Chris Gotterup’s score of 62 on Sunday solidified himself as the winner of this weekend’s John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. It is the third tournament victory this season for the New Jersey native.
“Not before I hit my first tee shot that’s for sure,” Gotterup said when asked if he expected to win. “Got off to a great start and put myself in the mix and obviously kept it going. Just a great way to finish and to come out the champ at the John Deere Classic is awesome.”
Despite it being #3 on the year, You’d have to go all the way back to February to find Gotterup’s last PGA TOUR win. After a hot start followed by a slumping and fairly quiet spring, he is now $1.6 million richer and back within the top 10 of the world golf rankings (7).
“This whole year has been really good if you look at it in a big picture, obviously got off to a great start and was grinding it out in the middle of the year but that’s not unexpected and hopefully this kick starts some other great stuff. I’d be lying if I said this year wasn’t a massive success and I still have some tournaments left and hopefully can keep it going and running it into the end of the year.”
Here is a round by round Recap of Gotterup’s John Deere Classic win:
Round 1: 66 (-5)
Gotterup had a strong start Thursday afternoon, scoring a 66, five under par, and a ninth place finish. He shot for par or better at each hole including five birdies.
Round 2: 68 (-3)
It was another solid round for Gotterup, but not as sharp as the first. He shot his first bogey of the weekend on the sixth hole par four after shooting birdies on three of the first five. With only one more birdie to follow on a par five on 17, he finished three under par in the round, eight under overall, and tied for 11th entering moving day.
Round 3: 68 (-3)
He came swinging right out of the gates with an eagle on the second hole but was unable to build off it. Shooting only three birdies and two bogeys, he was right where he was yesterday, sitting at -3. On a day where you thought early he’d make an impact, Gotterup was -11 on the weekend and sitting tied for 12th.
Round 4: 62 (-9)
Consistency was key. In the round that mattered the most, Gotterup delivered in dominating fashion. Nine birdies in 18 holes, not going over par once, he shot all the way up the leaderboard with no one able to stand a chance. His score of 62 was the best round of the weekend by any golfer.
This was a special win for Little Silver’s Chris Gotterup. Not because it’s been since february since he last won, but because he had someone very close to him in his corner through it all. With his main caddy Brady Stockton away on paternity leave, Chris looked to his brother, Patrick, to be his temporary replacement. You can tell the emotions were there when Chris gave Patrick a big hug and buried his face in his shoulder when it was all over.
“Yeah, it. It’s such a cool moment. Obviously, Brady [Stockton] who caddies for me normally, had a kid last week, and we kind of planned this out a couple of months ago, and we were just planning on having a fun week, and obviously try to come win, but to have it actually happen is really cool and just a special moment that we’ll never forget.”
Gotterup will now head to Scotland for the Genesis Scottish Open, where he is the reigning champion of the event. He will look to go back-to-back on the PGA TOUR schedule and back-to-back in Scottish Opens.
