Chris Gotterup’s victory at the WM Phoenix Open was more than a dramatic Sunday finish. As he surged his way to the top of the leaderboard, walking past two-time champion Hideki Matsuyama and the World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, he also rewrote his position in the pages of world golf. Just a year ago, the American missed the cut at TPC Scottsdale while sitting at 206th in the Official World Golf Ranking. But 12 months later, the narrative has shifted as his win at the WM Phoenix Open triggered a massive change in the world rankings.

Right after Gotterup snatched the victory at the 2026 WM Phoenix Open, securing his second PGA Tour win of this season, the official X handle of Underdog shared, “Chris Gotterup moves up to 5th in OWGR. He was ranked 206th after MC at last year’s WM Phoenix Open.”

Trailing late in the final round, Gotterup caught up with five birdies across his last six holes. He made sure to earn his position in the top-5 the hard way. Overtaking Matsuyama, after the Japanese star managed to maintain the lead till the very end of the third day, turned out to be a tough job. However, Matsuyama finding the water gave Gotterup the leverage he needed. As Matsuyama stumbled, Gotterup took the momentum into extra play and struck a huge drive. He then calmly rolled in a birdie putt on the first playoff hole as Matsuyama found the water.

Securing the win at TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, Gotterup surged past J.J. Spaun and Russell Henley. Additionally, he has also left behind Robert MacIntyre, Ben Griffin, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas. Last week, he stood in 16th position, but now, he is in 5th place, right behind Scheffler, McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Tommy Fleetwood.

After pulling off back-to-back clutch performances under pressure, Gotterup reflected on his match play and shared, “I mean, I knew I needed to make a birdie on 18, but you never know. Hideki was playing great. 17 is birdieable, but there’s also some danger out there. I just figured I’d stay loose, and I didn’t think this would happen, especially after Friday and Saturday. But here we are.”

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In just three starts this season, this was Gotterup’s second win following his win at the PGA Tour season opener, the Sony Open in mid-January at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. From his win at the season-opening event, Gotterup bagged $1,638,000. And at the WM Phoenix Open, he secured the winner’s prize amounting to $1,728,000 out of a $9.6M purse.

Chris Gotterup already foreshadowed his WM Phoenix Open fate following Sony Open triumph

Chris Gotterup started his 2026 with a bang. Competing in the debut tournament of the season, the US golfer put up an incredible performance to clinch the Sony Open. Gotterup set the tone with three big birdies on the back nine and this carried him to a 6-under-64 score and a two-shot victory to clinch the season opener. 

However, things looked a little tight initially for Gotterup. The 26-year-old was a couple of shots behind while trying to get himself up the ladder. Fortunately for Gotterup, a collapse from the 54-hole leader, Davis Riley, provided Gotterup an opening. And he grabbed it with both hands. Eventually, Gotterup ran away with the game, not letting anyone catch up.

Now, as he basks in the WM Phoenix Open glory, Amanda Balionis remembered something that Gotterup told her back in the Sony Open. The US golfer pointed out to Balionis that following his Sony Open win, he will be able to play more freely. And that is exactly what he did. 

Replying to Balionis’ question, Gotterup stated, “God, I don’t know. I really have no idea. I’m just having such a good time playing right now –you make me cry every time. My girlfriend is here. She’s like, you’ve won three times without me here, and she got to see it, and I know everyone at home is watching. Just so awesome.”

Having secured two important wins, it will now be interesting to see what comes next for Chris Gotterup.