Chris Gotterup began his season in style as he charged to his third PGA TOUR victory at the season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii.
The 26-year-old American, who came into the final round at Waialae Country Club two shots off overnight leader Davis Riley, took advantage of a collapse from his compatriot who fell out of contention despite a steady start to the round thanks to back-to-back bogeys at the sixth and seventh followed by a double bogey at the eighth which saw him three shots adrift, a slump he would not recover from.
Gotterup seized the opportunity after he began the day with two birdies in the first three holes. Despite a slight wobble at the fourth, birdies at the seventh and ninth saw him rise to the top of the leaderboard and claim a one-shot advantage over the rest of the chasing pack which included the likes of World No. 7 Robert MacIntyre. But Gotterup continued to display his quality by reeling off further birdies at the 12th and 13th to extend his lead to three. The final birdie came at the 17th as he kept his cool despite pressure from the chasers to record an impressive 6-under 64, finish on 16 under, and seal his third victory in three years on the circuit.
“I felt like when I’ve been in control of my game, when I’ve had a chance to win, I’ve done it,” Gotterup said.
“When you get in contention, you’re able to hit shots under the gun, you just believe in yourself that you can do it again.
“Sometimes there is blind luck involved, and I’ll take as much as I can get. I played pretty good this week.”
Victory means that Gotterup climbs up to No 17 on the Official World Golf Rankings after ending 2025 placed No 28.
It was an all American top three as Ryan Gerrard and Patrick Rodgers both carded final-round 65s to end on 14 under and 12 under respectively while MacIntyre carded the lowest round of the day shooting a final-round 63 to finish in a tie for fourth alongside American Jacob Bridgeman on 12 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is The American Express taking place between 22-25 January at La Quinta Country Club in California.