[Photo: Cliff Hawkins]
Chris Gotterup came to the Sony Open in Hawaii with two PGA Tour wins under his belt and left it with win No.3, a two-shot victory courtesy of a final-round 64.
Seven birdies offset a lone blemish at the par-3 fourth hole, a solid rebound from a third round when Gotterup said, “I definitely got frustrated out there a couple times and tried to screw my head back on and get back at it.”
Although his iron play wasn’t sharp at all times, other parts of his game clicked. He ranked first in strokes gained: off-the-tee, picking up 4.36 shots on the field while averaging 292 metres (319 yards) per tee shot with his 7.5-degree Ping G440 LST driver with a HZRDUS Smoke Black 70 shaft.
When he was off the mark, Gotterup was able to convert enough scrambling opportunities with his TaylorMade Milled Grind 5 wedges to rank fifth in strokes gained: around-the-green, including a perfect six-for-six in sand saves. He was good on the greens as well, ranking second in putts per green in regulation and ninth in strokes gained/putting with his TaylorMade Spider Tour X putter, the same model he used to win the Scottish Open last July.
Now the only question is when he might use that flatstick for win No.4.
The clubs Chris Gotterup used to win the Sony Open in Hawaii:
Ball: Bridgestone VS Black prototype
Driver: Ping G440 LST (HZRDUS Smoke Black 70), 7.5 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade BRNR Mini, 13.5 degrees
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi35, 18 degrees
Irons (4-9): Bridgestone Tour B 220 MB
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind 5 (46, 52, 56 degrees); TaylorMade Milled Grind prototype (60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X X1
