Chris Gotterup returns to The Renaissance Club a year older, three PGA TOUR wins richer

It was just one year ago that a 25-year-old from New Jersey outdueled Rory McIlroy, one of the best players of this generation, on his home turf.

That player was Chris Gotterup.

It was last year at The Renaissance Club that he elevated his status to that of one of golf’s rising stars. In the 12 months since, Gotterup has won three more times on TOUR, including two victories in three starts earlier this season at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the WM Phoenix Open.

Most recently, he came from behind to win last week’s John Deere Classic, joining Matt Fitzpatrick as the only other three-time winner on TOUR this season. Now he returns to Scotland with a career that's vaulted to new heights.

The Genesis Scottish Open win was easily the biggest moment of Gotterup’s young professional career to date. And it came after a dramatic finale against McIlroy, who was in the middle of his three-win season that included his first green jacket.

Gotterup was tied with the Ulsterman in the final round as the last group made the turn to the back nine. With the crowd firmly behind McIlroy, Gotterup embraced the role of spoiler.

“I definitely was the villain out there today a little bit,” Gotterup said after the win. “There was a lot of ‘Rory-ies’ and not many ‘Chris-es.’”

Leading by one shot standing on the 12th tee, Gotterup widened his lead at the 196-yard par 3 as he hit his tee shot to within 3 feet and tapped in for birdie.

Just when it looked as though he might cruise to victory, the closing stretch proved anything but easy. He battled a stacked field of TOUR stars and also got warned on No. 13 for pace of play.

“We got warned on like 13 for pace, which was a little odd because we were waiting all day,” Gotterup said. “On 15, I got individually timed, which was shocking, and so that got my blood going a little bit more than it was already going trying to win a golf tournament."

He would make his lone mistake on the par-4 15th. After missing the fairway left, Gotterup hit his approach shot over the green and was unable to complete the up-and-down to save par. Instead, his two-shot lead shrank to one, and it looked like the door was open for McIlroy to pounce.

Nevertheless, Gotterup rebounded. He headed to the 557-yard, par-5 16th, knowing that was the hole that could make or break his tournament. He had played the hole in 1 over through the first three rounds.

“I talked all week, especially Friday and Saturday, how I didn't birdie 16, and I knew that's going to be the hole," he said.

He delivered.

Gotterup stepped up to a nervy 10-footer for birdie, sank it and gave an emphatic fist pump.

“I felt like that was the point where it was my tournament to lose,” he said.

McIlroy finished his round with 10 straight pars to card a 68 and fall two shots shy of Gotterup in a tie for second with Marco Penge.

Gotterup was ready to take the next step in his TOUR career and become the player he knew he was capable of being. He closed with a final-round, 4-under 66 to claim his second career title. The victory earned him a spot at The Open Championship last year at Royal Portrush Golf Club, where he notched a solo third – five shots behind champion Scottie Scheffler.

“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 [of] a validation this week," said Gotterup, whose first win came at the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic. "… Myrtle Beach was amazing, but this one, I feel like I've been talking to my team about wanting to take the next step, and I feel like this is part of that.

“I was a one-time champion. Two-time champ sounds a lot better. I know what I'm capable of and I know when I feel the way I did today, I can beat the best. It's just awesome.”

Twelve months later, make that "five-time champion."

Gotterup, now 26, is no longer an up-and-coming star. He has arrived. Following his win Sunday at the John Deere Classic, he jumped to No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking, No. 6 in the FedExCup standings and is within striking distance of an automatic bid to the U.S. Presidents Cup Team.

“I'd be lying if I said this year wasn't a massive success,” Gotterup said Sunday. “Hopefully I still have some tournaments left, and hopefully keep it going and running into the end of the year."

Now, he returns to The Renaissance Club not as an underdog, but as the defending champion and one of the hottest players on TOUR.