The odds of making two albatrosses in the same round “are roughly 1 in 1 trillion or worse,” according to ChatGPT. Ryan Gerard won the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship and flew to Vegas to celebrate. His friend joined him for a celebratory round at TPC Summerlin and what came next was practically impossible. You can also listen to the full episode of Any Given Monday presented by Dad Water on Apple or Spotify.
Welcome back to Any Given Monday. Ryan Gerard, champion of the Barracuda Championship. But it’s rare that I have a PJ tour winner on. And that’s not the first thing we talk about because we have to talk about a round that happened two days after uh the uh Barracuda, after he won the Barracuda. So, kind of walk us through how you got to Vegas and then who Cam is and go from there, Ryan. Yeah. um just ended up kind of looking for something to do between uh last last week winning the Barracuda and I had a putting putting lesson in uh San Diego on Friday and it’s on the west coast so I figured I was just going to try and hang out. So I ended up hanging out in Reno for a day. Um my buddy Cam, he plays uh he played mini tours um in South Florida where I live. Played with him a bunch and I knew he was starting a new job on Monday. So I was basically like, “Hey dude, you know, before you go before you go start the real world, you want to come come hang out, play some golf, you know, celebrate a little bit.” And uh he was all for it. He had nothing better going on. So, you know, shout out to him for basically dropping everything and coming to hang out with me for a couple days. And uh ended up playing some good golf in uh Vegas on uh Wednesday and Thursday and Thursday Thursday Thursday morning ended up at TPC Summerland and he decided to make a hole in one on a par four and then six holes later make a a two on a par five. So, uh it was it was pretty insane. Yeah, it was two albatrosses and seven holes. Um, I mean I I put it into chat GBT, right? I don’t know if you saw the tweet, but it was like one they they put it at one to a 100red billion between 100 billion and one trillion in one like I mean I say this all the time is like I play I was saying this to a bunch of players I talk to is like I I play Little Mun. There’s like four or five reachable par4s and all the par fives are like, you know, basically par fours. Like it would be insane if it happened there, right? But like on a legitimate golf course is I mean it will never be done again on a legitimate golf course ever. It just won’t. I refuse to believe it’ll ever happen again. Yeah. No, I uh it was insane. I He And he hit great golf shots both times. It wasn’t like he just kind of like fanned one and it it rolled out in the hole. I mean, both of both of the shots were exactly how we wanted to hit him, right at the right at the flag stick, and you obviously got to get lucky for him to go in, but it was it was it was pretty impressive. And then, you know, we were riding pretty high, so we thought we were invincible there for a little bit and made a couple bogeies here and there, but uh he had he had a great time. Um, pretty pumped for him. starting a new job today. But, you know, there was there were a couple moments there was like, “Hey, man, like uh yeah, you ever think about like not quitting?” Like, do you want to do you want to want to try and give this another shot? I mean, yeah. Shooting nine under 63 at a course that hosts PJ Tour event uh for the last 15 years is not too shabby. So, um yeah, he’s still he’s still got it. It’s still in there for sure. Yeah. I mean, uh, I said to him, I was like, you know, he’s g he’s like one Monday corn ferry a Monday away from from quitting Ryan, right? Like his this new previous job, right? He’s like, there’s no doubt that that the 63 he just shot is in his head as he starts his job today. So, he’ll find some days off to go chase some Mondays. He’ll get through one. And they all come back, Ryan. They all come back. Yeah, they all they all come back for sure. 100%. Uh, okay. Let’s to to get to the barracuda. We got to go to the Scottish. So you played the Scottish and then you were second alternate Ryan at the time for British. I finished up the British or I finished up the Scottish on Sunday. I was fifth alternate I want to say. Um and then uh Paul Wearing withdrew and Ernie L’s withdrew. So that bump me to third. And then Joe Highmith decided that he wasn’t going to go over there. I think he missed the cut at the Scottish and went back back home. So he he wasn’t going over there. So then at some point on Monday, like later on Monday, I was second alternate. And I was trying to figure out what I should do. Um I was in I was in JFK airport in New York like halfway between um Scotland and Reno basically going one way or the other. Yeah. Do I need to get the clubs get off this flight and try and get back over to Ireland or do I need to just keep going? So I think we were kind of kind of looking kind of trying to figure it out. I knew uh I knew that there weren’t too many people that were probably going to WD from the from the open. Just had a couple people on the ground, you know, feeling it out. There’s always one or two guys that you you know might WD, but for the most part, if you have someone on the ground that kind of understands what’s going on, you can get a good good feel of what the what the possibilities were. And we we weren’t hearing a lot of good stuff. And since it’s a major too, like guys are more inclined in my opinion to tee it up, hurt or just Yeah. Yeah. Just rough it out. So, didn’t feel great about my chances. So, Matt Griffin really helped. He was like, “Just go just go to Reno. Like, it’s probably not going to happen.” And then by the time I got to Reno, I got in Tuesday morning like 2 2:30 in the morning. So wasn’t wasn’t exactly uh super super tired or super excited and just stuck it out and as kind of the time went on was expecting if someone withdrew I was going to fly back if I was first alternate but didn’t really get to that point and yeah I mean it it just at a certain point on Tuesday afternoon Tuesday evening I told Austin Ero who is the guy right behind me on the alternate list that I wasn’t going to know at like 5:00 p.m. Pacific on on Tuesday just from the standpoint of even if I got there I wasn’t going to be ideal conditions. Yeah. Yeah. I wasn’t going to be prepared. I wasn’t going to be ready. So, I was just going to stick it out and um glad I did. It worked out and uh we we’ll take it. So, go back to being in JFK. I mean, I know I’ve I’ve ced for guys who are alternate. Basically what you’re doing, Ryan, I assume your agent, friends, Ben on the ground, whoever like you’re checking for is everyone there, uh, is there guys that are injured? Is the first alternate coming? Those are kind of the process, right? Like you’re, you know, of the guys who are struggling with injury. Now, to your point, in a major to be like uh try to try to tee it up regardless of how they feel for the most part. So, is that kind of what you’re doing? Your agents checking, friends are checking if they’ve heard anything. Is everyone there? Yeah, it’s kind of the the RNA has someone basically on it. Um, hey, these are, you know, who we know might be not feeling great. This is why. um you know, here’s who’s going to be on site, here’s who’s not. People have committed. They’ll pull you off the alternates list if you say you’re not going to go. So, it just keeps going longer and longer. Um Ben Griffin’s checking. Sam Stevens was first alternate. He just had an awesome week last week. So, I’m super pumped that, you know, he he did end up getting some points out of sitting around for a week in Northern Ireland. But um yeah, his caddy Will was kind of helping helping relay some messages just, you know, and then um yeah, just you know, some guys have been dealing with injuries, you know, that kind of checking in, seeing how seeing how they might be feeling. Some guys are prone to WDs, you know, seeing seeing kind of if there’s anything coming from their camp, but uh for the most part, it’s just, you know, you get you get what you your normal make sure everyone’s there, make sure everyone’s signed up for the event, registered on site, and then um from that point, it’s just all right, who’s who’s really really struggling with an injury? If not, they’re probably going to go because it’s major. Yeah, I assume part of it is like Wednesday you have to change mentally, right, Ryan? Like you every you’re a pro golfer, you want to play in majors and not only that, but you you were in the Scottish, so you get a taste of like what’s over there. Fans, it’s great. Uh I assume and then you’re in Reno. As much as I love the Barracuda, there’s no fans for the most part. It’s an opposite field event. all of the things that come with being in an opposite field event. I assume there had to just be like, okay, I’m here. I gotta I gotta do the best I can. Is it is it hard mentally to go from like, I was two people away from being in the British to like I’m playing in Truckucky. I mean, a little bit, but I think for the most part, you know, everyone loves the Barracuda. It’s a great event. Um, and you get there and it’s it’s kind of very relaxed atmosphere. So, you go out there with the attitude of just trying to enjoy it. Uh, take advantage of the opportunity that you have that week. And I mean, you don’t you don’t