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University of North Carolina Athletics
Monday, October 8
Notre Dame, Ind. (Warren GC)
All Day
North Carolina
at
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic Day Two
Gerard Shoots UNC-Record 10 Under 61
October 8, 2018 | Men's Golf
Tar Heels Finish 3rd at Notre Dame
University of North Carolina sophomore Ryan Gerard shot the best round in UNC men's golf history today, a bogey-free, 10-under-par 61 in the final round of the Fighting Irish Classic at Notre Dame's Warren Golf Course.
Gerard, a Raleigh native who attended Ravenscroft High School, made 10 birdies, four on the front side and six on the back. Yesterday, he fired a then-collegiate-best 65 in the first round and a 73 in the afternoon.
Steven Fisk of Georgia Southern edged Gerard by a single shot after making birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, capturing medalist honors by sinking a 50-foot putt on the par-4, 455-yard final hole.
In addition to setting school and tournament records for score and strokes against par in a round, Gerard became the third Tar Heel to ever shoot under 200 in a 54-hole event. He shot 65-73-61 to finish at 199.
"The big difference between the second round and the other rounds was the speed of my putts," says Gerard. "I gauged the speed on the greens so much better yesterday morning and again today. Sunday afternoon I struggled a lot with the speed on the greens otherwise I could have saved at least something under par. But it's really cool to break these records knowing that there have been so many great players at UNC and the fact I can put my name in the record book like this is awesome."
Four Tar Heels – Ben Griffin (2017 Tar Heel Intercollegiate), Carter Jenkins (2015 Primland Collegiate), Jack Fields (2009 UNCG Bridgestone) and Jack Fields (in 1951 match vs. Duke at the Hope Valley Country Club) – previously shot 63 in a round. Griffin and Jenkins held the previous record at 9 under.
Griffin (197 at the 2017 Tar Heel Intercollegiate), Register (199 at the 2015 Primland) and Gerard are the only Tar Heels to shoot under 200 over three rounds.
This was the 13th Fighting Irish Classic on the Notre Dame campus. The previous low round was a 62 set on Sunday by Georgia Southern's Avery Price. No one else had shot lower than 64 in the event's first dozen years. Notre Dame's Blake Barens had owned the previous 54-hole tournament record with a 9-under-201 prior to Fisk's 198 and Gerard's 199 totals.
"I knew I might have something special going today when I got to the 14th hole," says Gerard. "I hit an 8 iron from 195 yards to about four feet, which gave me a putt to go 8 under. I thought 'Dang, this could be really low.'"
Gerard birdied the first and fifth holes today and was 2 under through the first seven holes. He then birdied eight of the next 10 holes – 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17 – to shoot 61.
"Ryan had a great tournament and obviously an incredible day today," says Carolina head coach Andrew DiBitetto. "Sixty-one is good anywhere, but 61 on a golf course that is going to host the U.S. Senior Open in less than a year is a remarkable accomplishment. The 61 is special and so are the records but even better is how and why Ryan was able to play so well. Ryan's primary focus this week was his mindset and demeanor and he found a space that will benefit him for as long as he plays golf. He never lost the competitiveness that makes him so special, but this week he was exceptionally calm, steady and unflappable. I also want to give Coach (Matt) Clark credit, as he walked with him for all 54 holes and helped Ryan stick to the process and stay in a great rhythm."
Carolina shot 271 total on Monday, the seventh-best round in school history (UNC shot a 270 in Sunday's first round). Freshman Ryan Burnett (Lafayette, Calif.) shot a 3 under 68 and finished the tournament tied for seventh at 10 under 203.
Junior Austin Hitt (Longwood, Fla.) shot 72 today and tied for 15th at 207 (-6). Senior Preyer Fountain (Raleigh, N.C.) made seven birdies en route to a final round 70 today.
The Tar Heels finished third at 821, the second-best 54-hole total in school history. UNC shot 31 strokes under par, which tied the third-best score to par for a tournament in school history.
Illinois won the team title at 808 (-44) with Georgia Southern second at 818 (-34). Iowa (833), Notre Dame (838), Wisconsin and Iowa State (841s), Michigan (845), Michigan State (850) and NIU and Southern Illinois (851s) rounded out the top 10.
Fisk shot 64-69-65 to win capture medalist honors with a tournament-record 15 under 198.
"Overall we had a solid week," says DiBitetto. "We had a good game plan and strategy coming into the event, thanks to (UNC director of athletics) Bubba Cunningham, who had a significant role in the creation of the Warren Golf Course during his time at Notre Dame. There were many positives to the week, such as leading the field in birdies. As always, we'll learn what we can from the most recent event and look to be better at our next tournament."
