NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — Chris Gotterup had a plane ticket for California to play an opposite-field event in Lake Tahoe. The only change in itinerary would be to take down Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a sellout crowd expecting the Masters champion to claim his 30th title on the PGA Tour.
Gotterup handled it all with poise to go with his great strength.
He delivered all the right shots — the short birdie putt on the par-3 12th to build a two-shot lead, the 10-foot birdie on the par-5 16th to restore a two-shot lead — and closed with a 4-under 66 to hold off McIlroy and Marco Penge of England.
The victory sends him to Royal Portrush for his British Open debut, an extended trip to links golf that is starting to suit him.
Time to cancel that flight.
“I might do it right now in front of you,” Gotterup said, the trophy at his side that also sends him to the Masters next year for the first time.
He earned those perks. Gotterup, tied with McIlroy to start the final round, drove into a bunker and had to make a nervy 4-footer for bogey on the opening hole. That was a reminder nothing was going to come easily.
“I definitely was the villain out there today,” he said. “I felt like I was ready and prepared mentally today. And that’s kind of what I’ve been talking about over the last couple of weeks, that I’ve kind of gotten into the mix a little bit and just faded away a little bit. And today, my goal was to hang in there tough and I felt like I did that really well.”
He finished at 15-under 265 and moves into the top 50 in the world for the first time.
“Chris played a great round of golf. He was so solid,” McIlroy said. “Made the bogey on 15 but bounced back with a really nice birdie on 16. After he got a couple ahead, I just couldn’t claw back.”
Gotterup was one shot ahead of McIlroy when he hit his tee shot on the 196-yard 12th hole to 2 feet for birdie — McIlroy missed from 4 feet — to take command.
His lead was down to one over McIlroy and Penge, but McIlroy missed a 12-foot birdie at the par-5 16th and Gotterup hit a right-to-left putt from 10 feet in the heart of the cup for a two-shot lead with two to play.
Gotterup was so emotional when it was over he could barely speak, rubbing his eyes before saying, “Everyone at home ... this is awesome. I’m not going to be able to keep it together.”
Next stop is the British Open
Gotterup, built more like fellow New Jersey athlete Mike Trout than a golfer, also won the opposite-field Myrtle Beach Classic last year. The Genesis Scottish Open had one of the strongest fields of the year, and the perks are far greater.
The first stop is the British Open at Royal Portrush. Gotterup earned one of the three final spots through the International Qualifying Series, joined by Nicolai Hojgaard and Matti Schmid.
Hojgaard closed with a 64 to move up 11 spots into a tie for fourth to join his twin brother at Royal Portrush. Schmid shot 71 and tied for 17th, helped by Jake Knapp’s late collapse.
Knapp was tied for the lead through five holes, but he took double bogey on the par-3 ninth and the rest of the back nine didn’t go much better. He closed with a 74, losing on a chance to win and to play next week at Royal Portrush.
Good timing for McIlroy
McIlroy had said he was playing his best golf since going into the Masters, which . This was the first time he had seriously contended since that Masters victory, good timing with the Open in his native Northern Ireland starting on Thursday.
But he couldn’t keep up with Gotterup, who looked shaky at the start when he drove into a bunker and had to make a 4-foot bogey putt. He was rock solid the rest of the way.
“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,” McIlroy said. “It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that’s about it.”
McIlroy battled to the end, especially on No. 11 when he had to pitch out left-handed and still managed to save par. When it was over, he said he was on his way to Royal Portrush, which McIlroy had not seen since the Friday of the 2019 British Open when he missed the cut.
Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick had a 67 and tied for fourth with Hojgaard, picking up valuable FedEx Cup points in what has been a down year.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player coming off a two-week break, had a 67 and tied for eighth. It was his 10th consecutive tournament finishing eighth or better, a streak that began in the Houston Open.
Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., had a 69 on the day to finish tied for 13th at 7 under. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot 69 to finish two strokes back of Pendrith and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., closed with a 68 to end up 2 under.
___
AP golf:
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation