Chris Gotterup outlasts Rory
McIlroy to win Scottish Open and head to Portrush
[July 14, 2025]
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — Chris Gotterup had a plane
ticket for California to play an opposite-field event in Lake Tahoe.
The only change in itinerary would be to take down Rory McIlroy at
the Scottish Open before a sellout crowd expecting the Masters
champion to claim his 30th title on the PGA Tour.
Gotterup handled it all with poise to go with his great strength.
He delivered all the right shots — the short birdie putt on the
par-3 12th to build a two-shot lead, the 10-foot birdie on the par-5
16th to restore a two-shot lead — and closed with a 4-under 66 to
hold off McIlroy and Marco Penge of England.
The victory sends him to Royal Portrush for his British Open debut,
an extended trip to links golf that is starting to suit him.
Time to cancel that flight.
“I might do it right now in front of you," Gotterup said, the trophy
at his side that also sends him to the Masters next year for the
first time.
He earned those perks. Gotterup, tied with McIlroy to start the
final round, drove into a bunker and had to make a nervy 4-footer
for bogey on the opening hole. That was a reminder nothing was going
to come easily.
“I definitely was the villain out there today,” he said. “I felt
like I was ready and prepared mentally today. And that’s kind of
what I’ve been talking about over the last couple of weeks, that
I’ve kind of gotten into the mix a little bit and just faded away a
little bit. And today, my goal was to hang in there tough and I felt
like I did that really well.”
He finished at 15-under 265 and moves into the top 50 in the world
for the first time.
“Chris played a great round of golf. He was so solid,” McIlroy said.
“Made the bogey on 15 but bounced back with a really nice birdie on
16. After he got a couple ahead, I just couldn’t claw back.”
Gotterup was one shot ahead of McIlroy when he hit his tee shot on
the 196-yard 12th hole to 2 feet for birdie — McIlroy missed from 4
feet — to take command.
His lead was down to one over McIlroy and Penge, but McIlroy missed
a 12-foot birdie at the par-5 16th and Gotterup hit a right-to-left
putt from 10 feet in the heart of the cup for a two-shot lead with
two to play.
Gotterup was so emotional when it was over he could barely speak,
rubbing his eyes before saying, “Everyone at home ... this is
awesome. I'm not going to be able to keep it together.”
Next stop is the British Open
Gotterup, built more like fellow New Jersey athlete Mike Trout than
a golfer, also won the opposite-field Myrtle Beach Classic last
year. The Genesis Scottish Open had one of the strongest fields of
the year, and the perks are far greater.
The first stop is the British Open at Royal Portrush. Gotterup
earned one of the three final spots through the International
Qualifying Series, joined by Nicolai Hojgaard and Matti Schmid.
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Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy on the 3rd hole on day four of the
Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland,
Sunday July 13, 2025. (Malcolm Mackenzie/PA via AP)
Hojgaard closed with a 64 to move up 11 spots into a tie for fourth
to join his twin brother at Royal Portrush. Schmid shot 71 and tied
for 17th, helped by Jake Knapp's late collapse.
Knapp was tied for the lead through five holes, but he took double
bogey on the par-3 ninth and the rest of the back nine didn't go
much better. He closed with a 74, losing on a chance to win and to
play next week at Royal Portrush.
Good timing for McIlroy
McIlroy had said he was playing his best golf since going into the
Masters, which he won in emotional fashion to complete the career
Grand Slam. This was the first time he had seriously contended since
that Masters victory, good timing with the Open in his native
Northern Ireland starting on Thursday.
But he couldn't keep up with Gotterup, who looked shaky at the start
when he drove into a bunker and had to make a 4-foot bogey putt. He
was rock solid the rest of the way.
“I’m really happy with where my game is — the way I played over the
weekend, the shots that I hit, how I controlled my ball flight,”
McIlroy said. “It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that’s
about it.”
McIlroy battled to the end, especially on No. 11 when he had to
pitch out left-handed and still managed to save par. When it was
over, he said he was on his way to Royal Portrush, which McIlroy had
not seen since the Friday of the 2019 British Open when he missed
the cut.
Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick had a 67 and tied for
fourth with Hojgaard, picking up valuable FedEx Cup points in what
has been a down year.
Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player coming off a two-week
break, had a 67 and tied for eighth. It was his 10th consecutive
tournament finishing eighth or better, a streak that began in the
Houston Open.
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