Golf-Masters rookie Gotterup brings confidence to Augusta after meteoric rise

By Frank Pingue

AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 6 (Reuters) - Chris Gotterup has been one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour this season, and as he prepares to make his Masters debut this week he's not losing any sleep over the challenges Augusta National presents.

When asked during his pre-tournament press conference on Monday what about the course makes him nervous, the 26-year-old's answer was simple: nothing.

Not the treacherous slopes of the putting surfaces or the popular three-hole stretch known as Amen Corner that tends to be a pivotal spot in deciding the Masters tournament each year.

"I don't think anything about the course makes me nervous. I think I'm going to be nervous on the first tee for sure," said Gotterup, bidding to become the first Masters rookie to win a Green Jacket since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

"It's more the excitement and getting ready to play in the Masters more than - at the end of the day, every tournament you go out and you try to perform your best. So I think it's more of just trying to settle down the nerves of playing."

WELL-EARNED CONFIDENCE AFTER FOUR WINS

The distinction matters. It's not the course that gives him pause - it's the occasion. Given what he's accomplished, that confidence is well-earned.

Gotterup won the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic in 2024 for his first PGA Tour title, broke through internationally with a win at the Scottish Open last year, followed by a third-place finish at the British Open. He's carried that momentum into 2026 with victories in Honolulu and Phoenix and is 11th in the world rankings.

He joins Dave Hill (1968) and Mark Wilson (2011) as the only players since World War Two to make their Masters debut with at least four official PGA Tour wins.

That helped propel him to a career-high fifth in the world rankings in February.

AVOIDED MASTERS UNTIL GETTING PLAYER INVITE

Yet for all his success, what may say the most about Gotterup is why he'd never set foot at Augusta until now. He had chances to visit as a spectator but said no every time.

"I have gotten offered to come watch the tournament from sponsors or from whoever it may be, and I said I can't go over there until I play, or else if I'm retired, then I can go over," he said after a practice round with 2025 Masters runner-up Justin Rose.

It's a stubbornness rooted in respect for the event - and for himself.

"I don't know, it's just something that I think this is such a special event, and it's something that I wanted to experience playing rather than watching," he said.

"I get a little stubborn, and I don't want to - it would be not an enjoyable experience for me. Even though it would be bucket list for a lot of people, I want to play, and I want to be a part of it how I see fit."