After outdueling Masters champion Rory McIlroy head-to-head to win for the second time on the PGA Tour and earning his first berth in the forthcoming British Open at Royal Portrush, Chris Gotterup struggled for what seemed like the first time all day. Winning the Genesis Scottish Open was quite the challenge. Talking about it was even more so.
“Give me a sec,” he eked out while wiping his eyes. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get it out but everyone at home … I don’t know, but I mean, this is awesome. I’m not going to be able to keep it together. Yeah, it’s awesome. I can’t wait to see everyone. And then I’m playing the Open next week.”
Gotterup, a man with plenty of giddy-up in his swing but who often struggles on the greens, was proficient in both driving and putting disciplines, especially the latter in the final round. His closing four-under 66 at the Renassaince Club in North Berwick, Scotland, was good for a two-stroke victory over McIlroy and England’s Marco Penge.
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A former college standout at Rutgers and then at Oklahoma, where he won the Jack Nicklaus Award and Haskins Award in 2022, Gotterup finished at 15-under 265 and became the second player in as many weeks to win twice without posting another top-10 finish to date, joining John Deere Classic winner Brian Campbell. Gotterup is the sixth American to win the Scottish Open.
A week shy of his 26th birthday, Gotterup collected $1.575 million and untold helpings of confidence. Last year, he claimed a six-stroke victory in the Myrtle Beach Classic held opposite the Wells Fargo Championship, a signature event. This win was more significant coming against a field populated by most of the top players and the added incentive of a berth in year’s final major.
“I was a one-time champion. Two-time champ sounds a lot better,” said Gotterup, whose father Morten is a five-time New Jersey state amateur champion. “I know what I’m capable of and I know when I feel the way I did today, I can beat the best.”
Denied his 30th PGA Tour title, McIlroy shot 68, equaling the highest score he has posted in 12 rounds at the Renassaince Club. Penge closed with a 66.
McIlroy held a one-stroke lead through six holes but sputtered after Gotterup caught him with a 10-foot birdie at the seventh. Each man birdied the eighth—significant because McIlroy would fail to make another birdie the remainder of the day. Gotterup birdied the par-5 10th to take the lead and then jumped two ahead at the par-3 12th when he stuffed his tee shot to 30 inches.
Gotterup bogeyed 15 after a slow-play warning but rebounded at the crucial par-5 16th by sinking another 10-footer after McIlroy missed from 12 feet. McIlroy played the par-5s in one over in the final round.
“Chris played a great round of golf. He was so solid,” said McIlroy, who has finished first, fourth and second in his last three starts in the tournament. “[He] made the bogey on 15 but bounced back with a really nice birdie on 16. Yeah, after he got a couple ahead, I just couldn’t claw back.”
Appearing rejuvenated—and with less hair from a buzz cut—after a few weeks at home in Northern Ireland, McIlroy said he was in no way frustrated by the result as he prepared to return home for the British Open at Royal Portrush.
“It’s been a great week,” he said. “I’m really happy with where my game is, the way I played over the weekend, the shots that I hit, how I controlled my ball flight. It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that’s about it.”
Ranked fourth in both strokes gained/driving and putting this week, Gotterup clearly won on the strength of his work on the greens after having a below average day off the tee. He came into the tournament 132nd in putting average and 143rd in putts per round. But the Maryland native was second in putts per green in regulation. He made the most of his chances.
That was enough to hold off McIlroy and everyone else who got close as the day wore on.
Gotterup now heads to Royal Portrush, earning a spot in the British Open thanks specifically to his finish in Scotland, feeling flush and expected to move from 158th to among the top 50 in the world. But he leaves Scotland on top of the world. After winning in Myrtle Beach, he expected more of himself, but finished the season poorly. On top of that, a hand he had surgically repaired a few years earlier started aching. He took three months off.
Obviously, it did him a lot good. Proof is in his consistency; his win Sunday marked his 10th top-25 finish. Included in that was a T-23 at the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Winning in Scotland doesn’t seem so surprising in that context.
“So they are both very special,” he said of his two victories. “The first is the first, and I feel like a lot of people say that the second one is harder just because you have expectations and whatnot. It’s definitely more a validation this week. Myrtle Beach was amazing, but this one, I feel like I’ve been talking to my team about I want to take the next step, and I feel like this is part of that.”
