By Rich Chrampanis
NORTH BERWICK, UNITED KINGDOM – Chris Gotterup showed nerves of steel in the ultimate pressure cooker.
The Little Silver native stared down five-time major winner Rory McIlroy for 18 holes at the Scottish Open and stunned a worldwide golf audience to shoot a 15-under-par for a two-stroke win and his second career PGA Tour win.
As long-time announcer Jim Nantz waxed poetic on the CBS telecast about Little Silver, Monmouth County and the Gotterup family, on-course reporter Amanda Balionis sensed the man who just provided one of golf’s biggest surprises of 2025 becoming emotional in his national television interview. The 2017 Christian Brothers Academy graduate wasn’t thinking about his $1.5 million paycheck or the life-changing status he just achieved. For Chris Gotterup, all he could think about was 3,290 miles away.
“I’m not going to be able to get it out, but everyone at home, this is awesome,” Gotterup said, choking back tears. “I’m not going to be able to keep it together.”
Gotterup did keep it together for 72 holes in a tournament he missed the cut for just one year earlier.
In 2024, the former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer won his first PGA Tour title in Myrtle Beach. That was a split-week event. McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and the world’s best were playing up the road in Charlotte. This time around, Gotterup’s win at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick came with seven of the top 10 players on the tour competing.
Tying The Course Record Friday
Links golf is different than the week-to-week grind on the PGA Tour. Gotterup’s 190-mile-per-hour club speed and long drive game helped set the stage for a magical second round. After starting 2-over par in the first three holes of the opening round, Gotterup rallied to close out with a 2-under 68.
Friday saw tempered wind conditions, which opened the door for Gotterup to show his elite talent. With six birdies on the front nine for a 29, birdies at 10, 13 and 14 had him flirting with breaking 60, something that has only been done 14 times in the rich history of professional golf. Three straight pars would deny that, but a bogey-free 61 tied The Renaissance Club rcord, putting him on top of the leaderboard at 11 under par.
“That didn’t cross my brain at all,” Gotterup said about breaking 60. “I thought 10 (under) would be cool. I think it’s still my lowest round in tournament golf. I have no complaints.”
McIlroy Makes Saturday Charge, Setting Up Sunday Battle
Playing with the lead on the weekend brings a whole level of pressure and attention as the entire field is chasing you down. There’s a reason Saturday is called moving day on the tour. But Gotterup held his ground with an even-par 70.
The highlight of his round was on the par-3 sixth hole when his shot from 154 yards nearly went in for a hole-in-one as it grazed the right side of the cup, making for an easy 8-inch birdie. McIlroy made a charge up the leaderboard with a 66 to draw even, setting up the pairing for Sunday with Gotterup in the leader group with McIlroy and 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
Sunday Showdown
Gotterup began the week ranked 182 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Clark is No. 28 while McIlroy is No.2. McIlroy captured the world’s attention by winning the 2025 Masters to complete a career grand slam. The large gallery in Scotland was clearly pulling for Rory as the Northern Ireland native was essentially playing a “home game.”
“Yeah, I definitely was the villain out there (Sunday) a little bit,” Gotterup said. “There was a lot (chants) of ‘Rorys’ and not many ‘Chrises.’
When Gotterup bogeyed the opening hole to relinquish the lead to McIlroy, everyone thought the script was about to be written: With the British Open next week at Royal Portrush, McIlroy would score his first victory since Augusta and be the favorite in his home nation.
Rather than get tentative, though, Gotterup played aggressively. He quickly rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 third and then had back-to-back birdies on seven and eight to get to 13-under-par. McIlory birdied eight as well to stay at 13-under but that would be his last red number of the day.
“I felt like I was ready and prepared mentally,” Gotterup said. “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.” A birdie at 10 gave him the lead once again and it was the 12th hole that saw everyone take notice of a new star in professional golf. McIlory applied the pressure, hitting to within 4 feet on the par-3. Gotterup replied with a brilliant shot that landed to the right of the pin and rolled to just 2-feet-6- inches away. McIlroy missed his birdie putt, and Gotterup converted his for a two-shot lead.
Gotterup bogeyed the 15th, opening the door for a McIlroy comeback, but a birdie on the par-5 16th after a gutsy 10-foot putt put the lead back to two strokes with just two holes to play.
“We got warned on, like, 13 for pace, which was a little odd because we were waiting all day,” Gotterup said. “Then we got to 15. On 15, I got individually timed, which was shocking, and so that got my blood going a little bit more than it was already going trying to win a golf tournament.
“I talked all week, especially Friday and Saturday, about how I didn’t birdie 16, and I knew that’s going to be the hole. And I had a 10-footer or whatever it was for birdie and I made it, and I felt like that was the point where it was my tournament to lose.”
Two pars closed out the win for the pre- viously little-known Gotterup, earning him the respect of everyone in the golf world, including one of the all-time greats.
“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.”
Staying Across the Pond
How quickly did Chris Gotterup’s life change after his putt found the bottom of the cup on the 18th hole at The Renaissance Club? With a 10-hour flight to California looming, he was set to play in the PGA Tour event in Lake Tahoe, hoping to grind his way to the upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs. Instead, his win secured him a spot in the British Open at Royal Portrush. Just like last weekend in Scotland, Gotterup will play in a world-class field, but this time with a whole lot more recognition.
“I’m happy to be playing my first Open next week. It’s great,” Gotterup said. “There’s nothing other to say than I’m excited to go up to Portrush and get back to playing some tournament golf next week. But I’m happy I’m not flying from here to California, that’s for sure.”
Gotterup will turn 26 this Sunday and he’s hoping to be playing in the final round of the British Open to celebrate. No matter what the result, the player who forged his game at Rumson Country Club as a youngster has taken his game to a new level.
“The first is the first, and I feel like a lot of people say that the second one is harder just because you have expectations and whatnot. It’s definitely more a validation this week,” Gotterup said. “Myrtle Beach was amazing, but this one, I feel like I’ve been talking to my team about, I want to take the next step, and I feel like this is part of that.”
The article originally appeared in the July 17 – July 23, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
