Chris Gotterup Was Given His First Chance at the John Deere. The New PGA Tour May Take That Away. This episode is sponsored by Quince. Free shipping and 365-day returns at Quince.com/wingo Chris Gotterup won at the Sony Open. He won at the Waste Management Open. He has five PGA Tour wins on his resume, he is building toward a Presidents Cup roster spot, and he has his eyes firmly set on a major championship at Royal Birkdale next month. He is one of the most interesting young players on the PGA Tour right now. And he sat down with Trey Wingo at the Travelers Championship this week to talk about all of it — including the new PGA Tour structure and exactly what the hard part is going to be for guys like him. His First Two US Opens — Oakmont and Shinnecock Gotterup made the cut at both of his first two US Open appearances. Oakmont last year. Shinnecock this year. He played a strong Friday round at both to stay in the tournament over the weekend. Not the result he wanted at either, but he takes something real from both weeks — when it mattered on Friday, he showed up. On which course he found more difficult — his answer is specific and revealing. Shinnecock hurts him more than Oakmont because Shinnecock does not reward distance the way Oakmont does. Distance is his biggest weapon — his version of Thor's hammer, as Trey puts it. Shinnecock takes it out of his hands in a way that Oakmont does not. He believes he would have a better chance of winning at Oakmont if he played it more. That is a level of self-awareness about his own game that most players his age do not have. What the Travelers Does Better Than Almost Anyone Gotterup is effusive about what the Travelers Championship does for players and their teams. Courtesy cars for caddies. Food on the range. The dining room stays open late. Small things that compound into a week that feels genuinely welcoming rather than just professionally managed. But the thing he comes back to most is what the Travelers did for him early in his career — they gave him a sponsor exemption when he came out of school. That is a debt he takes seriously. He comes back every year in part because of what this tournament did for him before he had any standing to ask for anything. He cites Patrick Cantley as another example of the same loyalty loop — the Travelers invested in him early and he has kept coming back ever since. Nathan Groob and Andy Bassett have built something real there and Gotterup is one of the players who notices it. The New PGA Tour and the Hard Part This is where the interview gets most honest. Trey asks Gotterup directly — the new PGA Tour structure says if you are on the Championship Series you cannot dip down and play Challenger Series events. The John Deere Classic kickstarted his career. If it lands on the Challenger tier in 2028 he will not be able to go back and play it. How does he feel about that? His answer is measured and genuine. He knows Andy and Nathan from the John Deere on a personal level — the same way he knows the Travelers staff. Those relationships are real. That would be the tough part. Not the competitive logic of it. Not the commercial argument. The personal side. The loyalty he feels toward the people and events that gave him a chance before he was someone who could demand a spot in any field. He accepts the commercial rationale — if John Deere wants to become a signature event and pony up the investment, the question goes away. And he understands that the tour cannot always accommodate every player's personal preferences when the economics of the new structure demand field protection for sponsors investing $20 million or more. But he is honest — at the end of the day you kinda just have to be selfish and do what you are told in some sense. Don't Think. Just Play. Trey asks about the mental side of the game — are players too focused on clubhead speed, spin rate, and swing mechanics at the expense of feel? Gotterup's answer is direct and clear — if he is thinking about his swing, he is toast. He has worked with the same coach for 15 years. He trusts his preparation during the Monday through Wednesday work window. On the course, it is all feel. He is trying to feel the shot, believe in the shot, understand the shot. Trackman numbers are useful for dialing in distances when he moves from one dramatically different environment to another — Waste Management to San Diego, for example. Beyond that, he is not interested in technical analysis when it is time to play. He also makes a point worth sitting with — the best weeks are not always when you feel great. Sometimes you grind out a top ten when nothing is clicking and that builds more momentum than a week when everything feels easy. The weeks where you feel calm and unbeatable do not last as long as you want them to. You chase that feeling by staying in contention long enough for the competitive instincts to kick in. Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup, and Team Event Goals Gotterup was in the Ryder Cup conversation at the end of last season after his strong overseas run. He is honest — two great weeks overseas against two years of consistency from other players does not automatically earn a spot. He was not sure he would have picked himself either. But he used it as motivation heading into this season and he is more comfortable now with the Presidents Cup conversation happening in real time. His simple answer on what team events mean to him — every player he talks to says the same thing. The team events are the best thing they have ever been a part of. You win one of those with your friends, with the guys you have grown up competing against, and it is unlike anything else in professional sports. That is the goal for this year. What a Major Would Mean Five wins. Two US Open cuts made. A career built one step at a time from the first sponsor exemption at the Travelers to two wins in the first three events of the 2026 season. What is the next step? Gotterup is clear-eyed about it. A major. Not because it would define his career or diminish what he has already done, but because it is the obvious next progression for a player who has been systematically checking boxes. He feels like he can travel and compete at most courses. He has gotten himself in the mix at majors. Royal Birkdale at the Open Championship is in about 20 days. He is not going to predict it or promise it. He is going to keep doing what he has been doing and see what happens. At 26 years old with two wins this season and genuine major championship aspirations — something very good is coming for Chris Gotterup. This conversation suggests he is more ready for it than most people realize. 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