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Written by DOUG FERGUSON<\/p>\n
Ryan Gerard left his home in south Florida at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 for a trip he never imagined taking this year, and one he certainly didn\u2019t regret.<\/p>\n
He returned home nine days and some 20,000 miles later after stops that included Italy on his way to a small island off the coast of Africa, and an eight-hour layover in Paris on the way back that gave him enough time to see the Arc de Triomphe and the Notre-Dame Cathedral.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am looking at the Eiffel Tower,\u201d Gerard said by phone Monday afternoon. \u201cPretty sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oh, and along the way\u00a0he picked up an invitation to the Masters<\/a>.<\/p>\n That green envelope \u2014 Augusta National doesn\u2019t do evites \u2014 might not be there right away. The final Official World Golf Ranking for the year isn\u2019t published until Sunday, and the 26-year-old Gerard will check in at No. 44.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s all because of his decision to play one more tournament, even if that meant flying over the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to get to the Mauritius Open, the final tournament this year on the European tour and Sunshine Tour schedule.<\/p>\n Despite some 36 hours of travel \u2014 he got to his hotel at 1 p.m. Monday local time \u2014 Gerard opened with rounds of 68-69 and was tied for fifth. He was No. 57 in the world and needed a two-way tie for fourth to crack the top 50.<\/p>\n \u201cI figured I\u2019d have one more crack at that and give it my best shot,\u201d he said after the second round. \u201cThen I could hang my hat on giving it my all for the season, and the top 50 by the end of the year to get into the Masters. So that\u2019s kind of a kick in the pants to come 10 000 miles from Florida and tee it up. It wasn\u2019t on the Bingo card at the start of the season, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n And then bingo! He posted a 63 at Heritage La Reserve Golf Links the next day to take the lead. On Sunday, he wound up in a playoff with scorching hot Jayden Schaper, the South African who has won the last two tournaments by making eagle in a playoff.<\/p>\n In Mauritius,\u00a0Schaper holed out from about 60 yards<\/a>\u00a0short of the green for eagle to beat Gerard.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have loved to win,\u201d Gerard said. \u201cBut it was an unbelievable shot. He flew it perfect. Two hops, check, use the side slope and just trickled in. Hats off to him. He\u2019s been playing great golf. Back-to-back weeks where in a playoff he\u2019s made eagle from off the green to win it.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really know how often that happens,\u201d he said with a laugh, \u201cbut it seems pretty rare.\u201d<\/p>\n The consolation for Gerard was a big one \u2014 his first Masters.<\/p>\n Augusta was on his mind when Gerard played the RSM Classic at Sea Island last month \u2014 the final PGA Tour stop of the year \u2014 when he was No. 49 in the world. And then he missed the cut.<\/p>\n \u201cI was looking Friday afternoon and was like, \u2018Hey, does it make sense to go do anything?\u2019 I was going to try to play the Nedbank (in South Africa), but the tournament deadline was the day before I missed the cut,\u201d Gerard said.<\/p>\n The Alfred Dunhill was out because that was the weekend his good friend and former North Carolina teammate Ben Griffin was getting married.<\/p>\n Last on the list was Mauritius. He had heard enough about Mauritius from Christo Lamprecht of South Africa that he checked the schedule, did the math and signed up.<\/p>\n Gerard had already done a fair bit of traveling after he narrowly missed out on the Tour Championship. He played in Ireland and England, Japan and Abu Dhabi. Clearly, he\u2019s willing to travel. This summer, he flew across eight time zones from Scotland to Lake Tahoe and then\u00a0won the Barracuda Championship for his first PGA Tour title.<\/a><\/p>\n What\u2019s another trip with so much on the line?<\/p>\n Key to this tale was that win at the Barracuda Championship, the same week as the British Open. As an opposite-field event, it did not come with a Masters invitation. But it was co-sanctioned by the European tour, and that gave access to those events.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I realized it,\u201d he said of his European perk. \u201cI just didn\u2019t realize how impactful it might be.\u201d<\/p>\n Chasing points of any variety can be dangerous in golf. Griffin, for example, played 13 consecutive weeks early this year in a bid to make the Masters (he fell just short).<\/p>\n There also was the case of Brandt Snedeker, who in 2017 missed five months with a sternum injury and watched his world ranking plunge. He ended the PGA Tour season at No. 50 in the world and then started sliding.