Chris Gotterup staged an impressive comeback by overcoming a five-shot deficit heading into the final round to capture the John Deere Classic.
The 26-year-old American came into the final round at TPC Deere Run in 12th but produced a bogey-free 9-under 62, featuring nine birdies, to surge up the leaderboard and finish the tournament on 20 under. It initially looked as though that would only be enough for a play-off or even leave him one shot short before fellow American Ben Kohles, who held the lead for the majority of the Sunday right up until the last, suffered a disastrous slip up at the 18th as his approach shot found the water on his way to carding a double-bogey to hand Gotterup his fifth career PGA TOUR title and third of the season, adding to his wins at the Sony Open in Hawaii and WM Phoenix Open.
“Just a special week,” Gotterup said afterwards. “Even if we didn’t play great it was going to be fine. [My brother] kind of got me to this point. To have a resurgence today was a lot of fun – you can’t have a better day than today.
“I’ll take a Sunday 62 any time I can – I’ll pay a lot of money for them too!
“I feel like I’ve built a relationship with this tournament – having them give me a spot four years ago changed my life. To come back and win is so cool.
“My brain is moving at a million miles an hour – but just so fun today.”
Victory means he climbs up to No. 6 in the FedExCup standings and it puts him in good stead as he prepares to defend his crown at the upcoming Genesis Scottish Open later this week.
“I’m excited to get over there, but first I’ll spend some time with family and friends before flying overseas tomorrow,” Gotterup said.
American Max Homa claimed runner-up with a final-round 64 to end on 19 under with trio Kohles, Lucas Glover, and Lee Hodges sharing third all a shot further back on 18 under.
What is the next event?
The next events on the PGA TOUR schedule are the Genesis Scottish Open taking place between 9-12 July at The Renaissance Club in Scotland and the ISCO Championship taking place between 9-12 July at Hurstbourne Country Club in Kentucky.