A Monday Qualifier Is in the Mix at the Honda Classic

23-year-old Ryan Gerard may be making just his second PGA Tour start at the Honda Classic, but he’s playing like a true veteran. Gerard, who Monday qualified into the field this week by surviving a playoff on Tuesday, is just two shots off the lead at PGA National.

Gerard, a North Carolina graduate, sits at 8-under for the tournament, two strokes behind former USC standout Justin Suh. Gerard’s 7-under 63 at the Champion Course was the second-best score of the day on Friday, behind Chris Kirk’s 62. At 9-under for the week, Kirk is one shot back of Suh.

Following the round, a reporter asked Gerard: “If I would have told you on Monday or Tuesday that you would be sitting in solo third at your second start in a Tour event, what would you have said to me?”

The Korn Ferry Tour player’s response was perfect.

“Man, you’re crazy,” Gerard said.

“But it’s definitely something that I’m not surprised that I’m in this position. I may be surprised that I’m here this early in my career, but I’ve always kind of felt like I wanted to be here, and I was going to do whatever I could to make that happen,” he continued.

“This is my dream.”

There’s no place Monday Qualifier Ryan Gerard would rather be than competing @TheHondaClassic.

He’s T3 heading into the weekend at PGA National. pic.twitter.com/g6UN4dp1yx
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 25, 2023

Gerard’s path to his spot in the Honda Classic field was no walk in the park. On a break from the Korn Ferry Tour, Gerard entered the Honda Classic Monday Qualifier, where he shot 66. Beating a field of 100 players, Gerard’s score helped him advance into a playoff on Tuesday morning. The Jupiter, Fla. resident then made it through the one-hole playoff to land a spot in the full-field PGA Tour event.

“Tuesday was definitely stressful. You go into a playoff, and it's every shot kind of matters, and you can't really afford to screw things up,” Gerard said.

The qualifying process is notoriously cut throat, but Gerard has some prior experience. His first PGA Tour start was at last year’s U.S. Open at The Country Club, which he played his way into through both local and final qualifying.

It might be early for Gerard to think about winning this week’s tournament, but that result isn’t out of the question. If the Tar Heel continues on the impressive run and emerges at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday, he would secure PGA Tour membership through 2025.

One win could change the course of Gerard’s career, and he appears to have the mindset to thrive under pressure,

“When my back's kind of been close to up against the wall, it's never really been there yet, but when it's been close to being up against the wall, I've performed well, which is what I think is important to me and what I take a lot of pride in because you don't really find how good you truly are or how much you truly believe in yourself until you're faced with adversity,” Gerard said.

There have only been five players in the history of the PGA Tour to win a tournament as a Monday qualifier. Most recently, Corey Conners qualified into the 2019 Valero Texas Open, and he’s now ranked 37th in the world.