Former Rutgers Golfer Chris Gotterup has added another trophy to his case. The young PGA star earned a come from behind victory over Hideki Matsuyama to win the Phoenix Open. Gotterup fell behind Matsuyama by four strokes, but was able to chip away at his deficit to force a playoff hole. In the playoff hole, Gotterup was able to hit a long birdie putt to secure the victory.
The four day event was full of ups and downs for Gotterup. He started off the event hot, leading by two strokes at the end of the first
day. However, back to back inconsistent days saw him slip down the leaderboard until he entered the fourth day behind Matsuyama by four strokes. The deficit would remain largely the same through the first few holes on the last day, until the tide began to turn at the end.
Near the end of the fourth day, Gotterup dialed up the pressure on Matsuyama in the last six holes, hitting five birdies and closing the gap going into the final hole. Matsuyama faltered in the last whole, missing his chance to land a go ahead put, which allowed Gotterup to tie the score and force the playoff hole. In the playoff hole, Gotterup sunk a 27-foot birdie after Matsuyama hit his shot in the water to seal the win
After his win, Gotterup jumped to fifth in the Official World Golf Rankings. He is currently ranked No.1 in the FedEx cup rankings.
The victory earned Gotterup a cash prize of $1,728,000, bringing his career earnings to $10,099,780. This victory is the fourth PGA Tour win of his career.
With this PGA tour win, only golfing legends No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (14) and Rory McIlroy (5) have won more events in the past three years than him.
