After not making the United States Ryder Cup team on home soil at the end of last summer, Chris Gotterup is poised to make his mark on Europe this month.
Golf’s newest star keeps running into full circle moments, finishing off one while in tears on Sunday.
In 2022, Gotterup was begging for a chance before receiving a sponsor’s exemption into the John Deere Classic. Showing that he knows how to wedge his foot in the door when it is slightly cracked, an inspired Gotterup finished in tied for fourth place and his career was off and running.
It wasn’t the winner’s trophy, but the Oklahoma native gained confidence from knowing that he belonged. He ended up earning his Korn Ferry Tour card in 2023 and parlayed that into a PGA Tour card for 2024.
Last week, he arrived at what he calls his personal fifth major and showed his appreciation for that sponsor’s exemption four years ago. He drove a tractor through the field Sunday and won the John Deere Classic with a final-round 9-under-par 62.
Describing the victory afterward, he choked up in emotions that poured out as much for his love for a tournament that doesn’t get much affection, as it was for having his brother as his caddie all week.
With his regular caddie on paternity leave, Patrick Gotterup grabbed some personal time off from his job in New York City and kept things light on Sunday as big brother Chris was reeling off birdies.
“We kind of planned this out a couple of months ago,” Chris Gotterup said. “We were just planning on having a fun week and obviously try to come win, but to have it actually happen is cool and just a special moment that we’ll never forget.”
Now Gotterup heads straight into a full circle moment of a different kind when he returns to the Scottish Open this week to defend his title.
It is a whirlwind turnaround from the plush, tree-lined course at TPC Deere Run in steamy Silvis, Ill., to the coastal dunes and pine tree forest that is the Renaissance Club in brisk North Berwick, Scotland.
“They’re about as polar opposite as it gets,” Gotterup said.
When he held off Rory McIlroy to win in Scotland last year, it was Gotterup’s second ever PGA Tour-level victory after the Myrtle Beach Classic in May of 2024. Sunday’s win also gave Gotterup four tournament victories in a calendar year.
Since May of 2024, only Scottie Scheffler has won more events with 10. Gotterup is tied with McIlroy at five.
When Gotterup won at Scotland last year, he qualified for the Open Championship and turned that into his best of four finishes at a major tournament with a tie for third. He has since played in all three major tournaments this year, with a best finish of tied for 10th at the PGA Championship.
Gotterup has now put himself on Europe’s radar, even if he didn’t take on the continent’s assortment of stars in a boisterous Ryder Cup last year at Bethpage Black in Farmington, N.Y.
“Yeah, it was a good moment more than a bad moment not making the team,” Gotterup said. “It wasn’t something that would have been a home run if I did, but it was still a great process of learning and being under the gun of Ryder Cup (qualifying) pressure.
“Obviously not playing in it, all right, your name is in the mix, you have to go play well. It’s hard to do, and I feel like I’ve done a much better job of that this year.”
Another chance to prove himself in Scotland and two more runs at an Open Championship should have Gotterup fairly Europe tested in advance of the 2027 Ryder Cup at Limerick, Ireland.
That’s for way down the road, though. A lot can happen in a full year and Gotterup is the perfect example. He has not only transformed into a seasoned tournament challenger, he has ditched the fiery temperament he had while playing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Gotterup’s new look has him churning out birdies on Sundays and dabbing his eyes in his brother’s presence after winning another tournament. The United States Ryder Cup team could use a finisher like that, who can control his emotions until the job is complete.
It is never too soon to plan for the next USA-Europe clash.
“I think the pressure of being on Korn Ferry, and your whole life is to make it to the PGA Tour, and there’s a lot of pressure in that,” the 26-year-old Gotterup said. “I felt it, and everyone else felt it around me.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job of not putting that on a lot of other people now. Obviously winning helps that a lot, too. Yeah, I feel like I’ve matured a lot and gotten a lot better at dealing with adversity. Just growing up, I guess.”
