SILVIS, Ill. — Chris Gotterup made up a five-shot deficit Sunday by closing with a 9-under 62 to win the John Deere Classic for his fourth PGA Tour title in the last 12 months.
Gotterup avoided a playoff when Ben Kohles, trying to win for the first time in his 120th start, hit his approach to the 18th left and into the water and wound up with a double bogey.
Gotterup next week defends his title in the Scottish Open, where he began his remarkable run to reach the top 10 in the world. He held off Rory McIlroy a year ago in Scotland, and then won the Sony Open and the Phoenix Open this year.
This might have been as enjoyable as the others. His brother, Patrick, caddied for him at the TPC Deere Run and Gotterup was in tears on the practice range when he became the winner.
Gotterup received a sponsor exemption to the John Deere Classic in 2022, after he finished his college career at Oklahoma. He remained loyal to the tournament, even playing despite having a title to defend across the Atlantic and the British Open the following week.
“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.”
He finished at 20-under 264 and moved to No. 7 in the world.
Deere Brother.
— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) July 6, 2026
Chris Gotterup won the John Deere Classic on Sunday for his fifth PGA Tour title, though it was his first with younger brother Patrick as his caddie.
Patrick Gotterup, who caddied for Chris on the KFT in 2023 after graduating from Indiana, works in product… pic.twitter.com/B17AmOyOTJ
Kohles finds water on 18
It was a devastating finish for Kohles (68), who two years ago made bogey on the final hole of the Byron Nelson and lost in a playoff.
He birdied the 16th to join Gotterup at 20-under par and missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th. Kohles belted his drive on the 18th down the middle, but he got over the shot quickly and tugged it left, bounding off the hill into the water.
He was able to take a penalty drop by the green, then caught a big break when his stance was on a sprinkler head, allowing him to drop on the fringe and use putter. But the par putt to force extra holes was wide right the entire way, settling just inside 3 feet away.
He missed that to go from a two-tie for second with Max Homa into a three-way tie was a difference of $316,800.
Kohles said he was between 8-iron and 9-iron on the shot from the 18th 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.”
Homa runs hot
Homa ran off four straight birdies on the back nine and closed with a 64 to finish alone in second, which moved him to No. 49 in the FedEx Cup, a huge step for a former Ryder Cup player who missed the postseason a year ago and had fallen out of the top 100 in the world.
It was his highest PGA Tour finish in more than three years.
“Kept myself upbeat and positive that it was going to get going,” Homa told reporters. “You can get on runs on this golf course, and I did. I did a good job of hitting some fairways. Hitting the fairway on 15 helps a lot.”
THIS GUY'S ON FIRE!
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 5, 2026
Four straight birdies and a fist pump for Max Homa! https://t.co/RslYDeDXpi pic.twitter.com/c9huizxFma
Lucas Glover and Lee Hodges, who shared the 54-hole lead, started strong but each had to settle for a 69 to tie for third.
Gotterup made up ground quickly with four birdies in five holes at the start, the only par coming when he failed to convert an up-and-down from just off the green at the par-5 second.
His final birdie was a 15-footer on the 17th that sent him to the practice range to wait to see if it would hold up. The victory was his third of the year, the most individual titles of any player. Matt Fitzpatrick has three wins, including the team event in New Orleans.
