Chris Gotterup contending at John Deere Classic, an event he never considered skipping

SILVIS, Ill. — One year ago this week, Chris Gotterup was largely unknown.

Sure, he had one PGA Tour win under his belt at the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic, but he was ranked No. 165 in the world and had missed nine of 20 cuts on the season entering the John Deere Classic. But what a difference a year can make.

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Gotterup is now a four-time PGA Tour winner and sits at No. 14 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He won the Genesis Scottish Open last summer and opened the 2026 season with a bang, getting as high as No. 5 in the world after a victory at the season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii and a dramatic, come-from-behind win at the WM Phoenix Open. He’s a bona fide star now, and fans gravitate toward his laid-back, “chill” persona. All his success in the last 12 months hasn’t changed that one bit.

“Hopefully I’m a similar person, but yeah, definitely a different player,” Gotterup said when asked how he’s changed in the past year. “I think, especially my first year [at the 2022 John Deere Classic], I think it was like my third tournament as a pro, came in fourth. I was like, ‘All right, I think I got something here.’

“Then to be able to play well and kind of climb my way up the ranks has been fun. Hard, but fun at the same time. I feel like my bad weeks have gotten a lot better, which is a good sign. Obviously my good weeks have resulted in really good.”

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And he seems to be on his way to another good week. Gotterup shot 5-under 66 to open the John Deere Classic on Thursday and followed it up with a 68 on Friday. When he signed his scorecard just before 2 p.m. ET, he was tied for the lead at 8 under.

The John Deere Classic is a tournament many big-name players skip because it’s always held around the Fourth of July, the week before most pros head overseas for a two-week UK swing that includes the Scottish Open and the Open Championship. But even though he’s set to defend his title in Scotland next week, skipping the JDC never crossed his mind.

“It’s a chill week for everyone,” Gotterup said. “It’s nice. The Big Dig is a lot of fun. They take great care of us here. Selfishly, I think the golf course fits my eye nicely . . . I think it requires some shop shaping, which I like. I felt like this stretch last year kind of kick-started my whole year. Obviously I got off to a great start [in 2026], but that doesn’t mean that I don’t need reps or just need to take time off.”

After he finishes up on Sunday, he’ll board the flight that John Deere itself charters for players to get to the U.K. without the stress of regular travel.

“I’m not going to overdo it by any stretch of the imagination, but I just felt like this was a good stretch to kind of play, and obviously the charter over helps, so that makes life a little easier. Yeah, there wasn’t much consideration of not being here.”

Gotterup will still likely be on the chase all weekend as players continue to post low scores. Jackson Suber made seven birdies en-route to a bogey-free 64 in the second round, and he held the solo lead for a brief moment before 18-hole co-leader Lucas Glover got to 13 under for the tournament with a 5-under 31 on the front nine.

“I felt like I really played well yesterday and kind of didn’t get a lot out of my round, didn’t have a great day on the greens,” Suber said. “But today I just kind of felt in control over all, and everything seemed to go my way.”

Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas).