NJ golfer turning into one of golf’s brightest young stars

The PGA Tour season officially started less than a month ago, on Jan. 15th. There have been four tournaments since then, and two of them have been won by New Jersey's own Chris Gotterup, the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona.

They were Gotterup's third and fourth wins on the PGA Tour since last May, more than any other player not named Scottie Scheffler.

Born in Maryland, Gotterup was raised in Little Silver, New Jersey, and played college golf at Rutgers from 2017-2021. He transferred to the University of Oklahoma for the 2021-2022 season, where he won the Haskins Award and Jack Niklaus Award as the top college golfer.

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Gotterup's rise to stardom has come seemingly out of nowhere. He had never posted a top-20 in a major before last year. In 2025, he finished tied for 3rd at the Open Championship.

He will turn 27 in July of this year, which for a lot of golfers is right around where their "prime years" kick in. While some sports consider you old by the time you turn 30, golf doesn't follow this rule. Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Jack Niklaus, Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead all had 30 wins or more after they turned 30.

That's not to say Gotterup is comparable with those legends of the game, but he's setting his own pace. He's hitting his stride earlier in his career than most golfers do.

Although left off the Ryder Cup team in 2025 (United States vs Europe) it would be no surprise if he makes this years Presidents Cup team (United States vs everyone EXCEPT Europe).

He currently sits at -8 and two shots back of the lead at this week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am through one round. His hot streak continues as he looks for his third win of 2026 and his fifth on Tour.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kyle Clark. Any opinions expressed are his own.

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