Chris Gotterup just broke through in a major way with his biggest moment yet on the PGA Tour.
Gotterup held off a charging field led by Rory McIlroy to win the Genesis Scottish Open with a 4-under 68 in the final round at The Renaissance Golf Club. The 25-year-old, who tied the course record with a 61 on Friday, finished the tournament at 15-under, able to finish the 72nd hole with a comfortable two-stroke lead over McIlroy and Marco Penge.
The Scottish Open crown is the second career win for Gotterup, who also won the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic.
Chris Gotterup Fights Off Tears After Holding Off Scottish Open Field
It hasn’t been an easy road to this point for Gotterup, and the emotion from the long journey to this point was on full display in a post-round interview with CBS.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get it out, but everyone at home, I dunno, but it’s just it’s awesome,” Gotterup told CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis through tears in an on-course interview shortly after the final putt dropped.
“I’m not going to be able to keep it together. It’s awesome. I can’t wait to see everyone, and I get to play The Open next week.”
The Maryland native, who started his college career before becoming a superstar at the University of Oklahoma, is on a bit of a roll. He’s one of the longest hitters on Tour and is starting to find a way to put it all together. He has missed the cut just once in his last 10 starts and hasn’t finished outside the top 30 in each of the other nine starts. That run includes a T-23rd performance at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, the best major performance of his career.
The Scottish win gives him an immediate chance to improve on that Oakmont showing. Gotterup’s win earned him a spot in The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
Gotterup ‘Ruins’ Scottish Open Sunday For Rory, Other Contenders
Gotterup found himself in the challenging position of having to hold off a star-studded field headlined by McIlroy. The grand slam champion put himself in position to win his second Scottish Open title in three years after shooting 65 and 66 on Friday and Saturday.
Gotterup didn’t blink, though. He outplayed McIlroy on Sunday, besting him by two shots and reveling in the fact that the pro-McIlroy crowd had to settle for him hoisting the trophy.
“It was a pleasure to be out there with him, and obviously, all the support he gets is amazing. But it was nice to kind of ruin that a little bit.”
It wasn’t just McIlroy who Gotterup had to keep at bay. Another former champion, 2022 U.S. Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick, also made a run. Fitzpatrick finished in a tie for fourth with a 3-under 67 that wasn’t quite good enough.
And while some of the big-name superstars weren’t exactly in serious contention, Gotterup will be able to look back at the leaderboard and marvel at the cast of players he defeated. Justin Rose, Sepp Straka, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Wyndham Clark all finished in the top 12.
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