In his third start of the season, Chris Gotterup has his eyes fixed on his second victory of the year. The free-swinging right-hander was flawless Thursday morning at the 2026 WM Phoenix Open as he navigated TPC Scottsdale in bogey-free fashion, signing for an 8-under 63.
Gotterup’s effort was good enough to give him a two-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick, who similarly reached 8 under before dropping a pair of strokes late in his round. A trio of young, budding stars in Michael Thorbjornsen, Nicolai Hojgaard and Pierceson Coody, along with Sam Stevens, sit one further back at 5 under.
“I think, to start the year, I really felt like I worked hard in the offseason to get ready for the season,” Gotterup said. “TGL in the offseason also, just getting used to the adrenaline rush you get inside there and being able to hit shots under pressure has helped me and my game. It’s nice to start the year off on a good note.”
Gotterup played alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who struggled to a 73, his first round over par since June 2025, and Jordan Spieth, who signed for a 70. Gotterup got things rolling in the middle of the back nine, starting his round on the par-4 10th. He rolled in an eagle putt from off the green on the par-5 13th and followed it with three straight birdie connections from the 6-10 foot range.
Though he failed to get up-and-down short of the par-4 17th for a fifth straight par-breaker, Gotterup made up for it quickly by dialling in a 25-foot birdie bid on No. 18 to turn in 6 under. Moving to the more difficult front nine, Gotterup managed his game well. He took advantage of the lone par 5 (missing a 7-foot eagle putt) and once again summoned a birdie from distance on the par-3 7th for his final birdie of the day.
“I feel like I’m doing things well and thinking through things well, and I think that’s the most important thing,” Gotterup said. “I wouldn’t say today I drove it my best or did anything — I putted great today, but I just was in the right spot when I needed to be. I drove it unbelievably and did good stuff there. It’s nice to play well and also have other parts complement that. It’s been nice to manage my game properly.”
Gotterup was chasing Fitzpatrick for most of the morning as the Englishman looked shot out of a cannon in the early going. Fitzpatrick played his first eight holes in 7 under and turned in 29 as the course record (60) crept into conversation. Like Gotterup, he added a birdie on No. 3, but unlike the leader, he was unable to run through the finish line and scored bogeys on Nos. 8-9.
“It’s disappointing. I guess the way you got to look at it is if I started bogey, bogey, and you finish 6-under, you come off feeling like the greatest player in the world,” Fitzpatrick said. “You got to try and reframe it there. If someone would’ve said, ‘Here is 6-under to start day,’ and I can stay in bed, I would’ve snatched your hand off. I’m in a good position to start with and hopefully kick on.”
Gotterup and Fitzpatrick benefited from calmer conditions on Thursday as winds picked up and posed problems for players as the round progressed. Notable scores from the afternoon wave include Hideki Matsuyama’s 68, Viktor Hovland’s 69, Xander Schauffele’s 71 and Brooks Koepka’s 75.
Leader
1. Chris Gotterup (-8): Gotterup has now played nine rounds in 2026, and the scores read as follows: 63, 69, 68, 64, 68, 70, 70, 69, 63. All nine of these efforts have come in under par (even at the difficult Torrey Pines South Course) as the third-year PGA Tour member has come into the new year as a new-look player.
The 26-year-old is driving the ball great, but the iron play and course management have leapt forward. He’s picking his spots wisely, playing to his strong points and never really gets out in front of himself. This can make up for deficiencies while also emphasising one’s strengths.
“We went through some stats from last year, and obviously, I had a great year last year,” Gotterup said. “There were like two or three things that were kind of glaring in terms of losing shots in spots where if I didn’t look at stats I probably would’ve said I did decent at. We worked on that, and that was really the only things … other than just normal practice. Those were things that I worked on to get ready for this year.”
Contenders
2. Matt Fitzpatrick (-6)
T3. Michael Thorbjornsen, Nicolai Hojgaard, Pierceson Coody, Sam Stevens (-5)
T7. Kevin Roy, Max McGreevy, Daniel Berger, Jake Knapp, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (-4)
After splitting time between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour during his rookie season, Coody has started his sophomore campaign in stride. The righty has rattled off three straight top 20s with a runner-up result materialising last week at the Farmers Insurance Open.
With his start to the year, Coody commands the top spot in the Aon Swing 5, which would put him in the next two signature events — the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational — but he is eyeing more, as a win would secure a whole lot more for the 26-year-old.
“It’s certainly a different spot than I was in my rookie year,” Coody said. “I think I missed the first six cuts my rookie year. Last year, obviously, wasn’t playing on the West Coast and didn’t play in Florida, either, so I knew I was only going to start in the middle of the year essentially.
“Yeah, to be one up on the way I’ve started the last couple years feels really nice. I know I’ve set myself up to, yeah, keep moving the bar and playing well and play a little different schedule than I had the last few years.”
2026 WM Phoenix Open updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Chris Gotterup: 3-1Matt Fitzpatrick: 8-1Pierceson Coody: 14-1Michael Thorbjornsen: 14-1Nicolai Hojgaard: 17-1Sam Stevens: 17-1Hideki Matsuyama: 18-1Jake Knapp: 18-1Scottie Scheffler: 21-1
The afternoon wave played more than 0.50 strokes more difficult, and yet, Matsuyama managed a clean round of 3 under. The two-time tournament winner kept plodding his way along, taking advantage of the par 5s and picking off what few scoring chances there were. His iron play has been great over the first month of the season, and he has shown a propensity to pop on these greens in the past.