Ryan Gerard’s professional career is going from strength to strength, with the American becoming a mainstay in the world’s top 50 in 2026.
One of the big catalysts for the form that helped take him there is his caddie, JP Burke.
As Burke explained to the Please Let Us Golf podcast, he grew up on a golf course but was more interested in basketball and baseball in his youth.
However, one of his friends was Korn Ferry Tour Austin Hitt, who would go on to forge a career on the Korn Ferry Tour after graduating from the University of North Carolina.
One of Hitt’s teammates was Gerard, whom Burke got to know when he’d take trips to the university to visit him.
Burke eventually took on roles in finance, software sales and property management, but he occasionally took on caddying work for Hitt.
Burke went on to caddie for Walker Lee and Davis Shore, too, but his break with Gerard came at a pivotal moment in the player’s career.
Gerard was a surprise inclusion in the field for the 2025 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, but the reason he had chosen to play in the DP World Tour event soon became clear.
The tournament was held in December, with players in the world’s top 50 at the end of the year earning their spots at The Masters.
Gerard’s roommate at the time was Burke, and he invited him to be his caddie at the event.
Burke accepted, and he helped his friend to a runner-up finish, enough to take him from 57th in the world rankings to 46th and into the field for Augusta National.
In the end, it wasn't Burke who accompanied Gerard at the tournament, but Steven Hale.
However, he has since turned back to the services of Burke, and the two haven’t looked back, with Gerard producing more strong finishes in 2026.
Meanwhile, at the Memorial Tournament, with Burke’s help, he was just one back of the lead at the halfway stage in pursuit of his first win at a PGA Tour Signature Event.
Burke’s route to caddying may not have been conventional, but his work alongside Gerard appears to show that, with a growing reputation, he is set for a long and successful career in the game.
