ATLANTA — Ryan Gerard spent last week trying to be as “authentic” as possible while being mic’d up for the PGA Tour Studios special production, “Chasing Sunday: BMW Championship,” that aired on the tour’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.
The chase was rather futile as Wyndham Clark, also one of the subjects of the special, forged to a five-stroke lead through 54 holes and held off Rory McIlroy for his third win of the year, while Gerard finished 11 shots back in a tie for 16th place.
This week at the Tour Championship, Gerard is submitting an authentic push for his second career PGA Tour title—and at just the right time. Making his debut in the Tour Championship, the North Carolina native is the one being chased. After a second consecutive five-under 65 at East Lake Golf Club, Gerard is tied atop the leaderboard at 10-under 130 with 2023 FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland.
Gerard, who finished 17th in the FedEx Cup standings to earn a place in the $40 million playoff finale, has enjoyed a solid season featuring three runner-up finishes. His only victory came in last year’s Barracuda Championship contested opposite the British Open. Like Tommy Fleetwood last year here, Gerard is trying to cap a year of close calls with a FedEx Cup title.
“I played a lot of good golf this year. I really only had a chance to win one of those golf tournaments coming down the stretch, at Memorial,” Gerard, 27, said, referring to his playoff loss to J.T. Poston at Muirfield Village. “Sony [Open], I kind of was making a late charge, and Chris [Gotterup] was just playing really good, and Scottie [Scheffler] kind of ran away with Amex, and I just dumped it in the water on 17. I didn’t really have a whole lot of chances to win besides Memorial. I think just putting ourself in contention on the weekend is a good start.”
Asked if he was comfortable playing from out front, Gerard didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, absolutely. Love playing with the lead. Way better than playing in last.”
He’ll be paired with Hovland in Saturday’s final pairing at 2:55 p.m. ET, and that might not be any more nerve racking than his attempts at non-acting for the tour cameras last week at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.
“It was fun. A little bit stressful, different, just given that you know that people are listening and watching,” he said. “You’re not going to say anything dumb, but you’re just trying to be real and be realistic without kind of being over the top and trying to bring outside material in, just try and be authentic to what the golf shot is, the golf tournament is.
“I feel like we kind of struggled maybe early on, kind of not trying to play to the cameras. Then once the tournament started, it felt like we locked in pretty well. I would say it’s definitely a little bit of stress from the standpoint of just being on kind of 24/7, but overall it was a great experience.”
Gerard said he has only watched parts of the program. “I skimmed through some of the stuff I said to see how dumb I made myself sound,” he joked. “Hopefully people didn’t think I was too stupid. It’s almost like watching your own interviews. You kind of hate the sound of yourself talking after a little while.”
If he were to win Sunday, he’d have plenty to talk about, including the $10 million prize and improved chances of being a pick by captain Brandt Snedeker for the U.S. Presidents Cup team–though he would be a long shot with a current rank of 16th in the team points standings.
Gerard certainly is serious about chasing after it, being the last player on the range at East Lake Friday evening.
“I’ve played a lot of golf tournaments in my life. I’ve won a few golf tournaments in my life,” Gerard, ranked 27th in the world, said. “I feel comfortable that I’m doing the right things, we’re executing the right shots, we have the right mentality to go out and kind of close it and kind of be the dog under pressure. Just go out there and enjoy it. That’s kind of what we play for is to have a chance on the back nine coming down the stretch on Sunday, and that’s kind of what we prepare for, and we’ll be ready.”
He has a lot to play for. But he won’t be playing for the cameras.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
