Chris Gotterup returns to the Genesis Scottish Open this week as defending champion and one of the highest-ranked players in the field after a breakthrough 12 months.
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The American arrived at The Renaissance Club last year as World Number 158 but returns to Scotland this week ranked seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the John Deere Classic for his third PGA TOUR title of 2026 ahead of this week’s Rolex Series event.
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Despite his rapid rise, Gotterup believes his approach has remained unchanged. After claiming his maiden PGA TOUR title at the Myrtle Beach Classic in 2024, Gotterup held off Rory McIlroy and the chasing pack to secure the biggest victory of his career at last year’s Genesis Scottish Open.
The 25-year-old has described playing in marquee groups over the weekend last year as a valuable learning experience, giving him the belief that he belonged among the world’s best. This week, he will again feature in one of the headline groups alongside World Number Two Rory McIlroy and home favourite Robert MacIntyre.
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This week’s event marks the fifth consecutive year that the Genesis Scottish Open has been co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR as part of the Strategic Alliance between both Tours.
Joining Gotterup in a world-class field are several of the game’s leading players, including Viktor Hovland, who arrives in Scotland in search of a second Rolex Series title after securing a dramatic play-off victory over World Number One Scottie Scheffler at the PGA TOUR’s Travelers Championship two weeks ago.
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Reigning U.S. PGA Champion Aaron Rai, the 2020 Genesis Scottish Open winner, will compete in the UK for the first time since claiming his maiden Major title, while two-time Major Champion Jon Rahm is also set to tee it up at The Renaissance Club.
Player quotes
Chris Gotterup: “I feel like everyone’s asked, what have I done differently and I don’t think I’ve done much differently. If I knew, I would have done it a lot longer ago. I felt like I kept my head down and kept working hard on things that I knew.
“With the help of my coaches and family and girlfriend, we try to keep things simple and it’s worked out. Hopefully, I’ll keep improving, too.
“For me, it was being able to win on a completely different course than I have ever played on. So it’s like, I have a game that travels, at least I think so.
“Last year, coming up against Rory and Scottie and all these guys and coming out on top and I thought maybe I might be better than I thought I was beforehand. But thinking you can do it and doing it are two different things.
“This field is one of the strongest we’ll play all year. So to be able to come out on top of that is a confidence boost in and of its own.”
