Chris Gotterup did his part, charging up the Phoenix Open leaderboard with a closing flourish of five birdies in six holes.
As he kept loose on the first tee at TPC Scottsdale, the 26-year-old knew he would need some help with Hideki Matsuyama still on the course with a one-shot lead.
Gotterup got what he needed with a wild tee shot by Matsuyama on 18 and took advantage when the Japanese star did it again in the playoff.
Gotterup shot 7-under 64 and won with a long birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff Sunday after Matsuyama pulled his tee shot into the water.
“You never know what to expect,” Gotterup said. “We went over to the first tee, hit a couple balls, was watching, and then all of a sudden you’re out there on 18 and everyone is going nuts and you’re like, all right, this is it.”
The leader by one heading into the final round, Matsuyama had converted all of his previous five 54-hole leads into wins, but limped to the finish.
The two-time Phoenix Open champion nearly hit his tee shot in the water left of the reachable par-4 17th, leading to a par, and pulled his drive on 18 left into the church pew bunkers — his 11th missed fairway of the day.
Matsuyama hit his second shot into the face of the bunker and couldn’t get up-and-down from 43 yards to send the tournament to a playoff. He shot 68 to match Gotterup at 16-under 268.
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