Who is Chris Gotterup (Bridgestone Tour B X), and why is he tearing it up early in the 2026 PGA Tour season?

If you had asked golf fans heading into this year’s season, some may have known him and success he has had, but I don’t think there would be many who would say he was slated for a breakthrough season.

But now the word is out: Not only is he a long-ball hitter off the tee and someone who can keep it in the fairway, but he also has a complete game and championship mettle.

With two victories in only three tournaments in 2026, most recently last weekend beating two-time winner Hideki Matsuyama (Srixon z-Star XV) in a playoff in the WM Phoenix Open, Gotterup is on a heater.

Matsuyama, the tournament leader heading into the final round, was spraying his ball all over the course and was scrambling most of the day. Gotterup was quietly doing his own thing. In fact, while Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1) was making a serious run for the lead that just fell one shot short after a seven-under par, Gotterup was putting together a similar round. He had the tournament lead after round one with an eight-under par – Scheffler was just hoping to make the cut after opening two-under par – but shot one-under par in his next two rounds.

Gotterup really turned it on in the final round. He was two-under after the front nine, but five-under on the back nine, including birdying five of the last six holes.

And when Matsuyama bogeyed the final hole, forcing a playoff, and then made a mess of his tee shot on the first playoff hole, Gotterup took advantage for the win.

He’s now won some $3.5 million already this season. That would be a good sum for one year, let alone about four weeks. So again, who is Chris Gotterup? Should he now be considered among the elite on the PGA Tour? It is so hard to say. Clearly off his finish in the Phoenix Open, Scheffler should be considered the favorite for this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The major players from last year will be in the tournament including defending champion and Masters winner Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5), along with the likes of Tommy Fleetwood (TaylorMade TP5x), Shane Lowry (Srixon Z-Star XV), Justin Rose (Titleist Pro V1x), Matsuyama and more. So, will this be a litmus test for Gotterup? In some ways, yes. Then again you can’t dismiss what he’s done so far. Barring a major collapse, he will be representing the U.S. in international play at season’s end and possibly in years to come.

Expecting another amazing finish this week would seem almost super-human. Unless you’re Scheffler, there has to a tapering-off period. Look what happened to McIlroy early last year and then how his playoff collapsed after the Masters. He had a hard time maintaining that psychological edge and hunger when he completed his career Grand Slam. It happens.

I’m not suggesting Gotterup is on the same path as McIlroy, who is far more seasoned and experienced, but the PGA Tour is all about cycles and peaks and valleys. Winning once a year is an accomplishment, winning twice is really tough to do, especially in only three tournaments to start the season.

The bottom line is Gotterup is only 26 and has immense power. He demonstrated talent, winning the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top collegiate golfer at the University of Oklahoma for 2021-22.

So, it’s not necessarily a surprise what he is doing, just maybe not this soon.