Less than 3 weeks remain for American golfers to earn points to make it to the top 6 of the Ryder Cup leaderboard on merit. After that, it’s all up to Keegan Bradley, who he picks for the remaining squad. With the Team U.S. captain fighting for a place on points himself, the Captain’s Picks get even more vital. Some big names are favorites to win a favorable vote of confidence from Bradley. If they don’t make it on points, then Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa will be expected to get picked based on their credentials and abilities. However, one pro has recently proven that he, too, deserves to be considered by Captain America. And that’s Chris Gotterup.
He went head-to-head with the best European golfer in the last couple of years, Rory McIlroy, in Scotland and came out on top. That alone should be enough to convince anyone of his abilities to deliver on a big stage. His performance in the final round of the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open was truly remarkable. While the Irishman pushed through to gain strokes, the consecutive birdies on the 7th and 8th holes by the American took his rival out of the competition before they started the back 9.
Gotterup’s performance was good enough to earn praise from his Championship Sunday adversary. After he made the 18th hole putt, McIlroy approached him to congratulate him on his second PGA Tour win. Even when Chris was signing off his scorecard, Rory was seen patting his back for his big achievement, beating a tough field. Considering these facts, having Gotterup on the team might give Bradley a tactical edge over the best player Team Europe has to offer.
Interestingly, the win in Scotland created more doubts that proving his abilities, as suggested by Golf Digest. Gotterup had triumphed on a links course. However, he still had to prove himself on American soil. And that’s exactly what he did. Since winning the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open, the 26-year-old has also been on a really good run. He had an excellent solo third-place finish in The Open 2025 at Royal Portrush a week later. Gotterup even had a better final round than Scottie Scheffler, as he finished 5 strokes shy of the world #1. He followed that up with a T10 finish in the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities. Overall, the New Jersey local has had an outstanding season and is ranked 20th on the FedEx Cup leaderboard.
He will be skipping the Wyndham Championship and heading to the playoffs next week. The FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship will be the last two opportunities he receives to prove himself again. Even if the 2-time PGA Tour champion wins both tournaments, he will not make it to the top-6 on points. However, a couple of high-ranked finishes among the best will certainly impress Keegan Bradley. So there is no question Chris Gotterup would be pumped up preparing for the playoffs for the first time in his career.
PGA, Golf Herren 3M Open – Second Round Jul 25, 2025 Blaine, Minnesota, USA Chris Gotterup reacts to his putt on the 12th hole during the second round of the 3M Open golf tournament. Blaine Minnesota USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMattxKrohnx 20250725_mdk_hw1_045
Even if he is not there yet, the Maryland-born pro has already managed to impress a highly critical expert with his consistency. Let’s see what they had to say about him.
Why Keegan Bradley should listen to Jim Nantz about Chris Gotterup?
After the conclusion of the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open, Amanda Balionis and Jim Nantz sat down to discuss everything that happened at The Renaissance. That’s when Balionis questioned Nantz, “What is the storyline you are most excited for?” looking for his expert insight on the situation. The veteran reporter had only one person in his mind, and that was Chris Gotterup. Nantz said, “[Gotterup is a] very powerful player. If he can putt, he is going to be a serious guy on the PGA Tour for a long time. I feel like he is just getting started.”
Chris is certainly one of the best drivers of the ball on the PGA Tour. He has the 9th-best average driving distance and is ranked 4th in the frequency of GIR this season. Putting is certainly one of his weakest points. Perhaps McIlroy could share a few words of wisdom with him, like he did with Scheffler a few years ago. That would help him take his putting game to the next level. However, considering the team format of the Ryder Cup, Gotterup’s skills could be put to great use if Bradley uses them tactically. Especially considering the abundance of power hitters Team Europe has.
However, it seems that the conversation hasn’t started from either end yet. While Chris Gotterup is still trying to find his footing in the PGA Tour, he confirmed that he hasn’t been approached by anyone regarding a spot in Team U.S. for the 2025 Ryder Cup. Time is ticking for Keegan Bradley. Hopefully, he will make a decision really soon, and it will be in favor of the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open champion.
The post Why Keegan Bradley Can No Longer Afford to Ignore Chris Gotterup appeared first on EssentiallySports.
