Clements of England was third with 39 points after a 16-point round. Beau Hossler scored 17 points Sunday to tie for fourth at 37 with Max McGreevy (16) and Jacques Kruyswijk (10).
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Tied for the third-round lead with Rico Hoey, Gerard made a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 third and holed a 35-footer from the fringe on the par-5 11th. On the 11th, he hit his approach into the rough, but was allowed to take relief and move his ball to the fringe because of a sprinkler head.
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Gerard followed both seven-point runs with consecutive bogeys — with a point deducted for bogey — and missed a 3-footer on 16 for a three-putt bogey.
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The winner made a 5-foot birdie putt on 14 to get back the points he lost with the bogeys on the previous two holes. He also quickly canceled out the consecutive front-nine bogeys with a birdie on No. 7.
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