Chris Gotterup keeps having special moments at the John Deere Classic.
Gotterup made his latest memory by shooting 9-under-par 62 Sunday and capturing the John Deere title when Ben Kohles had a late mishap at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
“It’s always the goal to come out here and try to win,” Gotterup said. “I really like this tournament. They’ve been so nice to me.”
Gotterup rose from a 12th-place spot at the beginning of the day to finish at 20-under 264 and win on the PGA Tour for the fifth time, including three triumphs this year.
Kohles, who was in the final threesome and tied atop the leaderboard, hit his approach shot on No. 18 in the greenside pond. After a penalty stroke, he took a double bogey.
“I’m proud of the way I played. I played awesome all week,” Kohles said. “Obviously sucks to just have that happen on the last hole.”
Gotterup said, “Obviously to not have to go into a playoff is nice, but I was ready to go for a playoff if need be.”
Max Homa (64 on Sunday) was the runner-up at 19 under.
“I had a good chance to catch him,” Homa said. “He just played better. … I had my chances. I just needed to be a little sharper.”
Gotterup played this tournament on a sponsor’s exemption in 2022, tying for fourth place in his first notable result on the PGA Tour. Now, he has something better.
“This whole year has been really good if you look at it in a big picture,” said Gotterup, who won the Sony Open in Hawaii and the WM Phoenix Open this winter. “But I obviously got off to a great start (to the season) and was grinding it out in the middle of the year, but that’s not unexpected. Hopefully, this kickstarts some other great stuff.”
Gotterup’s bogey-free round allowed him to finish more than an hour prior to the final group. His victory was clinched when Kohles’ chip was off the mark on the final hole.
Kohles then missed his first putt on the last hole and recorded 68 for the round, causing him to tumble into a tie for third place at 18 under, joining third-round co-leaders Lucas Glover (69) and Lee Hodges (69).
But it was the approach shot that cost Kohles.
“I hit an 8-iron and thought 9 was going to be too short and thought if I hit a full 8, it could have a chance of going over,” he said. “So I was just trying to hit kind of a three-quarter punch shot. Just tugged it a little, and obviously ended up in the water.”
Kohles remains without a PGA Tour victory. He eagled the second hole and played the first eight holes in 5 under.
“This was my third final group on Sunday on the PGA Tour,” he said. “Honestly, this was the best I’ve felt.”
Gotterup’s score Sunday was four shots better than any of his previous rounds during the tournament.
Gotterup had his brother, Patrick Gotterup, as his caddie.
“It was a special week even if we didn’t play great,” said Chris Gotterup, who’ll be the defending champion in next week’s Scottish Open.
Glover, who was also the second-round leader, began the final round strong with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 but produced only one birdie across the last 15 holes.
Mac Meissner (64), Jackson Suber (69) and Doug Ghim (68) shared sixth place at 17 under.
–Field Level Media
