The American is no stranger to long-haul travel, having made headlines in golf circles last year for flying from America to the East African island of Mauritius in a bid to land a spot at the Masters.

Gerard was then ranked outside the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking but his runner-up finish in a play-off defeat to Jayden Schaper saw him climb inside that mark and meant the trip was rewarded with an invite to compete at Augusta National.

In the months that have since followed, he has emerged to wider global prominence with two runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour along with a solo third-place performance at the Tour Championship last week to rise to a career-high 22nd in the world.

As such, he arrives at the picturesque Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club after the 4,730-mile journey from Atlanta to Crans-Montana as the top-ranked player in the field for what is his sixth worldwide event in as many weeks.

“I’m a little bit jet lagged, didn’t sleep great last night, but I’m excited to be here in some nice weather,” he said.

“The course looks awesome, so I’m pretty stoked to get out there and play some golf.”​

While he is the first to acknowledge “energy levels are low”, the surroundings in the Swiss Alps are a source of happiness as he bids for a second DP World Tour title since taking up membership after winning the Barracuda Championship last summer.

Such are the views not only out on the course but also in the town, Gerard admits he is taking a relaxed mindset to his practice after a mentally demanding few weeks on the FedExCup Playoffs.

“You kind of just catch yourself staring around instead of like paying attention,” he said.

“So, honestly, it’s a good kind of mental break for me right now – I’ve played a lot of really competitive and difficult, kind of grindy golf the last five weeks or so, and it’s nice to kind of be out here, look around, get lost in nature a little bit, and kind of bring a smile to the face.

“It should be a fun walk, should be a great golf course, and I’m just excited to have a nice chill couple of days, and then get ready to get right back to it on Thursday.”

Gerard is joined by Race to Dubai leader and countryman Patrick Reed in a strong international field that also includes Major champions Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett, among a host of other past tournament winners.

Grouped alongside defending champion Thriston Lawrence and this season’s two-time winner Eugenio Chacarra across the opening two rounds, Gerard admits he has been gleaning information around this week’s host venue from a variety of means.

“No YouTube highlights,” he said. “[However] I have a really good stats guy that put together a 12-minute kind of crash course for us, so we kind of know what we’re getting into.

“I know there’s some weird holes on the back nine, that kind of driveable one that everyone kind of goes for.

“I played with a couple guys the last few weeks that have been talking about the course a little bit. So, just gleaning information from anyone who’s played here before, but it’s not the same until you see it yourself.

“So, going to go out there, treat it with the respect it deserves, and go focus in this practice round for nine holes, and then pro am it tomorrow.”