Gerard flew across two oceans to play in Mauritius, secure Masters invite

Ryan Gerard was ranked 57 in the world before the Mauritius Open, needing the finish in the top 50 in the final rankings of the year to secure a Masters invitation

Ryan Gerard is one of 86 players to have qualified for the Masters. Pic: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

RYAN Gerard made his 10,000-mile trip worth the effort Sunday when he was runner-up at the Mauritius Open, good enough for him to join 13 other players who qualified for Masters invitations by finishing the year in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

He was No. 57 in the world — the Masters awards invitations to the top 50 in the final world ranking of the year — and chose to fly from Florida to Mauritius, a small island about 1,250 miles off the eastern coast of Africa. Needing 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 the winner Jayden Schaper, who had secured his spot at Augusta National in April.