PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — From afar it’s the profile of Brooks Koepka, not just because of the swoosh across his apparel and violent swing and brooding physique in a sport that has few of them, but that he’s contending at a major championship. Yet it’s not the five-time major winner, but a man who’s making a name for himself. Because it takes a special player to raise this riddle at the Open Championship: Can Chris Gotterup be an unexpected winner if he wins back-to-back weeks?
Yes, cart before the horse and what not. But we’re reached the halfway mark at Royal Portrush and Gotterup, fresh off a win last week in Scotland, is near the lead in his Open Championship debut.
“Definitely an interesting day weather-wise,” Gotterup said, after shaking off the rain from a late afternoon downpour. “Felt like we played five different winds out there. But we were actually joking playing 17, I felt like we got some good wind on some holes. Other than that, it was really—I played good today. “
Just 10 days ago, Gotterup believed he would be spending this week in California, competing in the alt-event Barracuda Championship. Those plans changed after Gotterup turned in a 61 on Friday at the Genesis Scottish Open to get into contention, then held off the likes of Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler on the weekend to capture his second career tour event.
It was unexpected, and not just because of the formidable names breathing down his neck. Gotterup had been playing well heading into Scotland, posting seven top-25 finishes in his last 11 starts (including the U.S. Open), but he had virtually no links reps and the game over here is notoriously unkind to the inexperienced.
Gotterup is putting that belief to the test, backing up his Scottish title with a Friday six-under 65, trying the best mark of the day that bestows a late Saturday tee time. He did so thanks to two eagles, at the second and the 12th, adding three birdies against just one bogey. If there’s a throughline that explains his links success, it’s discerning quickly to play with the course and elements, not against them.
“This is definitely more of a marathon tournament than anything. You never know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow. You don’t even look for the next day because it’s different in the morning,” Gotterup said. “It’s one of those things where I feel like I’m plotting around the course well. 14, for example, today, I hit it in the bad spot, take my bogey and move on. I don’t feel like I’m getting too greedy out there. I feel like I’m just doing a good job of taking what I’m given.”
Despite last week’s win, Gotterup remains something of an unknown entity; multiple times on Friday he was confused for Koepka by the gallery. But Gotterup gets it because he’s amazingly self-aware for a 25-year-old. That will quickly change if he keeps it going into the weekend, although he’s not allowing himself to go that far. Well, sort of.
“The answer is no, but—like no and yes,” Gotterup allowed. “I know it’s going to be a long weekend, and I know it’s going to be tough, you don’t know what to expect. But I feel like I’m playing well, and hopefully I can get myself in a good spot come Sunday.
“I felt like I was playing with house money coming into the weekend, or into the week in general. I’m happy to be where I’m at. I feel like I’m playing well and I’m in a good spot.”
Helping with the vibes is the arrival of Gotterup’s parents. He flew solo at last week’s Scottish, although his dad had a good reason for missing Chris’ win: He was at Pine Valley. “If you talk to him, he’ll tell you, he name-dropped it like 30 times,” Gotterup joked.
Expect to hear Gotterup’s name dropped more in the upcoming weeks, especially as he’s in the mix for a Ryder Cup spot. (And given he went to Rutgers for four years, a potential crowd favorite at Bethpage Black.) But for all the excitement of the past week, Gotterup is trying to stay in the moment, and as he acknowledged, he never even went back-to-back in college. Yet, in watching him play and talk Friday, Gotterup carried an air of conviction that comes off as arrogance in the best possible connotation. Koepka-esque, if you will. This weekend, Chris Gotterup has a chance to let the world know who he is.
“You know you can do it, and I’ve proven that I can do it, and on a decently big stage,” Gotterup said. “It’s all good stuff. I don’t have any issues or complaints with where I’m at. I feel like I’m in a good spot going into the weekend.”
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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
