Chris Gotterup beat an all-time great en route to winning the second PGA Tour event of his career.
The former Rutgers golfer finished first at the Scottish Open this weekend, clinching the victory in a tight fourth round at The Renaissance Club on Sunday.
Gotterup defeated Rory McIlroy — fresh off of completing the career grand slam by winning the Masters in April — in a battle that went down to the wire. Gotterup finished at 15-under-par, two strokes better than McIlroy and six better than reigning PGA Championship winner (and N.J. native) Scottie Sheffler.
“I just hung in there tight and tried to keep it together here,” Gotterup said on CBS after the win. “After my start this week, I really struggled. Then I found something on Friday and today, I knew it was going to be a grind. Yesterday was a grind too. Hitting the bunker on the first hole, I’m like, ‘oh, sh—, here we go,’ but I held it together really well. It was so much fun out there.”
The win comes 14 months after his first career PGA Tour title: the Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina.
With his victory, Gotterup — who graduated from Rutgers in 2021 before concluding his college career at Oklahoma — has clinched a spot in next week’s British Open, marking the third major championship participation of his career; he competed in the 2022 US Open and 2024 PGA Championship. He also won $1,575,000, adding to the career earnings of $2,768,333 that he entered the weekend with.
Gotterup took a two-shot lead midway through the event, tying the course record by shooting a 61 in the second round on Friday. But McIlroy caught up to him by the end of Saturday’s third round, tying things up at the top of the leaderboard with an 11-under-par.
Gotterup held a two-stroke lead over McIlroy with four holes to go. A bogey on 15 allowed the all-time great to close the gap, but a birdie from Gotterup on 16 re-established a two-stroke lead he would not relinquish.
Gotterup sealed the win with back-to-back pars on the final two holes, fending off McIlroy for the biggest win of his budding career.
“Golf has a new up-and-comer,” CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz said as he signed off the broadcast. “You may not have recognized the name at the beginning of the week, but you’re never going to forget it now.”
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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
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