Guys,

Chris Gotterup just won the WM Open. I was there. It was electric. And let me tell you... the people like this kid. I say “kid” as though I’m not a mere 3 months older than him.

And look at what he’s doing at 26… I’m just a 26 year old writing about what HE’S doing at 26. That’s a bummer for 26 year olds like me who aren’t winning millions of dollars playing golf.

ANYWAY.

Gotterup is now the #5 player in the world according to the Official World Golf Ranking — he sits behind Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Tommy Fleetwood. 

Only Scottie Scheffler (14) and Rory McIlroy (5) have won more events in the last two years. Seriously, the winningest guys on tour in the last two years… Scottie, Rory, Chris.

BUT… is he truly a top-5 golfer in the world?

Less than one year ago, Gotterup was ranked 209th in the world. He’s climbed 204 spots in 10 months. He had won the Myrtle Beach Classic about a year before over a relatively weak field. Not THAT weak, but pretty weak.

Bobby Mac was there, Ryo was there, Spaun was there. Several Tour winners were in the field, though not the creme de la creme, so no one really gave Chris his flowers. GIVE CHRIS HIS FLOWERS.

Listen to this Top-12 that he beat in last year’s Genesis Scottish Open: Rory, Penge (??), Hojgaard, Fitzpatrick, Rose, Straka, Schauffele, Scheffler, Aberg, Hovland, Wyndham Clark.

BANGERS. Did it again against a good field at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and an even better field last weekend.

He’s not Scottie Scheffler, but he’s become someone who (similar to Scottie) you can’t count out of a tournament. When we were watching Scottie tear through the course on Sunday, you heard it over and over and over again — “you just can’t count this guy out.” WE SHOULD’VE BEEN SAYING THIS ABOUT MY BOY CHRIS.

The entire crowd at the WM was so focused on what Scottie was doing, we let an even more special Sunday performance sneak right past us.

I was losing it over Scottie’s performance… Which by the way guys, I saw his 72-foot putt from off the green on 14 and absolutely lost it, and I didn’t have a voice at all on Monday or Tuesday.

ANYWAY AGAIN.

Gotterup did exactly what Scottie did on Sunday (shot -7). He just had a stroke lead on him to begin the day, which was the difference. He birdied five of his last 6 holes, which led to a playoff win over Hideki Matsuyama (who did NOT have his best stuff on Sunday).

There are too many people who are still thinking, huh, this guy might actually be the real deal. MIGHT? He’s playing better than your favorite golfer unless your favorite golfer is Scottie Scheffler, and even then, he’s performing just as well this year. 

1st on Tour in strokes gained off the tee, 3rd on Tour in strokes gained tee to green.

After a slow start to 2025, Gotterup has made 13 straight cuts, tied for sixth best on Tour. Of those, five were top-5 finishes, and 11 were top-25 finishes.

These numbers are a little wonky bc a couple of these events had no cut, but he performed in the top 25 WHATEVER.

He ranks 1st in the early 2026 FedEx Cup rankings.

To consider Gotterup a Top-5 guy, we also have to consider who else should or shouldn’t take his spot. Here’s who I’m considering based on what I have seen, who I trust, and plainly who I’m not surprised to see at the top of the leaderboard come Sunday.

Not in any particular order:

Comment for Fitzpatrick I guess, couldn’t fit him on.

16 guys on this list, and I don’t think there are 5 guys that I trust more than Chris Gotterup to go out and win a golf tournament. I think there are 4. I do not think there are 5.

Hovland, Matsuyama, English, MacIntyre, and Fitzpatrick are making cuts like it’s easy, but these guys haven’t been winning like Gotterup. 

DeChambeau finished high at two majors last year, but do we really know how good he is right NOW? Justin Rose just won, but he missed the cut at the American Express the week before. Xander was that guy two years ago, but now?? Everyone on this list has has question marks.

Right now, Chris Gotterup is among the few who have a really strong balance of the following:

1. Consistency
2. The ability to actually WIN

The other guys may have one or the other, but Gotterup is showing he’s got both. 

Many different ways to look at it, but my take is simple. The OWGR says he is 5th. I say he is 5th. His play speaks for itself, and I believe he can beat anyone on any given Sunday.

That makes him a top-five player in the world. If you disagree, we’ll have to agree to disagree.

Be sure to tune into my YouTube channel for more content.

Cheers,

Luke Mangan
On Golf