Chris Gotterup won the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic and a ticket to next week’s PGA Championship thanks to another low round on Sunday in South Carolina.
The PGA Tour rookie’s family made it to The Dunes Golf and Beach Club on Mother’s Day in time to see him win his first PGA Tour title. Gotterup, 24, said the flowers he had ordered for his mother were delayed until Monday.
“So I gave her at least something today,” Gotterup said. “But it’s awesome. They came down this morning, and after the first two holes they were probably a little iffy, but yeah, just a great day.”
Gotterup held the 36-hole lead and never let up. He went 66-64-65-67 for the week to post a 22-under 262, beating Alistair Docherty and Davis Thompson by a full six strokes. Docherty shot a 64 on Sunday and Thompson had a 68.
The former Jack Nicklaus Award winner for the best player in college golf, Gotterup opened his day bogey-bogey but got those strokes back and then some. He made a 7-foot birdie at No. 3, an 11-foot eagle putt at No. 4 and a 23-footer for birdie at the par-3 No. 5.
No one would threaten to catch him from there. He recorded four birdies and two bogeys on the back nine, his final putt dropping in the side door for birdie at No. 18.
“This week it just happened to be the driver wasn’t working great, but my short game really saved me, getting up-and-down from some spots that you probably shouldn’t get up-and-down from,” Gotterup said. “But I felt like I had a really good game plan all week, and yeah, I just played my game.”
As the winner of this new tournament opposite the Wells Fargo Championship, Gotterup received one of the final spots in the PGA Championship, the second major of the season, which will be played next week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
Blades Brown, a 16-year-old amateur, posted a final-round 69 to tie for 26th at 10 under. It was the second straight week a 16-year-old amateur made the cut on the PGA Tour, as England’s Kris Kim did so last week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
–Field Level Media
