Blainville, August 7, 2022 – For the second consecutive week, the PGA TOUR Canada witnessed a wire-to-wire victor. Ryan Gerard achieved this feat on Sunday at the Quebec Open at Le Blainvillier Golf Club. The former University of North Carolina star wrapped up his four rounds at 16-under par, edging out Thomas Walsh by one stroke for the tournament win.
This marked only the second wire-to-wire victory on the PGA TOUR Canada since 2017. The other, however, occurred just seven days prior. Noah Goodwin won the Ontario Open Sotheby’s International Realty Canada in a similar fashion.
“It was a really cool experience. I just tried to stay patient and keep calm today,” Gerard stated. “I knew I was leading by several points at one moment, but I tried to take things one step at a time. You never know what can happen.”
Walsh put pressure on Gerard, achieving an eagle on No. 2 and three birdies to move to -15 after 11 holes. That’s when the wind picked up, and Walsh played the rest of the course at par.
“I didn’t think I could catch Ryan,” Walsh admitted. “I played with him [Saturday], and the kid is a true champion. So, I mainly wanted to make him work a bit for his victory.”
Gerard played a rather conservative round initially, with birdies on Nos. 5 and 7. Challenges came towards the end, with bogeys on the 9th, 16th, and 17th holes. He had to make par on the 18th hole to avoid a playoff, which he did. This reduced his final victory margin but didn’t change Gerard’s outlook.
“You really have to focus on your own game. You can’t worry about what others are doing,” Gerard, who shot a 73 on Sunday, remarked. “You have to concentrate fully on what you need to do. Everything else is just a distraction.”
Before clinching his fourth professional tournament, Gerard had missed the cut at the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates. Last week, he tied for 26th at the Ontario Open Sotheby’s International Realty Canada and tied for 18th at the Prince Edward Island Open. The 23-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, earned conditional player status by finishing 15th at the Weston, Florida, qualifying tournament in February.
Gerard credits his victory here to playing three solid rounds to give himself a sufficient lead before Sunday.
“I managed my game really well this week,” he said. “I didn’t waste shots. I hit the shots I needed to. I struck it well. I kept it on the correct side of the hole. This allowed me to stay aggressive when I was putting and not let anything slip. I think that was probably the biggest key to my success.”
“Everything else,” he continued, “just fell into place. And sometimes, it’s your week and you win,” Gerard added.
A three-way tie for third place included Jeffrey Kang, Jake Knapp, and Travis Trace, all finishing at -13. Knapp had the best round of the day, shooting a 65 and climbing to the top of the leaderboard with eight birdies, including seven in the first 12 holes.
“It’s always nice to start the day well,” Knapp stated, who felt he had played well all week but just hadn’t scored as well. “It was good to make some putts and hit some shots a bit closer today.”
The PGA TOUR Canada takes a break next week. It will resume from August 18 to 21 in Winnipeg with the Manitoba Open at the Southwood Golf and Country Club.
GENERAL INFORMATION
HOW THE TOP CANADIANS PERFORMED
Sudarshan Yellamaraju, born in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, but a Canadian citizen, finished sixth overall at 12-under par to lead all Canadians.
FORTINET CUP STANDINGS
(Through the Quebec Open)
After competing in 17 tournaments, Thomas Walsh took a break from the Korn Ferry Tour to “reorganize” his game. The University of Virginia alum chose to participate in two PGA TOUR Canada events as part of this process and finished second twice, at the Ontario Open Sotheby’s International Realty Canada and the Quebec Open. “I’ve worked really hard, and settling for second is tough because I always feel like I’m lagging behind,” Walsh said. “But I think it shows that I’m heading in the right direction.”
Among the Quebec players, Max Gilbert played his first PGA TOUR Canada tournament since his sole appearance in 2019. He took full advantage of his sponsor’s exemption and tied for 19th this week at -8 (280), shooting a final round of 69 (-3) to climb 14 spots in the standings.
“I really played well today! I gave myself a lot of opportunities and avoided difficult situations throughout the day. It was a pretty easy round, so I’m super happy! We’ll try to keep the momentum going and build on this for the coming weeks,” said the golfer from Club de golf Saint-Georges.
His top-20 finish earns him an invitation to next week’s Manitoba Open CentrePort Canada Rail Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Meanwhile, Joey Savoie struggled on the greens Sunday, posting a final round of +1 (73) to close the event. “I played well, that’s what’s a bit annoying. I struck the ball well, hit the greens, but I was always just a little short on my putts,” he commented at the end of his day.
The golfer from Pinegrove dropped seven spots to finish tied for 11th at -9 (279). Despite this slide, Savoie was satisfied with his week’s work, where he remained in contention until the very last day.
“It’s enriching for my development to play in front of my loved ones, at high intensity, and to play in the last groups on the weekend,” he mentioned. “I gain experience and improve every time I find myself in this position. It was great to play in Quebec, and I’m taking away a lot of positives.”
Four other Quebecers were also in action at Le Blainvillier Golf Club on Sunday. Among them, Étienne Papineau (Pinegrove) achieved the best result with a tie for 35th at -5 (283).
His compatriots Brandon Lacasse (Knowlton, E), Yohann Benson (Le Mirage, +1), and Francis Tanguay (Golden Triangle, +2) finished 59th, 64th, and 65th, respectively.
