Gerard flies across two oceans and gets Masters invite
BEL OMBRE, Mauritius—Jayden Schaper made it back-to-back titles by winning the Mauritius Open in a playoff over Ryan Gerard, the American who flew across two oceans for the final event of the year and returns home with an invitation to the Masters.
Schaper birdied three of his last four holes for an eight-under-par 64 and then chipped in for eagle to win on the second playoff hole. He won last week in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa by making an eagle in a playoff.
Gerard was No. 57 in the world—the Masters awards invitations to the top 50 in the final world ranking of the year—and needed to finish in the top four to have any chance to get into the Masters. He had a 63-66 weekend and got into a playoff with Schaper, which secured his spot at Augusta National in April.
Schaper, meanwhile, closed his year in sterling fashion. The 24-year-old South African tied for second in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and then won the Alfred Dunhill and Mauritius in playoffs, ending both of them with an eagle.
That moves him from No. 153 to No. 63 in the world in three weeks and gives him a big head start in the Race to Dubai rankings on the European tour.
Meanwhile, in Orlando, Matt Kuchar couldn’t imagine a better ending to a year when he lost his father than to finally win the PNC Championship with his son. There was no stopping them on Sunday in a record-smashing performance that led to an 18-under 54 and a whopping seven-shot victory.
Thinking of dad
The tournament that is all about family and fun ended with Kuchar wiping away tears as his voice cracked while speaking about how much it meant without his father, who died in February.
Cameron Kuchar, who was able to use one tee box forward as a high school student, hammered another drive and watched his father hit a 7 iron to 18 inches. Kuchar gave his son the honor of tapping in for the final touch on an unforgettable week for the Kuchar family.
Peter Kuchar died in February of a heart attack while swimming when he was on a Caribbean cruise with his wife, Meg, to celebrate her birthday.
The PNC Championship, which began in 1995 as the Father-Son Challenge, is for major champions and their children. It has been expanded over the years to include The Players Championship winners, senior and LPGA major champions. Players have brought parents or daughters.
The Kuchars finished at 33-under-111 to break the tournament record by five shots. Lee Trevino delivered the highlight when the 86-year-old holed out from the fairway with a lob wedge for eagle on the 13th hole.
