Follow us on Google Discover Ryan Gerard has lauded the fans at Wentworth after the first round of the BMW PGA Championship as the American was asked how the event compares with The Players Championship on the PGA Tour.
Gerard is one of the notable names in the field this week in Surrey. The 27-year-old finished third in the FedEx Cup standings after a superb performance at the Tour Championship. And he is off to an extremely bright start at Wentworth.
Gerard ended his opening round in third place on five-under par. He made six birdies and one bogey to leave himself one shot back of early pace-setters Aaron Rai and Joakim Lagergren. The highlight of his day came when he made a run of five birdies in seven holes.
Ryan Gerard praises the fans at Wentworth after the first round of the BMW PGA Championship
It was a real statement when you consider the depth of the field this week. Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, and Viktor Hovland all got off to bright starts.
It is a great boost to the DP World Tour to have so much star power for its flagship event. And speaking after his opening round on Thursday, Gerard was asked to assess how the BMW PGA Championship compares to the PGA Tour’s biggest week.
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“It’s cool. I feel like we got some big crowds today. I don’t know if they were watching us or just waiting for Rory to come in behind us, but a lot of people are really stoked to be here and that’s awesome. You can feel the energy,” he said.
“It’s a great tournament. It’s very well run from top to bottom, and they do a great job of treating it like a flagship event. Excited to be here and hopefully it’s not my first but second of many that I play.”
Ryan Gerard benefitting from his previous visit to Wentworth
It is the second time that Gerard has played at Wentworth. He finished in a tie for 38th last year having got off to a slow start and posting an opening round of 73.
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And Gerard explained how he has used that experience to help him this time around.
“I really like the golf course. I feel like I got used to a couple of the tee shots that are a little bit more weird and difficult. I hit a really good tee shot on 17, a really good tee shot on 18 and didn’t take advantage of them. Those are holes I really struggled with last year off the tee because the angles are a bit strange,” he said.
“I like this golf course a lot. You just have to kind of be patient. The hole locations can get pretty gnarly, and I felt like we were putting the ball in the right spots.”
Gerard was arguably unlucky to miss out on making the Presidents Cup team after an impressive year on the PGA Tour. He will hope that he can send something of a message to Brandt Snedeker with his performance this week.
He is certainly well-placed to put himself in contention over the remaining three rounds.
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