Overview
- Video from the par-3 seventh at PGA National showed debris in the air as Gerard’s tee shot intersected a flying bird’s path, prompting viral comparisons to Randy Johnson’s 2001 incident.
- Golf Channel/NBC reporter Smylie Kaufman said the bird was alive and may have only lost a feather, and slow-motion looks left some observers thinking the visible material was divot debris.
- Gerard said after the round he believed it was a very close call rather than a direct strike, calling it his “Randy Johnson moment.”
- PGA Tour tracking recorded the ball finishing approximately 32 feet, 11 inches from the hole, and Gerard two-putted to save par.
- Under golf rules, accidental contact with an animal carries no penalty, and Gerard completed Round 1 at 2-over 73.