Chris Gotterup held his nerve to repel the likes of five-time Major champion Rory McIlroy to claim his most significant victory of his career at the Genesis Scottish Open.
The 25-year-old American, who came into the tournament ranked 158th on the Official World Golf Rankings, entered the final round at the Renaissance Club with a share of the lead alongside McIlroy. The Northern Irishman held the advantage during the early stages with consecutive birdies at the 4th and 5th but despite a nervy start Gotterup stayed cool to move back level with McIlroy after birdies of his own at the 3rd, 7th, and 8th.
From then on, on the back nine, McIlroy’s push for a second Genesis Scottish Open triumph stalled as he concluded the round with nine consecutive pars to card a final-round 68 and finish tied for second alongside England’s Marco Penge. Gotterup took advantage of stuttering McIlroy with birdies at the 10th and the 12th giving him a two-shot lead. A bogey at the 15th threatened the potential of a late collapse but the American retained his composure to comfortably finish with a final-round 66 and claim a two-shot victory.
“It’s amazing,” Gotterup said, speaking to Sky Sports. “It’s all hitting me. It’s just so cool.
“I played really well this week. I knew today was going to be tough and I hung in there like a champ and finished it off in style.
“I felt pretty good, shockingly, on the first tee today, I felt comfortable. I knew I was playing well this week and I felt like I was ready for the challenge.
“That’s why I practise and that’s why I play, to play against the best. It was a pleasure to be out there with [McIlroy] and obviously all the support that he gets is amazing, but it was nice to kind of ruin that a little bit.”
Despite many expecting McIlroy to seal yet another victory, the World No. 2 stated he was “really happy” with his performance as he prepares for the final Major of the season, The 153rd Open Championship next weekend.
“It’s been a great week. I’m really happy with where my game is; the way I played over the weekend; the shots that I hit, how I controlled my ball flight.
“It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that’s about it.
“No frustration. I’m really happy with where everything is. Looking forward to getting to Portrush tonight and getting out on to the golf course early tomorrow and just turning my attention to that.
“But I feel like I’ve gotten out of this week everything that I wanted.
“I feel like my game got a little better each and every day. Everything is in a really good spot.”
What is the next event?
The next events on both the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour schedules are the 153rd Open Championship taking place between 17-20 July at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland and the Barracuda Championship taking place on the same dates at Tahoe Mountain Club in California.