Staff WriterIf Chris Gotterup was under the radar when he arrived on Scotland’s golf coast, he’s now circling somewhere just shy of the stratosphere.
The American unleashed a blistering, bogey-free 61 at the Genesis Scottish Open on Friday—tying the course record at Renaissance Club and vaulting into a two-shot lead heading into the weekend.
Gotterup, a 25-year-old with the build of a linebacker and the touch of a locksmith, looked every bit the headline act as he tore through East Lothian with a performance that had spectators checking the record books and players checking their pulse.
He started the day four shots off the pace, but that didn’t last long. After draining a 45-footer at the second, he blitzed the front nine in 29 and stirred up whispers of golf’s mythical unicorn—a 59.
“I wasn’t thinking about the number,” Gotterup might’ve claimed post-round if he wasn’t too busy signing autographs and blowing the cobwebs off Scottish restraint.
Though he parred his way home from the 14th, the damage was done. An 11-under-par total sees him out in front with a weekend full of possibilities—and pressure—looming.
Chris Gotterup: I definitely played good today. Not a lot of wind in the morning which was obviously beneficial. But yeah, it’s funny, when it flips you get some holes that you like and some holes that you don’t like and vice versa. I think there’s definitely certain holes that feel nice. Nice three pars to finish.
You just take what you can get, what the course gives you with the wind, and I think it’s much more pin location oriented and where you can get to in some spots you have to be smart and take your 30-footer on some holes.
I think it’s fun. We went over to North Berwick on Tuesday, and it’s not TPC Deere Run where it’s point-and-shoot and you have to be on.
I like working the ball and I think I’m creative in some aspects. When you get a little wind and some bouncing, it just makes it fun. Doesn’t make it any easier. You’ve got to be on and hit some good shots. I think it’s definitely, like you said, a change of pace and it’s a nice change of pace.
Hot on his heels is England’s Harry Hall at nine under, with Matt Fitzpatrick, Marco Penge and Sweden’s smooth-swinging Ludvig Åberg tucked in behind at eight under.
And yes, Rory showed up too. McIlroy flirted with the lead at times, eventually signing for a 65 that placed him in a heavyweight logjam at seven under, rubbing elbows with the likes of Jake Knapp, Keith Mitchell, Sepp Straka, Nick Taylor and Matti Schmid.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the field. Defending champ and local lad Robert MacIntyre had to birdie the 17th just to sneak inside the cutline at one under. Somewhere, a nation exhaled.
The Genesis Scottish Open, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, is cooking up the kind of drama only links golf and a leaderboard stuffed with global talent can serve.
With blue skies forecast and only Sunday tickets remaining (Saturday’s now a sell-out at 23,000 capacity), those hoping to catch the final round of this Rolex Series showdown would be wise to move quicker than Gotterup’s birdie train.
Whether the American can hold his nerve over the weekend remains to be seen—but one thing’s for certain: Scotland now knows exactly who Chris Gotterup is.
