Chris Gotterup was emotional after winning the John Deere Classic on Sunday with his older brother Patrick as his caddie.
Gotterup erased a five-shot deficit entering Sunday’s final round to claim his third PGA Tour victory of the season, level with Matt Fitzpatrick for the most of any player on tour this calendar year. It came after Jordan Spieth asked “what can I do” after a trash can episode on the 15th hole at TPC Deere Run.
Gotterup’s nine-under-par 62 on Sunday was the best round of any player all week. The 26-year-old tallied nine birdies and zero bogeys in his final round to finish 20-under for the tournament, a stunning effort that was made all the more special with his brother Patrick on the bag.
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After winning the trophy, Gotterup choked up during an interview with CBS reporter Amanda Balionis, with Patrick by his side.
“I really like this tournament, they’ve been super nice to me, and to come out here and to have Patrick out here with me… it’s just so awesome. ” Gotterup said before breaking down in tears.
“For him to take time out this week and some PTO, and hopefully he gets one more day of PTO tomorrow from work, but yeah, just so awesome, this tournament has been awesome to me. It’s just a great week.”
Patrick Gotterup caddied for Chris throughout the tournament -Credit:Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Before earning his PGA Tour card, Gotterup wrote to the John Deere Classic in 2022 asking for a sponsor’s exemption.
He was ultimately allowed to participate and finished tied for fourth, despite it being just his fourth career PGA Tour start.
In four years since, he’s kept his loyalty to the tournament, including this year as he prepares to head across the Atlantic Ocean for the Scottish Open next week, where he is the defending champion.
“It’s always the goal to come out here and try to win. We got off to a good start and he just kept me in it all week. We were joking, having a good time and guys at the house, we had a great time all week. Just a fun week,” Gotterup said.
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The Easton, Maryland native continues his ascendance into one of the best golfers in the world after being relatively unknown this time last year.
Since winning the 2025 Scottish Open, Gotterup has made the cut in all four majors – including a solo third at last year’s Open Championship – and won three more PGA Tour events.
“I just put in a lot of hard work and have a lot of people that put time into me and care about me,” Gotterup continued.
“I go out there and even if I’m in 40th place I give it everything I got, but when I come down the stretch I like to think that I’m going to close it out, and I did a great job of that today. Credit to Patrick too, he did a great job this week.”