Chris Gotterup didn’t just win the 55th John Deere Classic on Sunday; he staged a late surge that turned a crowded leaderboard into a personal breakthrough, then stood in the heat, hitting range balls to see whether anyone could catch him.
By the time the final putts dropped, the 26-year-old had already posted a blistering 9-under 62 and finished at 20-under, completing one of the day’s most convincing finishes at TPC Deere Run, where magic has been known to happen.
What made this victory feel even bigger was how it unfolded. Gotterup began the final round five shots behind, with Lucas Glover and Lee Hodges holding the 54-hole lead, leaving him no margin for a cautious finish. Instead, he attacked the course with the ferocity that has defined his rise: length off the tee, precise iron play, and a putter that held up under the highest pressure.
The back nine carried the weight of the win. Birdies at Nos. 10, 13, 15, and 17 turned his round from a strong charge into a winning moment, and the par-5 17th helped define the day. Gotterup hammered a 328-yard drive and followed it with a 14-foot birdie putt, a sequence that reflected the confidence and aggression that separated him from the field in the few hours.
This win was deeply personal because Gotterup’s regular caddie was away because his wife was expecting a baby, so his younger brother, Patrick, took time off from work to step in.
“He just kept me in it all week, and we were joking around, having a great time,” Gotterup told CBS Sports.
It was a close-knit family treasure, carried out on one of the PGA TOUR’s best summer stages. Gotterup even shed a few tears of joy on TV as he reflected on how much this tournament has meant to him since he first arrived on a sponsor exemption four years ago and had promised Deere & Company he would make them proud.
“I just put in a lot of hard work, and a lot of people put time into me and care about me,” Gotterup added. “I go out there, and even if I’m in fortieth place, I give it everything I’ve got. When I come down the stretch, I like to think I’m going to close it out, and I did a great job of that today.”
Since that first invitation here, Gotterup is now a five-time PGA TOUR winner, and Sunday’s result further proves how far he has come as a big-time closer. It also added a layer of urgency: within a couple of hours, he boarded a flight from the Quad Cities to begin defending his 2025 Scottish Open title this week, with barely enough time to absorb what had just happened.
“I just really like this tournament. They’ve been super nice to me. And to come out here and have Patrick out here with me, for him to take time out this week and some PTO, and hopefully he gets one more day of PTO tomorrow,” Gotterup said.
Max Homa made his presence felt with a 7-under 64 on Sunday for a runner-up finish, a shot back at minus 19.
36-year-old Ben Kohles, a five-time Korn Ferry Tour winner who led the tournament by as much as two shots before faltering, finished in a three-way tie for third place with Hodges and Glover, who had won this event five years ago.
Another former John Deere winner, Zach Johnson (2012), finished four shots back at 16 under par. Born in this region and always a fan favorite, the former Masters and Open Championship winner, now 50, will return to the PGA TOUR Champions, where he has already won twice in his “rookie” season.