Chris Gotterup's meteoric rise to the top of the PGA Tour

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The first time Chris Gotterup played Pebble Beach Golf Links, it was a reward from his father for breaking par for the first time.

The 13-year-old had carded a 2-under 69 at Rumson Country Club in New Jersey, and a trip to the famed course on the Monterey Peninsula with his father and brother was his prize.

On Thursday, Gotterup, now 26, will tee off as one of the favorites in the 80-man pro field in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the first signature event of the PGA Tour season.

After collecting his second victory in three starts this season by defeating Hideki Matsuyama on the first playoff hole in last week's WM Phoenix Open, Gotterup is the fifth-ranked golfer in the world. He's the second highest-ranked American, behind only world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Gotterup's four victories in the past four seasons are more than any other golfer on tour except Scheffler and reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy. Gotterup has won three times in his past 10 starts dating to last year.

"I'm just trying to keep my head on straight and not get too over my skis," Gotterup said

How meteoric has Gotterup's rise been the past two seasons? Last year, he didn't even qualify for the Pebble Beach field as the 206th-ranked golfer in the world.

Scheffler, whose 20 career victories on tour includes four major championships, stood behind Gotterup in the lunch line at Pebble Beach earlier this week.

"I'm just going to eat what you're eating," Scheffler joked.

"He's doing pretty good on his own, so I'm not too worried about him," said Gotterup, who also won the season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii by two strokes on Jan. 18.

Gotterup's talent was evident during his only season at Oklahoma in 2021-22. He had a scoring average of 69.8 in 13 events, winning the East Lake Cup and Puerto Rico Classic. He was a consensus All-American and collected the Fred Haskins (Division I) and Jack Nicklaus (across divisions) awards, which go to the top collegiate golfer in the country.

Gotterup played his first four years at Rutgers, where he was the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2019-20.

Even though Gotterup finished his college career at Oklahoma, he takes pride in his Northeast roots.

Keegan Bradley, who played at St. John's, said he often felt like an outsider early in his PGA Tour. Bradley has company now with Gotterup and fellow New Jersey natives Max Greyserman, John Pak and Ryan McCormick competing on tour.

Gotterup has felt right at home in his first three seasons.

"I don't know if it's a chip on my shoulder in a sense, but it's something that I take pride in," Gotterup said. "I think it's a place that has a lot of pride in everything. I know for sure that when I go home a lot of people that I don't know care about what I'm doing because they share the same town or same area, or we played the same course where we grew up."

Gotterup credits consistency for his turnaround. He won the opposite-field Myrtle Beach Classic in May 2024 but then missed the cut in five of his next seven starts. He finished 61st or worse in the other two.

Last season, Gotterup wasn't around for the weekend in seven of his first 10 starts. He recovered to play great golf during the summer, winning the Scottish Open and finishing solo third at The Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

Gotterup qualified for all three FedEx Cup playoff events and tied for 10th at the Tour Championship.

"I think now I'm much more prepared to play well week in and week out, where in the past I was explosive one week and then I would miss four cuts in a row," Gotterup said. "It's now much more of even when it doesn't feel great, I'm in better control of what's going on when it's not [my] A-game."

Gotterup has certainly been in control of his game this season. He ranks second in strokes gained: total (2.846) and off the tee (1.111). He's fifth in driving distance with a 327.9-yard average.

There will be much more at stake when he plays at Pebble Beach this week. He played the course again during his only season at Oklahoma, finishing second in the 2021 Carmel Cup, which was hosted by Dallas car dealer Fin Ewing III.

In April, Gotterup will make his first start in the Masters. He has been to Augusta, Georgia, to attend sponsor events during previous Masters weeks, but he declined to attend the tournament as a spectator. He wanted to wait to see the Augusta National Golf Club course for the first time as a competitor.

"I didn't want to go on property until I played for real," Gotterup said. "This time, I'll happily go over."

Gotterup plans to play a practice round there in March.

"I could tell you every hole on that course even if I didn't step foot on it," he said.