USA’s Chris Gotterup added a second trophy to his cabinet in 2026 thanks to a play-off victory over Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama at the WM Phoenix Open.
The American rolled three early birdies and a bogey before closing out the front nine on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. But it was a thrilling back nine, which included five birdies by the 17th, that brought him into contention for his second win in three starts this season since the Sony Open. He birdied the final hole to card a 7-under 64, and left it up to Matsuyama who needed only a par at the 18th to win. However, the two-time WM Phoenix Open champion pulled his drive and missed the fairway to sink a bogey and match Gotterup at 16 under. But there was no late charge for Matsuyama on the first extra hole when his tee shot found the water and Gotterup capitalized with a long birdie putt to seal victory.
“You never know what to expect,” Gotterup said after the win. “We went over to the first tee, hit a couple balls, was watching, and then all of a sudden you’re out there on 18 and everyone is going nuts and you’re like, all right, this is it.”
“My girlfriend is here. She’s like, you’ve won three times without me here, and she got to see it, and I know everyone at home is watching. Just so awesome.”
Speaking after his second place finish, Matsuyama added: “I wanted to avoid the playoff as much as I could, but I just hit a bad tee shot there in regulation at 18.”
Playing later in the day, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler charged his way up the leaderboard with four birdies in five holes on the back nine to make it within one shot of the summit. But a par at the 18th kept him from the play-off as he finished with a final-round 64 in a five-way tie for third at 15 under. The Texan’s weekend surge came after carding an opening round of 73 that threatened his longest active cuts streak on the PGA TOUR, which now stands at 66.
“I played pretty well – only one round where I didn’t have my best stuff,” Scheffler said. “If I get in the house the first day with a couple under par it’s a little different story today. Overall, proud of the way I fought the last three days to give myself a chance.”
In third, Scheffler was joined by fellow Americans Akshay Bhatia and Michael Thorbjornsen, as well as South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am taking place between 12-15 February at Pebble Beach in California.