At the 72nd hole of Sunday’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, Chris Gotterup was -15, tied for fourth, and looking on from the outside. About an hour later, he was in a playoff against Hideki Matsuyama, where he would go on to take the tournament in come-from-behind fashion.
All aboard the bandwagon. This was only a portion of the sensational start the Little Silver native has had to his PGA TOUR career. Now having four career wins in an impressive 71 starts, Gotterup is now listed as the fifth-ranked golfer in the world.
“I didn’t think this would happen, especially after Friday and Saturday [Rounds 2 and 3], but here we are,” Gotterup said to CBS Sports’ Amanda Balionis on the TV broadcast. Gotterup shot a birdie in five of his last six holes, which ultimately set him up for his first career playoff and the victory.
Calling his journey a rollercoaster ride is an understatement. Born in Easton, Maryland, but growing up in Monmouth County, he attended Christian Brothers Academy, where he built a reputation in the Junior Golf world. He would stay home and spend his college career at Rutgers University, where he would put together a monstrous career, earning multiple awards, including the 2019-20 Big Ten Player of the Year and 2020 First Team All-Big Ten honors. Gotterup would transfer to the University of Oklahoma for the 2021-22 season and do even more damage, winning both the Fred Haskins and Jack Nicklaus Awards, and was declared the Consensus No. 1 player in college golf.
In 2022, Gotterup turned professional and competed in both the PGA TOUR and the Korn Ferry Tour, a developmental circuit. He was a competitor out of the gate, tying for fourth in that year’s John Deere Classic. He would earn his PGA TOUR card in 2023 and get his first win at the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic.
Sunday’s victory was the second of the year for Gotterup, with the first being the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. While the season is still incredibly young, he has held the lead in the FedEx Cup standings and is pulling away week after week.
This is only the beginning of the legacy Gotterup is building. While establishing himself as a weekly contender, he is proving his No. 5 ranking is no joke and is fully capable of competing with the best golfers on the planet.
“A lot of hard work,” Gotterup said on the CBS broadcast as emotions started to pile and tears flowed. “There’s just so many people who believe in me. To be able to share it with them……it’s just so much fun.”
Beyond his two wins this year and his first win in 2024, Gotterup also won last year’s Genesis Scottish Open and finished third at last year’s Open Championship.
While the No. 1 golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler’s roots in New Jersey are deep, there is no doubt you’ll be hearing the name Chris Gotterup more and more around the Garden State as time goes on.
