Rookie Gerard Claims First PGA Tour Victory

Victory by 3 Points at Barracuda Championship
The Only Modified Stableford Event on the PGA Tour
Van Rooyen Takes 2nd, Clements 3rd, Hoey Ties for 8th

Rookie Ryan Gerard (USA) has claimed his first victory.

Ryan Gerard is holding the trophy and smiling brightly right after winning the Barracuda Championship. Truckee, USA=AFP Yonhap News Photo by AFP

On July 20 (local time), at the Tahoe Mountain Club (par 71, 7,480 yards) in Truckee, California, USA, Gerard scored two eagles, four birdies, and five bogeys in the fourth round of the PGA Tour Barracuda Championship (total prize money: $4 million), earning 13 points. Over four days, he accumulated a total of 47 points, finishing three points ahead of Erik van Rooyen (South Africa, 44 points) to secure the title. The winner's prize is $720,000 (approximately 1 billion KRW).

This tournament mainly featured players who did not qualify for the major championship The Open, which was held in Northern Ireland, UK, during the same period. It is the only event on the PGA Tour that uses the modified Stableford scoring system, where each hole's result is converted into points. An eagle is worth 5 points, a birdie 2 points, par 0 points, bogey -1 point, and a double bogey or worse results in a deduction of 3 points each.

Gerard briefly played on the PGA Tour as a special temporary member in 2023 and made his official debut this season. Previously, he had only competed on the PGA Korn Ferry (second-tier) Tour, where he recorded one win. His best result on the regular tour before this victory was a runner-up finish at the Valero Texas Open in April.

Todd Clements (England) finished third (39 points), while Rico Hoey (Philippines), who was tied for the lead the previous day, dropped to a tie for eighth (34 points). Korean-American player Doug Kim (USA) finished tied for 20th (30 points). No Korean players participated in the event.