The Tar Heels return to action Oct. 22-23 at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in Dallas, Texas.
Gerard, a Raleigh native who attended Ravenscroft High School, made 10 birdies, four on the front side and six on the back. Yesterday, he fired a then-collegiate-best 65 in the first round and a 73 in the afternoon.
Steven Fisk of Georgia Southern edged Gerard by a single shot after making birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, capturing medalist honors by sinking a 50-foot putt on the par-4, 455-yard final hole.
In addition to setting school and tournament records for score and strokes against par in a round, Gerard became the third Tar Heel to ever shoot under 200 in a 54-hole event. He shot 65-73-61 to finish at 199.
"The big difference between the second round and the other rounds was the speed of my putts," says Gerard. "I gauged the speed on the greens so much better yesterday morning and again today. Sunday afternoon I struggled a lot with the speed on the greens otherwise I could have saved at least something under par. But it's really cool to break these records knowing that there have been so many great players at UNC and the fact I can put my name in the record book like this is awesome."
Four Tar Heels – Ben Griffin (2017 Tar Heel Intercollegiate), Carter Jenkins (2015 Primland Collegiate), Jack Fields (2009 UNCG Bridgestone) and Jack Fields (in 1951 match vs. Duke at the Hope Valley Country Club) – previously shot 63 in a round. Griffin and Jenkins held the previous record at 9 under.
Griffin (197 at the 2017 Tar Heel Intercollegiate), Register (199 at the 2015 Primland) and Gerard are the only Tar Heels to shoot under 200 over three rounds.
This was the 13th Fighting Irish Classic on the Notre Dame campus. The previous low round was a 62 set on Sunday by Georgia Southern's Avery Price. No one else had shot lower than 64 in the event's first dozen years. Notre Dame's Blake Barens had owned the previous 54-hole tournament record with a 9-under-201 prior to Fisk's 198 and Gerard's 199 totals.
"I knew I might have something special going today when I got to the 14th hole," says Gerard. "I hit an 8 iron from 195 yards to about four feet, which gave me a putt to go 8 under. I thought 'Dang, this could be really low.'"
Gerard birdied the first and fifth holes today and was 2 under through the first seven holes. He then birdied eight of the next 10 holes – 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17 – to shoot 61.
"Ryan had a great tournament and obviously an incredible day today," says Carolina head coach Andrew DiBitetto. "Sixty-one is good anywhere, but 61 on a golf course that is going to host the U.S. Senior Open in less than a year is a remarkable accomplishment. The 61 is special and so are the records but even better is how and why Ryan was able to play so well. Ryan's primary focus this week was his mindset and demeanor and he found a space that will benefit him for as long as he plays golf. He never lost the competitiveness that makes him so special, but this week he was exceptionally calm, steady and unflappable. I also want to give Coach (Matt) Clark credit, as he walked with him for all 54 holes and helped Ryan stick to the process and stay in a great rhythm."
Carolina shot 271 total on Monday, the seventh-best round in school history (UNC shot a 270 in Sunday's first round). Freshman Ryan Burnett (Lafayette, Calif.) shot a 3 under 68 and finished the tournament tied for seventh at 10 under 203.
Junior Austin Hitt (Longwood, Fla.) shot 72 today and tied for 15th at 207 (-6). Senior Preyer Fountain (Raleigh, N.C.) made seven birdies en route to a final round 70 today.
The Tar Heels finished third at 821, the second-best 54-hole total in school history. UNC shot 31 strokes under par, which tied the third-best score to par for a tournament in school history.
Illinois won the team title at 808 (-44) with Georgia Southern second at 818 (-34). Iowa (833), Notre Dame (838), Wisconsin and Iowa State (841s), Michigan (845), Michigan State (850) and NIU and Southern Illinois (851s) rounded out the top 10.
Fisk shot 64-69-65 to win capture medalist honors with a tournament-record 15 under 198.
"Overall we had a solid week," says DiBitetto. "We had a good game plan and strategy coming into the event, thanks to (UNC director of athletics) Bubba Cunningham, who had a significant role in the creation of the Warren Golf Course during his time at Notre Dame. There were many positives to the week, such as leading the field in birdies. As always, we'll learn what we can from the most recent event and look to be better at our next tournament."
The Tar Heels return to action Oct. 22-23 at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in Dallas, Texas.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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