Chris Gotterup what's in the bag 2026

Chris Gotterup's fairytale start to the 2026 season continued as he took advantage of Hideki Matsuyama’s woes with the driver to win the WM Phoenix Open. It was his second victory of the year and his third in barely eight months.

It reinforces his position at the top of the FedEx Cup standings and sees him move into the top 10 in the world rankings.

Matsuyama appeared to have the tournament home and hosed. He drove the ball horribly all day but holed a succession of putts and scrambled brilliantly. He came to the 72nd hole with a one-stroke lead but another wayward tee shot found sand and he hit the face of the trap, was unable to get up and down and dropped a shot, ending up tied with Gotterup on 16 under par.

The pair returned to the 18th tee. Gotterup hit a glorious drive that travelled in excess of 340 yards, finding the middle of the fairway. Matsuyama, meanwhile, found the water, took a penalty drop and did well to find the green with his third. Gotterup’s approach finished around 25 feet from the hole and when he hold the putt for a birdie the job was done.

He said: "I am having a lot of fun playing golf right now and am enjoying every single minute of it. I just hope that it continues throughout the season."

Gotterup shot an opening round 63 before following it with rounds of 71 and 70 but the 26-year-old American closed with a final round of 64. 

For Matsuyama, this will be a difficult defeat to take. He won the Tournament of Champions in January 2025 in sensational fashion but this was his first top-10 finish since then in a regular PGA Tour event. 

World number one Scottie Scheffler will be left to rue his opening round of 73. At one point he looked like missing the cut but ended the week one behind Gotterup and Matsuyama. He tied for third with Akshay Bhatia, Si Woo Kim, Michael Thorbjornsen and Nicolai Hojgaard.

Who is Chris Gotterup?

Gotterup was born in Easton, Maryland on July 20, 1999.

He played college golf at Rutgers University from 2017 to 2021. In 2019 he won the Metropolitan Amateur and New Jersey State Open and was given the Metropolitan Golf Association Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award. He transferred to Oklahoma University for 2021-22, where he won the Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award as the top college golfer.

He turned professional in 2022 after the NCAA championship. He played events on both the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour in 2022, including a tied fourth at the John Deere Classic. He finished tied third at the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School to earn his 2023 Korn Ferry Tour card. He had three top-10 finishes on the tour in 2023 and earned his 2024 PGA Tour card by finishing 23rd on the points list.

On May 12, 2024, he won the Myrtle Beach Classic for his first PGA Tour victory.

But his biggest success came at the Scottish Open in July 2025, when he won on his 62nd start on the PGA Tour. The following week he finished third at The Open.

He won the Sony Open in January 2026 in what was his 69th start and his third win. This was his 71st start and his 45th cut. He also has one third, five top fives and eight top 10s and has now won $10m in prize money.

Chris Gotterup - WITB

Driver: PING G440 LST (9 Degrees)

Mini Driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper (13.5 Degrees)

5-Wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (18 Degrees)

Irons: Bridgestone Tour B 220 MB (4-9)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG5 (46, 52, 56, 60)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Tour

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X Mindset

Chris Gotterup - Stats on Tour

Driving Distance - 310.1 Yards

Driving Accuracy - 58.93%

Greens in Regulation - 75.69%

Sand Saves - 64.29%

Putts Per Round - 29.00

Scoring Average - 67.63

Chris Gotterup - Last 10 Results

WM Phoenix Open - 1st

Farmers Insurance Open - T18th

Sony Open in Hawaii - 1st

Hero World Challenge - T19th

Baycurrent Classic - T40th

Tour Championship - T10th

BMW Championship - T33rd

FedEx St Jude Championship - T54th

3M Open - T10th

The 153rd Open - 3rd