THE MODERATOR: All right, Ryan, win No. 1 on the PGA TOUR. Talk us through the emotions you're feeling right now.
RYAN GERARD: It's cool. I don't really know if I've had a chance to really realize it yet, but it is special.
It's one of those things that when you're a kid it's just all you dream of doing. Put in a lot of hours trying to get here, and, yeah, it's pretty cool. It's really special. It's something that I can take with me forever and hopefully it's the first of many.
Q. You had a good lead early in the round; knew you had a great week. Was it difficult at all today to block out the thought of winning and focus on each shot?
RYAN GERARD: It's always difficult. You just don't want to catch yourself like almost daydreaming out there. I kind of gave myself a little bit of time last night, this morning to kind of think about what it would mean to me to win, kind of fully like kind of branch it out, and from then on I just kind of tried to lock in and made it my goal to just repeat one shot at a time over and over to myself for basically the entire day.
So, yeah, I had a really good talk with Pepsi out there on a couple of holes. There is a lot of golf left. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Just go out there and keep doing what we been doing and hitting quality shots.
Yeah, we made it. It worked out.
Q. You said you were thinking to yourself what it would mean to win. Now that you have won, what does it mean?
RYAN GERARD: It's really cool. I mean, every little kid that plays golf that wants to play it professionally wants to win on the PGA TOUR.
It's like a six year old Ryan's dream come true. I mean, guaranteed couple year exemption to continue living out my dream, guaranteed a lot of things, just opportunities that I wouldn't have without it.
So it's really special. It's cool to be a PGA TOUR winner. Can't ever take that away from you.
Q. How much does this win change the rest of the season for you?
RYAN GERARD: I would say it changes a little bit. I mean, I think -- I don't know how the math works, but I think I should probably be good inside the top 50. I have a really good opportunity to chase East Lake and try and get some pretty cool stuff out of that and have a chance to contend deep in the playoffs.
In terms of greater for the rest of this year, takes a little bit of the pressure off. Let's me go out there and have a little bit more fun, be a little bit more freed up and enjoy it a little bit more instead of having to -- I'm always going to grind. That's kind of always what I do, but it's a little less stressful.
Q. Yesterday you talked about kind of battling between the decision of whether to stay as an alternate for the Open but ultimately played here. Fellow Tar Heel Ben Griffin posted the text exchange where you're deciding that, and he said, go get the win in Tahoe. What does it mean to get it then?
RYAN GERARD: It's just -- I would've been pissed if I had gotten in The Open and wasn't there. Had a really good talk with everyone kind of on my team. Fernando my agent orient, Pepsi, caddie, family, everyone and just figured I really like this golf course. I've played well in this area. Feel like it suits my game nicely.
To go out there and take advantage of the opportunities that you do have because you don't know how many more you're going to get. Glad we made that decision. It was a tough one, but took advantage of the opportunity.
Q. Caddies often have funny nicknames on TOUR. Yours being Pepsi, how many Pepsis do you think does he go through in a round, and how special is that relationship?
RYAN GERARD: Yeah, it's great. He's been doing it for a very long time. He's a legend in the true sense of the word. He's got so much experience and kind of this calm demeanor to him out there, especially when we get in contention. That's really, really awesome. It's helpful for me.
He was drinking like 10 to 12 of them a day. He's cut back a little bit. But he like hides them on the golf course. If you're walking around a PGA TOUR event there might be Pepsis in a bush or under a ShotLink tower. I mean, fair game. There is some everywhere. That's kind of where he got the name.
Yeah, he drinks probably, I don't know, six or seven of them now. Mix in a few waters. The first time he caddied for me last year he told me he gets all the water he needs from the ice in the Pepsis. That was a bit jarring, but he has got a little healthier.
Q. A great week to be a Pepsi week.
RYAN GERARD: Yeah, great week to be a Pepsi week. I know Coca-Cola is a partner with the TOUR so maybe we can switch him over or something.
Q. Next week you're going to have off. What does celebrating a win look like tonight in Truckee or doing something special with an off week next week?
RYAN GERARD: I have no idea. I haven't thought that far. Probably get something decent to eat I would say, and then, yeah, just rest a little bit. I played a lot of golf tournaments recently. Kind of had this week either planned to take off or take next week off to try and kind of make a good final push for the playoffs.
Understanding that it's been a grind, it's been a battle, and mentally and physically gets a little fatiguing. Just try and reset a little bit and sleep for about three days and then try and go get better.
Q. Have you been able to check your phone at all?
RYAN GERARD: I don't think I even turned it on.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
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