Chris Gotterup held off the challenge of Rory McIlroy to claim his maiden DP World Tour title at the Genesis Scottish Open and a ticket to next week’s Open Championship.
The 25-year-old American, who went into the final day as joint leader with the Northern Irishman on 11 under par, carded a 66 to finish on 15 under, two shots clear of the field at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
McIlroy’s hopes of heading for Royal Portrush with another title under his belt faded away as a round of 68 left him in a tie for second place with England’s Marco Penge, who also shot 66, on 13 under.
Gotterup told Sky Sports: “Amazing. It’s all hitting me. It’s just so cool. I played really well this week. I knew today was going to be tough and I hung in there like a champ and finished it off in style.
“I felt pretty good, shockingly, on the first tee today, I felt comfortable. I knew I was playing well this week and I felt like I was ready for the challenge. That’s why I practise and that’s why I play, to play against the best.
“It was a pleasure to be out there with [McIlroy] and obviously all the support that he gets is amazing, but it was nice to kind of ruin that a little bit.”
McIlroy had set off in unpromising fashion, dropping a shot at the par-five third, but then registered back-to-back birdie threes on the next two holes to move to 12 under, and then needed a fine par putt to stay on that mark after finding the bunker on seven.
Gotterup had a similarly up and down start, bogeying the opening hole before picking up birdies at the third and the seventh to keep pace with the Masters champion.
Both men picked up further shots at the next hole and parred the ninth to go into the turn on 33 and still locked together.
With England’s Matt Fitzpatrick closing to within a shot of the leaders with an eagle three at the 10th, both men missed the fairway from the tee as they followed him, but after McIlroy’s birdie putt had stayed up, Gotterup sank his to take the lead in his own right as Fitzpatrick went to 13 under, only to drop a shot at the 12th.
McIlroy recovered from a wayward drive to make par at the 11th, where Gotterup also made a four after over-hitting his first putt, and it was he who took a significant step forward at the 12th with a birdie two to go two shots clear.
The American pushed his tee shot at the next and ended up off the green with his second, but got up and down to save par and preserve his advantage, which remained intact as the players headed for the 15th.
A dropped shot on 15 left him just one to the good with three to play, and although he pushed his tee shot into the rough at the par-five 16th, he emerged with a four to McIlroy’s five to go back to 15 under, and with two putts to win on 18, he made no mistake.
Nicolai Hojgaard, who tied with Fitzpatrick for fourth place, and Matti Schmid also claimed Open spots.
