July 16, 2025 

Welcome to the ninth edition of The Tee Sheet - your Wednesday read on what matters in the world of golf right now. We’ve got a heater lined up this week.

Chris Gotterup just fended off Rory in Scotland and the Open Championship at Royal Portrush is here.

The final major of the year is upon us, and it’s a great one. Big field, brutal test, huge stakes. Let’s get into it.

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Official World Golf Ranking Tracker & Movers

• Big Movers Up: Chris Gotterup flies up 109 spots to World Number 49 after winning the Scottish Open, William Mouw wins the ISCO and moves up 93 spots 

• Top 10: Sepp Straka moves up two spots to 8th after a seventh place finish at the Scottish and JJ Spaun falls to 10th after a missed cut

Note: Rising / Falling includes biggest movers in the OWGR Top 150

FedEx Cup Points Tracker

• Top 10 Movements: Russell Henley and Keegan Bradley get jumped by others in the Top 10 after sitting out of the Scottish Open - otherwise no major FedEx Cup movements  

PGA Tour Money List Tracker

• Top 10 Movements: No changes to the Money List Top 10 this week

Tourney Recap

2025 Genesis Scottish Open Recap:

Gotterup Gets It Done in Scotland

The Renaissance Club was home to a vintage David vs. Goliath showdown this weekend - with Chris Gotterup (who is ranked 158th in the world) pulling off the performance of his young career to seize the Genesis Scottish Open, defeating Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge by two shots (15-under total) following his Sunday 66. With the win, Gotterup becomes just the sixth American to ever win the tournament.

Sunday Showdown & Nerves of Steel

Gotterup carded a final-round 66 (-4), including a clutch birdie on 16 after his only blemish - a 15th-hole bogey - and held off McIlroy’s rally by closing strong in the gallery-favorite’s shadow.

His ability to stay composed under pressure was remarkable - even after being flagged for slow play late in the round, he didn’t flinch. Gotterup made sure his presence was felt after tying the course record on Friday, when he carded a bogey-free 61.

Meanwhile, McIlory, aiming to fine-tune his game for Royal Portrush this week, delivered a classy runner-up finish (Sunday 68), but ceded the title he held in 2023 to Gotterup.

Wind & Weekend Test

Conditions flipped pretty hard after Gotterup’s historic 61 on Friday. As expected for a true links setup, the course started to play tougher - the scoring average hovered just around even-par, reinforcing the tournament’s reputation: it rewards creativity and grit.

What the Field Looked Like

• Marco Penge shot 66 on Sunday to tie Rory for 2nd at a final score of 13-under

• Nicolai Hojgaard and Matt Fitzpatrick had strong finishes and tied at 4th

• Justin Rose fired a Sunday 63 to finish solo 6th, and world number eight Sepp Straka was in contention over the weekend finishing 7th

• Scottie Scheffler had a rough week putting yet still came in at T8, finishing alongside Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Aberg

• The cutline was 1-under and some notable names to miss the weekend include Sungjae Im, JJ Spaun, and Collin Morikawa

What It All Means

Gotterup’s rise is not luck. The former Haskins Award winner (given to the best player in collegiate golf) blistered a second-round 61 to match the course record, then closed with cool, resilient golf when it counted most. He’s now a two-time PGA Tour winner and playing at the Open Championship this week.

Gotterup shed some tears in the post-round interview, and the New Jersey kid will get to celebrate his 26th birthday next week while playing at Royal Portrush.

Scottish Open Quick Stats:

• Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green Leaders

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+2.72)

  2. Jordan Smith (+2.53)

  3. Xander Schauffele (+2.48)

• Strokes Gained: Putting Leaders

  1. Jake Knapp (+2.74)

  2. Andrew Novak (+1.96)

  3. Sepp Straka (+1.85)

  Note: stats exclude those who missed the cut

Chris Gotterup: Quick Bio & Breakdown

• Age: 25 ; Hometown: Easton, Maryland (raised in New Jersey)

• College: Began at Rutgers, transferred to Oklahoma - where he won both the Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award in 2022

• Breakthroughs: First PGA Tour win came at the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic, second came at this week’s Scottish Open

• Big Stakes: Climbed from OWGR 158th to inside the Top 40

Tourney Preview

2025 Open Championship Preview:

Portrush Returns, and the Stakes are Major

The fourth and final major of the year is here - and it’s no sleepy send-off. This year’s 153rd Open Championship is back at Royal Portrush, and everything about it feels heavy: the history, the home-crowd pressure, the massive field, and the setup that will reward brilliance but ruthlessly punish the overconfident.

If Augusta is poetry and the U.S. Open is a stress test, then The Open is pure survival - and this year’s edition could be a classic.

Royal Portrush: A Coastal Beast with Teeth

The Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush isn’t just one of the most dramatic venues in the rotation - it’s one of the most punishing. Carved into the Northern Irish coastline, the course runs 7,381 yards as a par 71, with tumbling dunes, blind tee shots, and some of the most visually intimidating holes in championship golf.

Forget manicured rough and laser yardages - this is shot-making at its best. Fairways run fast. Winds can change direction mid-hole. And greens? Undulating, firm, and often protected by pot bunkers that feel designed to ruin scorecards, not just hold them back.

There’s also history here. Portrush hosted the Open back in 1951, then disappeared from the rotation for nearly 70 years before returning in 2019 for Shane Lowry’s career-defining victory in front of a raucous home crowd. That win elevated both player and course - and made Portrush a permanent fixture in the major championship conversation.

This week? It’s arguably firmer, longer, and windier than it was five years ago - more detail on Portrush below.

The Favorites & Form Guide

Scottie Scheffler is your chalk pick (despite the recent putting) - as always. He’s No. 1 in the world, has more top-10s this season than some players have starts, and most of the time, he looks like the most complete golfer alive. The big question is the putter. On greens like those at Portrush, can he dial it in?

Rory McIlroy is the emotional center of the week. He grew up an hour from Portrush and famously shot a course-record 61 here when he was 16. Yes, really. In 2019, he opened with a gutting 79, then rebounded with 65 - only to miss the cut by one. This is a homecoming, a redemption arc, and maybe one of his last great major windows. Expect him to bring the fire after a great week at the Scottish.

Jon Rahm may get less chatter given the LIV background, but don’t be fooled - he’s played some of his best golf on links setups and is looking to deliver LIV’s first major in over a year.

Others trending:

• Matt Fitzpatrick: Quietly rounding into form. Top 5 last week in Scotland

• Robert MacIntyre: The people’s pick, and his game travels

• Justin Rose: Came out of nowhere with a Sunday 63 at Renaissance - this is the exact profile of a week he can steal (and we’d love to see it)

• Keep an eye on the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrell Hatton too - proven wind players with legit chances

Holes to Watch

• #16 - Calamity Corner: 236 yards, uphill, over a gorge, likely into the wind. One of the hardest par 3s in championship golf

• #17 - Purgatory: New since 2019. This long par 4 was added as a finishing gauntlet - blind tee shot, but a chance for big hitters to go for it

• #5 - White Rocks: Beautiful hole where the green sits upon a cliff’s edge. Out of bounds looms right behind the green

Royal Portrush: Windswept, Reborn, and Ready to Break Hearts

Royal Portrush is not a nostalgia play - it’s probably best described as a monster disguised in natural beauty. If Augusta is a cathedral and Pinehurst is a proving ground, Portrush is a coastal war zone - and this week, it's loaded for the 153rd Open.

Let’s get into it.

Portrush hasn’t always been front-and-center. In fact, this is only the third time The Open has come to Northern Ireland. The first was 1951, the second was 2019 - when Shane Lowry lit the place on fire in front of a home crowd that sounded more like a football match than a major. That week proved what anyone who’s walked the dunes already knew: Portrush is worthy.

And the R&A (body that governs golf outside of the US and Mexico) responded. Since 2019, they’ve added some length, rebuilt a couple of holes, re-routed the finishing stretch, and leaned even harder into the course’s natural identity. There are 57 bunkers here - the fewest of any Open venue - but it plays as tough as any other. Why? Because the land is the hazard.

Every hole at Portrush is shaped by terrain, not tricks. You get tee shots blind over dunes, ravines you can’t see until it’s too late, and wind that starts as a breeze and ends in a headlock.

Beyond the architecture, this place feels different. It’s isolated. It’s loud. It’s local. Northern Ireland has embraced the Open like no other, and crowds here are rowdy in all the right ways - smart, vocal, fiercely behind their own (looking at you, Rory).

For players, this week isn’t just about controlling the ball - it’s about controlling yourself. Every bounce is unpredictable. Every round is a grind. And by Sunday, the player holding the Claret Jug will be the one who handled the chaos best.

Portrush doesn’t want perfect golf. It wants courageous & adaptive golf. The kind where you miss in the right spots and grind out the numbers you need.

Welcome to the storm. Time to crown a champion.

The Open Quick Stats:

• Course: Royal Portrush

• Par: 71

• Distance: 7,381 yards

• Purse: $17,000,000 - and first time since 2012 that the purse hasn’t been increased by the R&A

• Recent Champs: Xander Schauffele (2024), Brian Harman (2023), Cameron Smith (2022), Collin Morikawa (2021)

Picks & Players to Watch

• Top 40: Cam Young (+105), Harris English (-105)

• Top 30: Russell Henley (+115), Jason Day (+150)

• Top 20: Tyrell Hatton (+135)

• Top 10: Jon Rahm (+130)

• Longshot: Justin Rose Top 10 (+700) !!!

Disclaimer: The picks and predictions in The Tee Sheet are for informational and entertainment purposes only.

Ryder Cup Rankings Tracker

Team USA: 

• No serious changes to the names in contention for the US Ryder Cup team - although Chris Gotterup emerges within DataGolf’s model (albeit a long shot) 

• Captain Keegan Bradley was quoted this week saying “If you’re not in the top six, you can’t expect to be on the team.”

Team Europe:

The Weekly Rundown

Stories to Know This Week: Winner’s Circle

🏆Grace Kim Goes Major at the Amundi Evian

• 24-year-old Aussie Grace Kim wins her first major after taking home the Amundi Evian Championship in a playoff

🏆 Talor Gooch Grabs a LIV W at Valderrama

• Talor Gooch notched his 4th LIV Golf win (and first since 2023), taking the title in Spain at LIV Andalucia, finishing at 8-under - one shot ahead of Jon Rahm 

🏆 William Mouw Breaks Through at the ISCO Championship

• Tour rookie William Mouw grabbed his first victory in twenty starts at the ISCO Championship, firing a Sunday 61 - a course record at Hurstbourne Country Club

🏆 Neal Shipley captures The Ascendant

• Shipley grabs his 2nd title on the Korn Ferry Tour at age 24 - he earns an automatic PGA Tour promotion if he wins a 3rd one this season 

Author’s Note

That’s a wrap on this week’s Tee Sheet - all eyes on Royal Portrush this weekend. Appreciate you reading, as always.

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Thanks for helping this thing grow each week - more to come with the 10th Issue ahead!

Same time next week - with a newly crowned major champ…