really feel too um bummed to be there. So, I think that was kind of the mindset was just, you know, we have a really cool chance this week to go make something happen. Scores is awesome. I like being there. weather’s perfect and I’ve played great there before. So, why not go out and just attempt to to make something make something good out of it? Because once we um once we kind of knew that, you know, I wasn’t going to go over there told DNA like, “Hey, unless I think it was Tuesday night, unless I’m in by the time I wake up Wednesday morning, I’m not going to fly over there.” Um, so it was it was very much a hey, we’re going to go put all our eggs in this basket, go really out there with the right attitude and um try not to get distracted by what could have been or what might have happened and um you got to kind of stay in the moment a little bit and trust that you made the right decision. Stable system. Uh I’ve ced in the barracuda a couple times. We’ve talked about it. I don’t think you change your strategy drastically, but there’s definitely points in a round. I guess we did when I caddy from Mark, I did that. So, I’m asking you, Ryan, is there just is it very situational about how you play a hole? For instance, will you take more? It’s easy to say you take more chances at the end of the day, you still got to just make a bunch of birdies. So, uh, because of the scoring format, did you find yourself taking any more chances or is it very much just pretty standard PJ2 event? The scoring is just different. Um, it it’s it’s a pretty standard PJ tour event. The scoring is just different. I think you find yourself in certain spots, especially back down on Sunday, um, near the lead, switching up strategy a little bit. Like I knew once I had a big lead on a couple of these holes, I didn’t put myself in great spots. And I know at one point I was literally just playing for bogey on one hole because I knew if I had a 20footer for par, I could lag it up there and um bogeies minus one. It’s not going to kill you. Whereas like double bogey is the end of the world. Um, so I think in in some situations like that, but you do realize when you have a birdie putt, it’s worth two if it goes in, whereas if you have a par putt, it’s only worth one if it goes in. So I feel like maybe on those putts for par, it frees you up a little bit because, you know, there’s not a whole lot of penalty if it’s missed. But at the end of the day, it’s it’s still golf. You still got to play really solid. Get in the whole strategically just take good shots and you don’t want to think about the format too much until it really really matters. It’s more about just trying to give yourself good looks as often as possible and hope to get a a few of them to fall and you know if you get lucky and make an eagle, it’s just an added bonus. We’ll go back to how you got your card and those things, but you went back to the corn ferry last year, back up this year. You’ve played exceptional. I I’ve tweeted about it many times like very under the radar. One of the best seasons out there. What What has changed, Ryan? Is there anything that’s changed? Just maturity? Is Is it part of your game? Is it mentally feeling that you belong out there? Is there a specific thing or is it just a progress in your golf game? I think it’s is I think it’s a little bit of everything. I mean, I think mentally I’m a lot more mature in terms of like just decision- making on the golf course, week to week travel, you know, just having that added experience. playing some of these courses for the second time now instead of the first time makes a big deal. Um, I think my my game has gotten a lot better. I’m a my floor is a lot higher, so I don’t really I feel like when I play I played bad this year, I still had a chance to make the cut or made the cut most of the time. And overall, I just I feel a lot more comfortable. I just I just feel like I’ve gotten better. Um, so the the corn ferry last year was a was a big learning experience to be honest with you. I mean, I I felt like I should have still been on the PGA tour and I didn’t go into it with the right attitude. I went into it with the attitude that um I shouldn’t be here. Like I’m just going to right cruise through. I’m not going to like this going to be easy. Like what am I doing? Like I just the last cornfair event I played the year before. I finished like third in Colombia and then was on the PJ tour. Like why like what am I doing? And um first five or six events were all international and wasn’t really ha having the right mindset. Wasn’t really doing the right things and kind of had to take a long look in the mirror when I got back to the States. It’s like 60th on the points list or something. and just say, “Hey, man, you know, you’re better than this. Go out there with the right attitude. Like, give it 100%. These guys are really good.” And um, you know, give give it the respect it deserves cuz like you want to be on the PJ tour. Like, you have a great opportunity to go do that. There’s so many events left in the season. And, um, just really mindset change. um found a really good caddy Marcus last year that helped me out on the corner tour for the vast majority of those events and then um just just went out with the right attitude and um stacked stacked a bunch of good finishes together and kind of built confidence along the way and I felt like my game kind of started trending. learned a lot about myself being in in contention a lot and um you know I was was excited to see that when I put my mind to it and I give it 100% and you know you kind of go into things with positive attitude and and do do those right things it it was working out for me. Um it I I tweet about it often is like the feeling that you have a job for two years. Is that I mean you were playing really well Ryan. So obviously your job was pretty much locked up for I mean it was locked up for next year anyway. is that but does that free you up in any way like taking a more like schedule-wise is it something you consciously think about or is it something like if you maybe go through a rough stretch then you would think like oh at least I don’t have to worry about you know my card for the following year. So is that something you consciously think about? I think I think it’s hard not to think about it. I think, you know, job security is awesome. It’s something that you kind of strive for um in any line of work, but especially in something that’s so performance-based, and it’s not a bad thing that, you know, you have to go out and perform to keep your card. I think that’s what makes golf really special. Um it’s basically the ultimate meritocracy. And you know, if you perform, like, you’re going to get rewarded. If you if you don’t, like you’re not going to get paid. and everyone knows that signing up for it. But um just the ability for me to set my schedule, go go do some things that I’ve always wanted to do. Like thinking about playing some events internationally this fall, whereas you know either that be Australia or Dubai or Japan or whatever it might be. Um you’re really kind of looking forward to doing something like that. But whereas if I was grinding um trying to keep my card, you know, I’d be playing Sanderson Farms and Bermuda and there’s no shot at those events. It’s just that wouldn’t be possible to kind of do some things that are um are different for me. So, um I think that’s basically the only big change right now. Uh hopefully top 50 for next year and getting all to the these signature events that they have. And um besides that, it’s just going to be a lot of uh going into next year being able to set a schedule, being able to plan weeks and months in advance, book hotels before the week before, um maybe get get a get a couple cheaper flights cuz uh you can book them a couple months out. So like things like that where you know right a lot of stuff that guys kind of in my position that are either on the cusp of getting in events or not or you know having to switch up their schedule last minute. It’s just a lot of last minute travel, a lot of last minute um hotels and flights and uh logistical kind of nightmares. So hopefully easing the stress on that is going to be is going to be fun. Let’s go back to how you got on the PJ tour. So, I assume people who are listening know, but uh two years ago, Ryan uh Monday for the Honda at the time, finished fourth, got special temporary membership. The Honda Monday’s gone. The waste management’s gone. Obviously, there’s just a ton of changes, and I get some of them, Ryan. I’m not totally against all of them, but you just spoke about meritocracy. I think pro golf is unfortunately it’s still meritocracy you still have to play well but it’s getting further and further away for chances to get onto the PGA tour. So um what’s your thoughts about Monday’s going away because your career’s been directly affected by Yeah, I mean I think it’s it’s tough. It’s it’s really sad. I think from a from a macro sense um people understand what the PJ tour is trying to do by reducing the field sizes. Um, but it’s it’s it’s hard, man. Like, there’s so many good players. I mean, there’s hundreds of good players who don’t have cornferry status that like, you know, given the right opportunities, given the proper financial backing, given maybe another year of experience under their belt, could be on the PJ tour and contend. And I see it all the time u living in Florida where there’s like mini tours and money games and guys just grinding and um it it it’s it’s hard. It’s it’s sad. It’s it’s it’s unfortunate because it’s impossible to ask the average golf fan to care about that many people. Yep. But you don’t want to give away opportunities from guys that could potentially make a name for themselves. And Monday qualifiers were kind of this special thing that we had in golf where anyone could show up and play their way into a tour event. um anyone could show up and make a name for themselves and and basically seven rounds of golf, six rounds of golf. And um it’s it’s unfortunate that that’s going by the wayside. And I feel like there’s got to be a way that that they can kind of bring him back in some way. But for right now, I think they’re really really trying to PJ Tour in general is really trying to, you know, emphasize their product for the for the casual fans. And I think they they believe the best way to do that is um make it so that the bigger name players are more often on the top of the leaderboard, so people are more inclined to be watching. And you know, it it’s it’s tough because you want to see uh you want to see new people come up. You want to see uh guys get challenged. You want to see cuts being made um as a as a real accomplishment. But um here we are. Yeah. I mean, that’s always been my argument, Ryan, is like even if you agree with reduced fields, it’s that the door is closing. I I would be uh I would be totally okay with smaller fields if there was still a lot of pathways to get onto the tour. Uh and I’ve used this stat many times. It’s changed since the top 50 has changed, but at one time I did it. It was 15 of the top 50 in the world had made it to the PJ tour on a path that will be gone in 2026. And so it’s not to me it’s not really about the Monday qualifiers themselves. Obviously I’m biased and I would love to see those but it’s the fact that guys have changed their careers. Obviously I’m talking to one now uh through Mondays. And so we’re missing we’ll never know but we’re the we’ll never know those people but there’s a fact is we’re going to have players that we’re going to miss out on because Mondays aren’t here. Uh and the paths are closer. I use Neil Shiffley all the time as an example is like he only had four starts to start this season and he was like two or three in and was had missed every cut. Obviously he would have got some exemptions. He would have got some opportunities. He could have Monday. I’m not saying he wouldn’t have made it but he was two cuts away from being in a really tough spot. And as you know I mean I use Peter Quest all the time. Peter’s so talented, do top 10s every time he Mondays and can’t crack an egg on the on the Cornferry tour for the most part. He’s just a better PJ tour player. And so, uh, we just need Pathways in my opinion, obviously. But, um, Ryan, what a crazy week. The, uh, your first PJ tour win and then it has to be the craziest round of golf with Cam that you’ve ever been a part of, I assume. Yeah, I mean it was unbelievable week. I still don’t really believe what I’ve witnessed with Cam. The crazy thing was like I chipped in and hulled out from a bunker and like basically like those shots. Yeah, they they stumped like Yeah. Um but no, I’m I’m super pumped for him. I mean, he was basically grinning ear to ear the whole time. I think it was the most fun he’s ever had on a golf course. So, uh, of all things, of all places, it was it was pretty special. And um you know it’s it’s been a long season and it was cool to kind of have like a fun round of golf here and there and kind of like take a step back and see see like what makes you know just casual round of golf so awesome and see those shots that are just like you you have with your buddies good and bad that are like I it it helps you appreciate what um most people do when they’re when they’re playing non- tournament tournaments. at golf and just enjoying enjoying being out there. Yeah. Um Ryan’s Ryan has always been great to me. I appreciate it. Uh super happy for you, man. Now it’s like now the easy part’s done for a minute here, so let’s might as well go win a playoff event or uh whatever. You know, like you got two years to like free roll. So I appreciate all of your text calls. Whenever I have a question, Ryan’s always there to answer it. So, appreciate uh all you’ve done to help me and super happy for you. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. And uh no, I appreciate it. And you know, no starting strokes at East like this year, so it’s uh it’s really prime for someone like Cory Connors to sneak in there and make some hay. So, Amen. Thanks, buddy. Have a good one. Appreciate it.
