Chris Gotterup: Pro Golf’s New Era Star

It would be easy to look away from the first PGA Tour event of the year, or pay it just an ounce of attention. A solid, young pro wins in Hawaii against a sunny backdrop and a ho-hum PGA Tour field. How much is there to it?

A lot, if you just look a bit closer.

Gotterup, at 26, represents much of what pro golf has become, and has worked through, in recent years. He figures to be a big part of its future, too, and will benefit handsomely from it. 

for starters, he turned pro in 2022 and took the maximum amount of sponsor exemption starts, just as many young, promising stars do. this was just as LIV Golf launched,and just as the PGA Tour realized it needed to create more pathways for players like him. A few of his collegiate opponents took the leap to LIV.Gotterup chose the customary route, with his collegiate performance earning him Korn Ferry Tour membership via the Tour’s “PGA Tour University” rankings.

But once he graduated from the KFT, Gotterup found a crowded scene. The Tour had created Signature Events with limited fields, controversially pushing some veteran pros out of tournaments they’re used to playing and down into the second rung of Tour stops.Many Korn Ferry Tour (and DP World Tour) graduates simply couldn’t enter tournaments even if they had a badge in their wallets that saeid “PGA Tour Member.” 

They were required, however, to fly to Hawaii during the week of the 2024 Sony Open to sit through PGA Tour orientation. Gotterup was “one of those guys” as he said Sunday night, stuck in a conference room for eight hours, unable to hit a competitive golf shot during that week in Hawaii two years ago — a very 2024 issue the Tour has solved by limiting memberships ever since.

Rookies take all the starts they can