When an unheralded American nearly cost his coach his job, nobody expected him to be standing over putts that mattered on Sunday at the Genesis Scottish Open

Robert Shutte thought he was about to lose his job. The Rutgers golf coach had gone all-in on a New Jersey kid named Chris Gotterup, using up precious resources from his underfunded program to keep him in-state. Then came that first training session in Northeast Florida – a brutal 100 that had the coach questioning everything.

“This kid’s gonna take me down. I’m gonna get fired because of him,” Shutte remembered thinking. “If he didn’t work out, I was gone.”

Eight years later, Shutte stood on the steps of The Renaissance Club’s clubhouse wearing his Rutgers scarlet, watching his former player do something nobody saw coming.

Sunday’s Heavyweight Showdown

The final pairing at the Genesis Scottish Open looked like a mismatch on paper. In one corner: Rory McIlroy, four-time major champion and one of golf’s biggest stars. In the other: Chris Gotterup, a 25-year-old with exactly one PGA Tour win to his name.

What unfolded was pure theater.

As McIlroy stalled with 10 consecutive pars, Gotterup found another gear. Two early birdies on the back nine. A crucial up-and-down on 13. Then, after his only bogey of the inward nine on 15 – ironically coming after being put on the clock for slow play – Gotterup delivered the knockout punch with a birdie on 16 that sealed his fate.

“That got my blood going a little bit more than it was already going trying to win a golf tournament,” Gotterup said about the slow-play warning.

The Power Nobody Talks About

Jacob Bridgeman, one of Gotterup’s closest friends on tour, knows the secret weapon. They’d played North Berwick together just days earlier, and Bridgeman made sure to stick around the 18th hole to witness history.

“He’s got insane power,” Bridgeman explained. “Even in weather where it’s like 65 degrees, he can get close to 190 ball speed and hit it forever.”

The numbers back it up. Gotterup finished third in driving distance and fourth in off-the-tee performance for the week. But it wasn’t the power that won him the tournament – it was everything else.

The Comeback Kid’s Unlikely Journey

This wasn’t supposed to happen. After winning his first tour event at the 2024 ONEFlight Myrtle Beach Classic, Gotterup hit a wall. No top-20 finishes the rest of the year. Three months sidelined with a hand injury. The whispers started: was Myrtle Beach just a fluke?

The struggles carried into this season like a bad hangover. Eight missed cuts in his first 11 events. The expectations were suffocating him, believing he was good enough to contend but unable to prove it when it mattered.

Then came the caddie change. Brady Stockton, a former pro, joined the bag midway through the year. Suddenly, everything clicked. Eight top-30 finishes in his last nine starts. Four straight top-20s. A career-best T23 at the U.S. Open.

“I don’t think I’ve done anything special,” Stockton said with typical caddie humility. “I think he just finally is getting comfortable out here, and it’s just his time.”

The Late Bloomer’s Moment

Gotterup’s path to this moment reads like a Hollywood script. From a 74.03 scoring average as a freshman to Big Ten Player of the Year. A transfer to Oklahoma for his super senior year that changed everything. The 2022 Fred Haskins and Jack Nicklaus Awards. Runner-up to Ludvig Åberg at the Big 12 Championship.

Even then, he was only seventh in PGA Tour University – behind guys like Bridgeman and the Coody twins. Now he has as many tour wins as anyone in his class.

Links Golf and Creative Shots

Scotland suited Gotterup perfectly. The rolling terrain, the need to flight the ball, the creativity required – it all played into his strengths. His approach shot on the par-5 10th was pure artistry: laying up after a wayward drive, then carrying a large ridge from 111 yards to set up a 5-foot birdie putt.

“He can flight it really well, and he likes to play it on the ground and he likes to move it up and down,” Stockton observed. “So I think links golf suits him really well. He’s just a creative player.”

The Sweet Reward

The victory earned Gotterup something money can’t buy: a spot in The Open Championship at Royal Portrush. As the highest finisher among those not already exempt, he’ll extend his trip across the pond for another week.

He won’t be among the favorites, but that’s fine with him. After all, this is the same kid who once shot 100 in college and nearly cost his coach his job. Now that coach was standing in Scotland, watching his former player outdueling Rory McIlroy on golf’s biggest stage.

“He’s gonna win majors,” Shutte said moments after watching the final putt drop. “He keeps breaking through new ceilings.”

Some gambles pay off better than others.