{"id":128739,"date":"2026-01-19T05:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T05:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/128739\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T05:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T05:33:16","slug":"oklahomas-chris-gotterup-surges-on-back-9-to-win-sony-open-in-pga-tour-opener-at-waialae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/128739\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma\u2019s Chris Gotterup surges on back 9 to win Sony Open in PGA Tour opener at Waialae"},"content":{"rendered":"

HONOLULU (AP) \u2014 Chris Gotterup opened the new PGA Tour<\/a> season with three big birdies on the back nine that carried him to a 6-under 64 and a two-shot victory in the Sony Open, his third straight season with a victory as he moves closer to golf\u2019s A-list.<\/p>\n

The Oklahoma<\/a> product was two shots behind when he took advantage of a collapse by 54-hole leader Davis Riley and then poured it on with a mixture of power and putting along the back nine of breezy Waialae Country Club to keep everyone else from catching him.<\/p>\n

Gotterup, who finished at 16-under 264, moves to No. 17 in the world. He was at No. 195 in the world when he left the Sony Open a year ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just felt like this week I was in a good frame of mind, just happy to be here,\u201d Gotterup said. \u201cI felt like I was in control of my brain, which is the most important thing. I drove it great and made some putts when it mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sports Roundup<\/p>\n

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Ryan Gerard birdied his last two holes for a 65 to finish alone in second. He flew to Mauritius at the end of last year and was runner-up to move into the top 50 and secure a spot in his first Masters. Now he\u2019s just outside the top 30.<\/p>\n

Patrick Rodgers had another chance at his first PGA Tour victory, but he went without a birdie on the back nine until the final hole. He closed with a 65 to finish third.<\/p>\n

Gotterup won the Scottish Open last year by outplaying Rory McIlroy, and he won the opposite-field Myrtle Beach Classic in his rookie season.<\/p>\n

Riley started with a two-shot lead and stayed two ahead with a pair of birdies through the opening five holes. And then it all fell part quickly \u2014 three-putt bogeys from long range on the sixth and seventh, and a wild tee shot into the trees that led to double bogey on the eighth.<\/p>\n

That stretch took from two shots ahead to three shots behind, and Riley never caught up.<\/p>\n

Gotterup had a host of players chasing him, but not for long. Even on an old-school Waialae course with doglegs framed by royal palms, he pounded away with tee shots of 330-plus yards early on the back nine. But it was his putter that ultimately made a difference.<\/p>\n

Gotterup holed a 20-footer on No. 12, and then poured in a 25-foot putt on the 13th, the toughest hole on the course. He all but clinched it with a tee shot that landed perfectly between the pin and the bunker on the par-3 17th for a final birdie.<\/p>\n

The Sony Open was the latest start to the PGA Tour season because The Sentry at Kapalua on Maui was canceled due to a water dispute that had the course brown in September.<\/p>\n

The final round at Waialae was played under a vibe that this might be the last of Hawaii on the tour. The Sony Open title sponsorship expires this year, and there is a movement to start the tour season later than ever in 2027 and going forward, either right before or after the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

\"Davis<\/a>Davis Riley takes 2-shot lead at wind-swept Waialae; OU\u2019s Chris Gotterup tied for second<\/a><\/p>\n

Jordan Spieth birdied the 18th for his third 68 and sits in a tie for 13th at 6-under.<\/p>\n

\"Doug<\/a>Texas product Doug Ghim eyeing top spot heading into moving day at Sony Open in Hawaii<\/a><\/p>\n

Jordan Spieth and other golfers with Dallas-area ties made the cut as the season-opening Sony Open shifts to Round 3.<\/p>\n

Find more golf coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HONOLULU (AP) \u2014 Chris Gotterup opened the new PGA Tour season with three big birdies on the back…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,5407,772,9395,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-128739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news","11":"tag-golf","12":"tag-oklahoma-sooners","13":"tag-pga","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}