Two surprisingly poor tee shots by Hideki Matsuyama on the 18th hole at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course enabled Chris Gotterup to win the WM Phoenix Open for his second title of the young 2026 PGA Tour season.
Gotterup, who won the season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii, birdied five of his last six holes Sunday to shoot a 7-under 64 and get to 16 under for the tournament. He then waited on the driving range as Matsuyama stumbled through the closing holes.
The third-round leader, Matsuyama, bogeyed the 18th hole to shoot 68 and finish in a tie with Gotterup. Gotterup birdied the first playoffhole to win for the second time in three starts this year to earn $1.73 million.
“I’m just really enjoying being out here right now, and I’m having fun,” said Gotterup, 26. “I feel confident in what I’m doing and feel like I have played well enough to feel confident to be able to be in those positions. So far, I’ve been able to capitalize on those, and I’m excited for the rest of the year.
Matsuyama’s Tough Day Got Worse
The leader at 17 under, Matsuyama missed birdie putts of 16 and 14 feet on the 16th and 17th holes as Gotterup watched on a mobile device from the range.
On 18 he drove into the church pew fairway bunkers on the left and hit the grass hump in front of him with his shot from the sand, ending up 43 yards short of the green. His third shot to the green finished 24 feet from the hole and he two-putted for bogey, setting up a playoffwith Gotterup.
Back at the 18th tee. Gotterup bombed his drive 349 yards into the fairway, then Matsuyama pulled his tee shot left towards the gallery, where it hit the land and bounced backwards into the water.
After taking a penalty drop, Matsuyama hit his approach from 147 yards to 26 feet. Gotterup, who was 91 yards from the hole, hit a wedge to 27 feet and calmly rolled the birdie putt into the center of the hole to win for the second time in three starts this year and his fourth career title.
“You’re just trying to get it down there and put some pressure on Hideki, and for it to go in like that is really amazing,” Gotterup said.
“I was grinding all weekend,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter. “Didn’t have my best stuff, but hung in there. I wanted to avoid the playoffas much as I could, but I just hit a bad tee shot there in regulation at 18 and Chris made a good putt there in the playoff. So hats offto him.”
Gotterup shot a bogey-free 8-under 63 to take the first-round lead. He cooled offthe next two rounds, shooting 70-71 to start the final day four shots behind Matsuyama, who won consecutive Phoenix Opens in 2016 and 2017 and led by a shot over four players.
Aside from his winning putt, Gotterup’s best shot was his approach from 131 yards in the right rough on No. 18 in regulation. Gotterup watched his shot roll to within 3 feet of the cup and he tapped that in for his ninth birdie of the day.
Scheffler Bounces Back
After starting the tournament with a 2-over 73 and in danger of missing the cut, top-ranked Scottie Scheffler charged his way up the leaderboard, finishing in a five-way tie for third at 15 under.
The two-time Phoenix Open champion shot rounds of 65-67-64 for his 17th consecutive top-10, the first player since Billy Casper in 1965 to accomplish the feat.
Also at 15 under were Akshay Bhatia (67), Si Woo Kim (68), Michael Thorbjornsen (67) and Nicolai Højgaard (68).
McIlroy Makes PGA Tour Debut at AT&T
Rory McIlroy returns to the PGA Tour to defend his title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a signature event that pays the winner $3.6 million. Last year, World No. 2 McIlroy shot rounds of 65-66 over the weekend to win by two shots over countryman Shane Lowry.
Also making his 2026 Tour debut is No. 4 Tommy Fleetwood, the reigning FedExCup champion. Gotterup is making his first appearance in the tournament and will be joined by Scheffler and past AT&T champions Jordan Spieth, Daniel Berger, Nick Taylor, Tom Hoge, and Wyndham Clark.
