Chris Gotterup outlasts Rory McIlroy to win Scottish Open and head to Portrush

San Francisco Chronicle​

6 days ago

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — Chris Gotterup came up with the clutch shots on the biggest stage he has faced Sunday, taking down crowd favorite Rory McIlroy with a 4-under 66 and a two-shot victory in the Scottish Open that gives him another week of links golf.
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.
Gotterup's lead was down to one over McIlroy and England's Marco 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.'
He didn't blink the rest of the way on the course after his final birdie, winning by two over McIlroy (68) and Penge (66) for his second PGA Tour title.
'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, 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. Gotterup, who played three years at Rutgers and won player-of-the-year awards as a senior at Oklahoma, gets into the Masters for the first time next April.
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 he won in emotional fashion to complete the career Grand Slam. 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.
___