Despite being the undisputed world number one in golf, Scottie Scheffler was impressed by Chris Gotterup’s performance at the WM Phoenix Open, where the latter secured his second victory of the season.
Chris Gotterup has made a strong start to the 2026 PGA Tour season. He opened with a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii and followed it up with another victory at TPC Scottsdale.
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Gotterup finished strongly, making five birdies in his final six holes to take the clubhouse lead. That was enough to get him into a playoff against Hideki Matsuyama at the WM Phoenix Open.
And with Matsuyama’s driving issues continuing, the 26-year-old took advantage, winning and climbing to number five in the world rankings.
His countryman is clearly someone Scheffler looks up to.
How Scottie Scheffler reacted to Chris Gotterup’s win at the WM Phoenix Open
Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
Gotterup and Scheffler played alongside each other during the opening two rounds in Arizona, while the four-time major champion finished just one shot away from making it into the playoff.
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Speaking to reporters ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the 26-year-old from Maryland revealed the world number one’s behaviour following the win.
“Yeah, it’s been awesome. I think everyone understands out here how hard it is to win. We were joking around, Scottie was following me at lunch and he’s like, ‘I’m just going to eat what you’re eating’. I was like, yeah, he’s doing pretty good on his own so I’m not too worried about him,” he stated.
“Yeah, it’s fun. You know, everyone at home, I haven’t been home in a while so it’s nice to hear from everyone. I think my parents are coming out today. Yeah, it’s been fun to share it with everyone.
“At some point when we get some time off I’ll go home and celebrate with everyone. Yeah, it’s been a lot of fun.”
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The encouraging signs keep coming for Chris Gotterup
Gotterup has every reason to be pleased with how he played, especially after finishing 10 shots ahead of the Dallas native in the first round.
Even as Scheffler looked poised to pull off another late charge on Sunday, it was the 26-year-old who put together an even better finish to take control down the stretch.
But despite his win, Gotterup had nothing but respect for the world number one when asked what stood out most about his game.
“I think there’s a couple things, but I think for me, having played with him last week, the first round he struggled. And he would say that, too. But to go back out there the next round and know that he’s going to play well. This is what I’ve tried to do a much better job of, too, is wash the first round, don’t carry the first round into the rest of the week. The first round’s gone, reset and go shoot, I don’t know what he shot the next round, five, six under. Don’t let it carry over and then the next round’s another even and then you’re all upset and missing the cut, then it carries into the next week, the next week.
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“It’s just wash it away. Try to wash it away and just be ready to go for the next day. And if it goes well, great. If not, it’s more just I think the mindset of he’s not out of the tournament even if he – I don’t know what place he was in but obviously not where he would want to be after the first round. I think that’s impressive. I think a lot of guys would agree,” he concluded.
It remains hard for any player on tour right now to match what Scottie Scheffler does every week, but Gotterup is showing all season that when his game clicks into gear like we saw at TPC Scottsdale, he can stand alongside anyone – even with golf’s top-ranked player involved from start to finish.
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