<\/p>\n Snedeker, much like Gerard did this year, flew halfway around the world to play in the Indonesia Masters. It didn\u2019t have the same happy ending \u2014 Snedeker was near the cut line when he had to withdraw after the second round with heat exhaustion and dehydration.<\/p>\n Gerard wasn\u2019t down to his last chance. He would have had three months to start 2026 to either win or do well enough to get into the top 50, but he saw an opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cFigured I got nothing better to do,\u201d he said. \u201cIt seemed like a cool thing, made sure it worked logistically and just went for it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Featured image via Associated Press\/David J. Phillip<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \u2039<\/p>\n The Tar Heels saw their time in the NCAA Men\u2019s Golf Championship come to an end on Tuesday in Scottsdale, Arizona when they fell to No. 1 seed Arizona State in the match play portion of the event by a score of 3.5 to 1.5. As a result, UNC finished the event in a tie [\u2026]<\/p>\n <\/a> Following an eighth place finish in the stroke play portion of the NCAA Men\u2019s Golf Championship on Monday in Scottsdale, Arizona, the No. 6 seed Tar Heels advanced to the match play portion of the event. UNC shot 12-over-par in Monday\u2019s fourth round to finish stroke play with a combined team score of 25-over-par, which [\u2026]<\/p>\n <\/a> UNC wrapped up play in Sunday\u2019s third round of the NCAA Men\u2019s Golf Championship sitting in sixth place, good enough to advance to Monday\u2019s fourth round at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Tar Heels finished Sunday with a combined 54-hole score of 13-over-par and were tied for sixth alongside Vanderbilt and Wake [\u2026]<\/p>\n <\/a> Saturday\u2019s second round of the NCAA Men\u2019s Golf Championship at the Grayhawk Club in Scottsdale, Arizona saw No. 6 seed UNC shoot 2-under-par and climb 10 spots to fifth place on the team leaderboard. Senior Ryan Gerard and freshman Peter Fountain \u2014 this year\u2019s ACC champion \u2014 each shot 2-under-par 68\u2019s to lead the Tar [\u2026]<\/p>\n <\/a> Tuesday marked the end of the second round at the NCAA Noblesville Regional, where the UNC men\u2019s golf team hit the 36-hole mark in third place on the team leaderboard. The No. 2 seed Tar Heels sit at 7-under-par entering Wednesday\u2019s third\u2013and final\u2013round, just one shot behind second-place Tennessee (-8) and eight off first-place Texas [\u2026]<\/p>\n <\/a> After winning the stroke play portion of the ACC Championships last week, the UNC men\u2019s golf team earned the No. 2 seed on Wednesday for the NCAA Noblesville (Ind.) Regional\u2013which will be held May 17-19 at the Sagamore Club. This marks the sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid for the Tar Heels and 28th appearance in [\u2026]<\/p>\n <\/a> Faced with the prospect of an early elimination from the NCAA Men\u2019s Golf Championship Tournament in Sunday\u2019s Third Round action, UNC put together an impressive showing on the back nine at\u00a0Karsten Creek Golf Club to earn a spot in Monday\u2019s Fourth Round. The Tar Heels earned the 15th, and final, spot in the field for [\u2026]<\/p>\n <\/a> Following the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men\u2019s Golf Championship tournament\u00a0at Karsten Creek Golf Club, UNC currently sits tied for 13th place with a score of 9-over-par. The Tar Heels shot just one stroke over par on Saturday following a rough opening round. Joshua Martin was UNC\u2019s top performer in the round, shooting a [\u2026]<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/austin-greaser-2.jpg\"\/)
UNC Falls to No. 1 Arizona State in Match Play, Tar Heels Finish Tied for Fifth at NCAA Men’s Golf Championship<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/unc-mens-golf-ncaa.jpeg\"\/)
UNC Qualifies for Match Play Portion of NCAA Men’s Golf Championship<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/peter-fountain-1.jpg\"\/)
UNC in Sixth Place Following Sunday’s Third Round of NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, Advances to Monday’s Fourth Round<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ryan-gerard.jpeg\"\/)
UNC Climbs 10 Spots to Fifth Place in Second Round of NCAA Men’s Golf Championship<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/austin-greaser.jpg\"\/)
UNC Men’s Golf in Third Place Following Second Round of NCAA Regional<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/austin-hitt-10.jpg\"\/)
UNC Men’s Golf Earns No. 2 Seed in NCAA Noblesville Regional<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/austin-hitt-2.jpg\"\/)
Tar Heels Rally Back to Qualify for Fourth Round of NCAA Men’s Golf Championship Tournament<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/joshua-martin-unc-golf.jpg\"\/)
UNC Tied for 13th Following Second Round of NCAA Men’s Golf Championship Tournament<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766974458_966_image-183.png\"\/)
Ryan Gerard Flew Across 2 Oceans and 2 Seas. The Payoff was a Masters Invitation.<\/p>\n