Chris Gotterup showed he’s the real deal in shooting a final-round 6-under-par 64 to come from behind and win the PGA Tour’s season-opening Sony Open in Honolulu by two shots.
It was the third career title for Gotterup, who now has victories in each of his last three seasons, and moved up to No. 17 in the Official Golf World Ranking. He was No. 195 a year ago.
Gotterup won the Scottish Open last year, outdueling Rory McIlroy down the stretch, and he won the opposite-field Myrtle Beach Classic in his rookie season.
“I just felt like this week I was in a good frame of mind, just happy to be here,” said Gotterup, who received $1.64 million for the win. “I felt like I was in control of my brain, which is the most important thing. I drove it great and made some putts when it mattered.
Gotterup Rises as Riley Falters
Gotterup was two shots behind when he took advantage of a collapse by 54-hole leader Davis Riley and then poured it on with a mixture of power and putting along the back nine of breezy Waialae Country Club to keep everyone else from catching him.
Gotterup finished at 16-under 264. Ryan Gerard birdied his last two holes for a 65 to finish alone in second at 266, one shot ahead of Patrick Rodgers.
Riley started with a two-shot lead and birdied two of his first five holes to get to 14 under, but then went bogey-bogey-double bogey. He finished at 1-over 71 to fall into a tie for sixth.
Gotterup went out in 3 under and had three birdies on his back nine, sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the 187-yard par-3 17th hole to give him a comfortable cushion over Gerard heading to the final hole, which he parred.
Aggressive Gotterup Couldn’t be Caught
Despite being chased by Gerard and Rodgers, among others, Gotterup pulled away with tee shots of 330-plus yards and a red-hot putter.
He holed a 20-footer for birdie on No. 12 and then poured in a 25-footer for birdie on the 13th, the toughest hole on the course. His 12-footer on 17 clinched the victory.
Defending champion Nick Taylor shot 62 to take the first-round lead but was 1 under over his next three rounds to finish tied for 13th.
Rodgers had a good shot at winning his first PGA Tour title after going out in 4 under, but he had no birdies on the back nine until the final hole to finish with a 65.
Vijay Singh, 62, finished tied for 40th at 5 under. The three-time major champion ranks sixth on the all-time money list with more than $71 million in career earnings. The PGA Tour allows players among the top 50 in career earnings who have lost their Tour status to regain status for one season, and Singh chose this season.
Scheffler Playing in American Express
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines a strong field in the American Express at PGA West and La Quinta Country Club in Palm Springs, Calif.
Scheffler is joined by 12 of the top 25 players in the World Ranking, including Russell Henley (5), Ben Griffin (8), Harris English (11), and defending champion Sepp Straka (12).
