Ryan Gerard Had Plans For The Barracuda Championship

While the Open Championship was underway, there was another tournament taking place in California.  The Barracuda Championship was seeing its own share of spectacle while Scottie Scheffler was dominating the field at Royal Portrush.  The modified event saw a victor in Ryan Gerard as he took home the win.  Yet despite winning, he found himself disappointed in how the tournament concluded. 

The Baracuda Championship

The Barrcuda Championship is a bit of a weird tournament.  Not in how the field is structured, but rather in how it is scored.  The tournament was using a modified Stableford scoring system, meaning that a double bogey would be a -3 and a birdie was worth 2.  This would also mean that it would be easier to fall behind, but also to get back ahead.  This is exactly what Ryan Gerard experienced with fellow competitor Erik Van Rooyen.   Rooyen managed to get a birdie on the last hole, which led to Gerard not being able to do what he had planned for the tournament.

What Did Ryan Gerard Have Planned?  

What Gerard wanted to do was have this tournament go out in style.  He wanted this because in an interview, he claimed that the event was in its last year.  The way Gerard wanted to go was to walk right off the green on the last hole and just accept the penalty.  Gerard talked about the modified scoring system:

“Made it a little bit more interesting than I would have liked in the end.  I was a little bit disappointed that I didn’t have a big enough lead going into 18 because I would have just scooped it, walked off, and taken the minus three, and walked into the clubhouse.  That would have been the way to cap it because I know this event is probably in its last year.  I was trying to go out in style, but Erik made birdie on the last so I had to actually get it in the hole.”

A wild way to end a tournament in its final year.  To just saunter off the field and casually meet everyone back in the clubhouse while still winning the prize.  It would have certainly made the tournament stand out next to the major happening in Northern Ireland.  

Ryan Gerard Still Victorious

In an alternate timeline all it would have taken was for Gerard’s score to be a little bit higher, and everyone would be talking about him just walking off for years to come.  His name would have been remembered as the man who swaggered off the field during the last hole and still won.  Unfortunately, that is not what happened.  Erik Van Rooyen scored higher than expected and Gerard had to see it to the end.  There are no hard feelings between the two over this; can’t blame another player for trying for the win too.  Especially since this plan was a secret until Gerard revealed it to everyone.  For now, though, Ryan Gerard is taking a quick rest while the 3M Open is taking place in Minnesota, and everyone else can speculate on what could have been.