LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Ryan Gerard held off South African Erik van Rooyen down the back nine on Sunday to win the Barracuda Championship for his first US PGA Tour title.

The 25-year-old American, whose best career finish had been a runner-up effort at this year's Texas Open, eagled twice in the final round for the victory.

"It's just like a culmination of a lifetime of work," Gerard said.

"I can't tell you how many hours I've spent hitting golf balls dreaming of winning on the PGA Tour. It's really special."

Gerard edged Van Rooyen 47-44 under the Modified Stableford scoring system to capture the event at Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee, California.

Under the unique scoring format, an albatross is worth eight points, an eagle five and a birdie two. Pars are no points while a bogey is minus-one point and any worse score is minus-three points.

The tournament was played opposite the British Open, where top-ranked Scottie Scheffler won his fourth career major title and second major crown of the year.

Gerard, who shared the 54-hole lead on 34 points, added 13 points in the last round with two eagles, four birdies and five bogeys.

"I've been playing a lot of really good golf," Gerard said.

"I've felt like I haven't been getting the scores out of the shots that I've hit and it has been a long time, a long grind. Yeah, it's pretty cool that I end up on top."

Van Rooyen, whose first PGA victory was at the 2021 Barracuda, settled for his second runner-up finish of the year after the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May.