Chris Gotterup won the Scottish Open last weekend and is currently inside the top 10 at the 36-hole mark in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. It’s quite the stretch of golf, and life. And yet, his dad might have him beat.
RELATED: Shane Lowry’s shocking NSFW message for . . . Royal Portrush?
As Gotterup was closing the deal for his second PGA Tour win last week in Scotland, his pops was over 3,000 miles away back home in New Jersey playing a little golf of his own. And by a little golf we mean a member guest at the No. 1-ranked course in Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest since 2017. You know the one.
Here’s the exchange between Gotterup and a reporter from Friday at Royal Portrush:
Q. Is it true your dad was at PV when you won the Scottish Open?
GOTTERUP: Yeah. If you talk to him, he’ll tell you, he name dropped it like 30 times. Yeah, he was down there with his buddy playing the member-guest.
Q. That had to be the most perfect day for him.
GOTTERUP: Yeah, he had a good day. It was funny, none of my family was together, they were in different parts of the country, so it was kind of cool in that aspect.
A good day? Pine Valley and your son wins a national Open? Yeah, we’d say that’s a top one day in existence as a golfing father. No big deal.
And now, Mr. Gotterup (and Mrs. Gotterup) is following that up with a week in Northern Ireland watching their son not just play in the British Open, but contend in it. An incredible stretch of golf, and life, for the whole family.
- • •
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.
- • •
MORE GOLF DIGEST BRITISH OPEN COVERAGE
British Open 101: Answering all your frequently asked questions
How to watch the British Open on TV and streaming
Tee times for the first and second rounds
Former gang member, convict is the most unlikely golfer in the 153rd Open
Power Rankings: Every player in the field at Royal Portrush
Video: Every hole at Royal Portrush
History of the claret jug: 153 years of triumphs, dents and lots of drinking
How does a golf course earn ‘Royal’ status?
10 shots tour pros need to succeed at links golf
The golf ball rollback: 3 outcomes that all appear a bit messy
The best British Opens, ranked
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
