Chris Gotterup closed with a bogey-free 9-under 62 on Sunday to win the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run, erasing a five-shot deficit and then avoiding a playoff when Ben Kohles hit his approach on the 18th hole into the water and made double bogey. Gotterup finished at 20-under 264 for his third PGA Tour win of 2026 and fifth of his career.
Gotterup heads to Scotland next week to defend his title at the Genesis Scottish Open, the event that launched his run into the world’s top-10 a year ago when he held off Rory McIlroy.
Brother on the bag
Gotterup’s brother Patrick caddied for him at TPC Deere Run, and the 26-year-old was crying on the practice range once the win became official. He first played the John Deere Classic in 2022 on a sponsor exemption after finishing his college career at Oklahoma, and came back this week despite having a title defence in Europe and The Open Championship coming up.
“I really like this tournament. They’ve been super nice to me,” Gotterup said. “To have Patrick out here with me… it’s just so awesome.”
Gotterup now has five PGA Tour victories in 85 career starts. Only Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy reached that mark faster since 2000.
How the 62 unfolded
Starting five shots behind 54-hole co-leaders Lucas Glover and Lee Hodges, Gotterup made up ground immediately with four birdies in his first five holes. His only par in that stretch came at the par-5 second, where he failed to convert an up-and-down from just off the green.
He stayed bogey-free throughout and capped the round with a 15-footer for birdie on the 17th, his ninth birdie of the day, matching a career high. That sent him to the practice range at 20-under to wait and see whether the number would hold.
The 62 was his second-lowest 18-hole score in 279 career rounds on Tour.
Kohles’ final-hole double bogey
Kohles was attempting to win for the first time in his 120th Tour start. He birdied the 16th to draw even with Gotterup at 20-under, then missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th. On 18, he drove the ball straight up the middle but tugged his approach left, with the ball bouncing off a hill and into the water.
After taking a penalty drop near the green, Kohles got a break when his stance ended up on a sprinkler head, allowing him to place the ball on the fringe and putt. But the par putt to force a playoff stayed wide right all the way, stopping just inside three feet. He missed that one too for a double bogey.
Kohles said he was deciding between an 8-iron and a 9-iron from the fairway.
“Thought if I hit a full 8, it could have a chance of going over,” Kohles said. “So I was just trying to hit kind of a three-quarter punch shot. Yeah, just tugged it a little, and obviously ended up in the water. Tough way to finish, especially how I played all day.”
The double bogey dropped Kohles from a tie for second into a three-way tie for third at 18 under, a difference of $316,800. Two years ago, Kohles made bogey on the final hole of The CJ Cup Byron Nelson and lost in a playoff.
Homa’s best finish in three years
Max Homa strung together four straight birdies on the back nine and signed for a 64 to finish alone in second at 19-under. It was his highest PGA Tour finish in more than three years, a boost for a former Ryder Cup player who missed the postseason last year and had fallen outside the world top-100.
Leaderboard and other notables
Glover and Hodges, who shared the overnight lead, both started well but posted final-round 69s to tie for third alongside Kohles at 18-under.
Zach Johnson, the 50-year-old former champion who chose not to play the US Senior Open to play what he considers a hometown event, shot 68 and tied for ninth. He became only the third player aged 50 or older to finish in the top 10 at the John Deere Classic.
Blades Brown, the 19-year-old who turned professional while still in high school, closed with a 68 and tied for 12th as he works toward a full PGA Tour card. One shot further back was NCAA champion and world No. 1 amateur Preston Stout, who tied for 15th after a 69 that included an eagle on the par-5 second.
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