Things to Know

• Ryan Gerard cards career-low round of 10-under 61 and takes a three-stroke lead at 17-under 125, breaking the 36-hole tournament scoring record (129/Ryan McCormick, Wilson Furr/2023) and tying the seventh-lowest opening 36-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history.
• Gerard, who posted 17-under 125 for the outright 36-hole lead at the 2024 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS, becomes the first player in Korn Ferry Tour history with an opening 36-hole score of 125 or better multiple times in a career.
• Gerard shares the low round of the day (61) with Rhein Gibson (T7/-11) and Yi Cao (T17/-10).
• Joe Weiler breaks the previous 36-hole tournament scoring record of 129 with 14-under 128, establishes a new career-high 36-hole position and sits three strokes off the lead in solo second.
• The 36-hole cut was made at 6-under 136, with 75 professionals advancing to the weekend.

Ryan Gerard (1st/-17)

• Holds third career 36-hole lead/co-lead in a Korn Ferry Tour event (all this season) – T1/2024 Panama Championship/finished T11, 1st/2024 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS/finished T8
• In his 26th career Korn Ferry Tour start, cards career-low round of 10-under 61; his previous career-low round was 9-under 62/2024 Memorial Health Championship/Round 1
• Lapped the field at the 2024 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX for his first career Korn Ferry Tour title, posting a six-stroke victory in Greer, South Carolina
• Played the first four events of the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season, highlighted by a T3 at the 2023 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard, but earned and accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR in April 2023 and played the rest of the year on TOUR
• Finished solo-fourth as an open qualifier at the 2023 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches (stood T3 through 36 holes), followed by a T11 at the Puerto Rico Open, T71 at the Valspar Championship and T56 at the Valero Texas Open en route to Special Temporary Membership
• Added a second top-10 on TOUR at the 2023 Barracuda Championship (fifth)
• Finished No. 5 in the 2022 Fortinet Cup Standings on PGA TOUR Canada with a victory and two additional top-four finishes
• Turned professional in 2022 after five seasons at University of North Carolina (2017-22), where he won one collegiate event, garnered 2022 All-America Second Team recognition, and finished as the program’s career scoring average leader (71.65), breaking the school record previously established by Ben Griffin (72.02)

Joe Weiler (2nd/-14)

• Establishes new career-high 36-hole position, standing solo second and three strokes off the lead; previous career-high 36-hole position was T7/2023 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship/finished T21
• Sets a new career-low 36-hole score of 14-under 128; previous career-low 36 hole score was 132 on two occasions (2023 Albertsons Boise Open, 2023 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open)
• Finished T21 at the 2023 NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank in what was his tournament debut
• Finished No. 83 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie last season, retaining conditional status for the 2024 season
• Has two top-10s in 17 starts this season (T8/Visit Knoxville Open; T10/The Ascendant presented by Blue); he recorded one top-10 in 21 starts last season (T7/2023 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX)
• Finished T12 at Final Stage of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (now PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry) and earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2023 season
• Turned professional in 2022 after five seasons at Purdue University (2017-22), where he earned All-Big Ten Conference First Team honors in 2020 and 2022
• Won the 2019 Indiana Amateur State Championship, joining fellow Purdue alums Adam Schenk (2013) and PGA TOUR winner Tyler Duncan (2011) as champions of the event

Quotables

Ryan Gerard on his second-round 61… “I played really solid all day, just really hung tough. The course got a little bit firmer and a little bit windier as the day wore on, so I hit it really, really well. I hit a lot of shots to kick‑in range early in the round, which is always good to kind of have stress‑free birdies. Just played really solid all day today. Had a couple chances for birdie coming down the stretch and gave it a chance on 9, hit a 5‑iron, landed about 12 inches away from the hole for a 59. Played good, very happy with everything, but a little bittersweet.”

Gerard on the biggest change for him since winning earlier this season…“A little bit of confidence. I feel like I've been playing well for a long time. Doesn't necessarily always show in the scores like how well you actually are playing. Just been going out there really trying to put together quality shot after quality shot, not overdoing it, not overthinking it. Just knowing that I have a really good opportunity in front of me to get to the PGA TOUR again and that's kind of been the main focus here for the last few months. We're just going out there with a ‘one shot at a time’ attitude from every swing that we make.”

Additional Player Notes

• Two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Kris Ventura (3rd/-13) stands T3 or higher through 36 holes for the third time this season and for the second consecutive start (T3/Price Cutter Charity Championship/finished T24; T3/Visit Knoxville Open/finished T14); he will represent Norway at the 2024 Paris Olympics next week.
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Curtis Luck (T4/-12) eagles the par-5 18th and par-5 fifth en route to his second consecutive 6-under 65 in what is his third start since the beginning of May.
• Thomas Rosenmueller (T4/-12) ties his career-high 36-hole position (T4/2023 Ascendant presented by Blue/finished T12).
• Korn Ferry Tour winner John Pak (T4/-12), who stands No. 16 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, stands inside the top five through 36 holes for the second time in his career (first/2024 Compliance Solutions Championship/Won).