WHAT THEY SAID
“I hit a few sloppy shots towards the end. The ball started going really far, and I’m glad to come out with a win.” – Ryan Gerard
“We train for these situations. I would have measured up against many players trying to make par at 18.” – Ryan Gerard on needing to par the 72nd hole to win.
“I hit the ball in the fairway. From there, I knew I could handle it, I just tried to make sure to play a smart shot and keep it below the hole. I made things as easy as possible.” – Ryan Gerard on how he played his 72nd hole of the week.
“I’ve been playing college golf for a few years. It’s the same thing when you’re trying to win there. You really have to focus on your game. You can’t worry about what others are doing.” – Ryan Gerard
“It wasn’t necessarily the last round hoped for, but I’m still pleased with my tournament, especially after such a long absence. Making it to the weekend rounds allowed me to relive some great moments on the course, and I’m very happy with my week.” – Francis Tanguay
“There are courses where you feel very comfortable and others less so, which is the case for me here. I hit the ball super well, but I had a lot of difficulty on the greens. It remains excellent preparation for the Canada Cup, and it was really fun to be able to play with the next generation of golfers.” – Yohann Benson
“I had trouble making long putts this week, so that didn’t help much. Of course, I’m a bit disappointed because I hoped to do better in front of my loved ones, but it’s still been a great week overall, especially in such a competitive field of golfers. It’s only a matter of time before everything clicks together to play some great golf.” – Étienne Papineau
The Golf Québec team thanks its partners belairdirect, Bolloré, Cruise, DHC Lawyers, Enviro Connexions, Labatt, Mana Yerba Mate, Mathieu Ménard Real Estate Group, MD Financial, and Snack Pow. They made the week’s activities and this international-caliber competition possible this week at Blainvillier.
Attention now turns to the Sani Marc – Fenergic Canada Cup, which will bring together more than 150 female and male golfers at the Victoriaville Golf Club next week. Pro-Am tournaments will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, after which the official rounds of play will start on Thursday.
PGA TOUR CANADA ALUMNI: After securing two consecutive victories on the PGA Tour, 2013 graduate Tony Finau has climbed to 13th in the Official World Golf Ranking, making him the currently highest-ranked player from the PGA TOUR Canada. Since the circuit’s inaugural season in 2013, over 250 players have advanced to the Korn Ferry Tour, with 46 winning a total of 52 tournaments. From there, 54 players have moved on to the PGA TOUR, where 14 have won 18 tournaments. These include Finau, Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Joel Dahmen, J.J. Spaun, Nick Taylor, C.T. Pan, Talor Gooch, Adam Long, Aaron Wise, Cam Davis, Ryan Brehm, Chad Ramey, and Sepp Straka. There are currently 10 Canadians on the PGA Tour.
ABOUT GOLF QUÉBEC – IGNITING PASSIONS, NURTURING DREAMS
Founded in 1920, Golf Québec is the provincial sports federation whose mission is to increase participation in golf and develop excellence. Golf Québec provides discovery and initiation programs such as First Tee – Québec Premiere Tee and services like the rules of golf, course rating, the universal handicap system, and the Quebec Golf Hall of Fame. Golf Québec also oversees various regional and provincial level competitions to push our amateur players to exceed their limits and eventually reach the higher spheres of professional circuits. For more information, visit golfquebec.org.
ABOUT THE QUEBEC OPEN
Golf Québec has been the promoter of the Quebec Open since 2019 and has awarded over $300,000 in prizes. This event is part of the PGA TOUR Canada circuit. The Canadian Taylor Pendrith, currently ranked 99th in the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour, won the first edition in 2019. For more information, visit omniumduquebec.com
ABOUT LE BLAINVILLIER GOLF CLUB
Located on the north crown of Montreal, in the heart of a vast natural woodland, Le Blainvillier is a private 36-hole golf club, whose reputation is well established. Boasting two championship courses that offer exceptional playing conditions, the Royal and the Heritage, Le Blainvillier presents a beautiful challenge for golf enthusiasts of all levels. Designed by architect Graham Cooke, Le Blainvillier opened its doors on May 18, 1991, under the management of professional Raymond Richer. In 2004, Le Blainvillier was designated as the Training Center for Quebec’s elite juniors (CEP). For more information, visit golfblainvillier.com.
ABOUT PGA TOUR CANADA
FORTINET CUP: The season-long points chase reflects the competitive points-based structure of the PGA Tour, PGA TOUR Champions, and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica competitions. Thanks to this sponsorship, the Fortinet Cup offers a new $100,000 bonus – including $25,000 for the winner – to the top Fortinet Cup points earners. The top five in the Fortinet Cup points standings become members of the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023, while certain Korn Ferry Tour benefits are available to those finishing from sixth to tenth place. Additionally, the Fortinet Cup winner will be exempted from the 2023 RBC Canadian Open of the PGA Tour.
Sources :
Sara Wright, Communications – PGA TOUR
Cell. : 719 310-2606, sarawright@pgatourhq.com
Jay Fawler, Communications – PGA TOUR Canada
Cell. : 519 817-7336, jayfawler@pgatourintl.ca
Éric Couture, directeur des compétitions de Golf Québec
514 252-3345, poste 3394 – Cell. : 514 269-3054 – ecouture@golfquebec.org