Gotterup out dueled McIlroy on European soil.

PublishedJuly 13, 2025 2:57 PM EDT•UpdatedJuly 13, 2025 2:57 PM EDT

Chris Gotterup may have been tied with Rory McIlroy atop the leaderboard to begin Sunday's final round of the Scottish Open. Still, there was an unavoidable expectation that the young American might struggle in the biggest moment of his career, playing alongside the Northern Irish grand slam winner on European soil, who was searching for his 30th victory on the PGA Tour.

Expectations, however, are not often what they seem, and Gotterup put together a ridiculously impressive final round to capture his second PGA Tour victory in 14 months. 

Adversity did not wait to show itself to Gotterup at The Renaissance Club on Sunday as he made a lackluster bogey on the opening hole, and with McIlroy making a par, he quickly found himself a shot back. Instead of pushing the panic button far too early in the round like some players in his situation may have, Gotterup brushed the bogey off and got to work.

Gotterup will likely look back at the Par 5 third hole as a pivotal one during the final round, as he managed to make birdie while McIlroy made an unsuspecting bogey, which looked to be an early turning point in what ultimately became a bit of a match-play situation between the two.

The pair began the final nine holes just like they started Sunday's final round - tied at the top of the leaderboard - but in a moment where it felt like McIlroy would grab hold of the golf tournament, it was Gotterup who went out and snatched it.

The 25-year-old from Maryland native made a birdie on two of his first three holes on the closing nine, while McIlroy couldn't get anything going on the back nine as he would go on to close his round with 10 consecutive pars, and it was at the Par 3 12th hole where Gotterup grabbed all the momentum and held onto it.

Gotterup managed to hit his tee shot on the 199-yard Par 3 to inside three feet. McIlroy followed the tight shot with one of his own, leaving himself with a four-foot birdie putt to put a bit of pressure on his counterpart. Instead, McIlroy missed the near-gimme-range birdie putt, Gotterup made his, and from there, managed to hold tough as the pressure mounted over the final six holes.

It's more than fair to say that McIlroy did not have anything close to his A-game during the final round – playing the three Par 5s at 1-over paints that ugly picture – but that isn't to say that Gotterup doesn't deserve a ton of credit for his Sunday performance.

From the crowd, the setting, the experience, and certainly comparing resumes, everything was stacked against Gotterup from getting the job done against McIlroy on Sunday, but he managed to ignore those factors en route to a final round 66 and will head to next week's Open Championship a two-time winner on the PGA Tour.