Chris Gotterup Refused to Go to Augusta National Before Getting into the Masters

Scottie Scheffler is the hottest player on Earth, but there’s a case to be made that Chris Gotterup holds the No. 2 spot. He already has two dubs this season at the Sony Open and WM Phoenix Open, and going back to last year, he won the Genesis Scottish Open a week before grabbing third at The Open.

Oh, and he’s now the fifth-ranked golfer in the world.

But he hasn’t even reaped the greatest benefit of his recent success yet—that’ll come in April.

Gotterup will make his Masters debut in two months, and on Wednesday during a pre-tournament presser at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he was asked if he has any plans for the lead up. He said that he’s shooting to head down there during either the Cognizant Classic or Valspar Championship, two events he’s planning to take off. But then he dropped the good stuff.

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“I haven't been yet. I've done a couple like sponsor things during the tournament, but they would always ask if I wanted to go over and I would say no because I didn't want to go on property until I played for real. This time I'll happily go over,” Gotterup said.

The kid has won four times on the PGA TOUR and has never even stepped foot on property at Augusta National. He had no plans to drive down Magnolia Lane before earning a spot in the year’s first major championship.

“It's the most hyped up tournament in the sport and I don't want to go over there and be a spectator, I want to play,” Gotterup said. “I had faith in myself that I was going to be able to do it as a player. Now that I'm going to be able to, it will be much more rewarding stepping on the first tee there rather than being a fan.”

As someone who has both never been to Augusta and has no shot to ever play in the Masters, I would do some bad things to just get a glimpse of that place. But in Gotterup’s case, I get it.

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He’s a stud and believed his game would eventually get him there. Why sully your first trip to golf’s most precious jewel?

As for this week, Gotterup will make his debut at the old Crosby Clambake, playing alongside the 2024 Pebble Pro-Am winner Wyndham Clark for the first two rounds. The pair will go off at 1:16 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon.