12/21/25 07:50:00
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12/21 07:48 CST Ryan Gerard flew across two oceans to play in Mauritius. It
paid off with a Masters invitation
Ryan Gerard flew across two oceans to play in Mauritius. It paid off with a
Masters invitation
BEL OMBRE, Mauritius (AP) --- Jayden Schaper made it back-to-back titles Sunday
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 8-under 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 eagle in a playoff.
Gerard had reason to feel like a big winner, too.
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 (2,000 kilometers) 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 Shaper, 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.
Augusta National also will invite the top 50 in the world a week before the
Masters.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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