PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 15, 2026

Chris Gotterup

Aronimink Golf Club

Flash Quotes

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Chris Gotterup to the 108th PGA Championship. Chris, what can you tell us about your 5-under second round?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: Yeah, I felt like I grinded it out nice today. Finished it off strong at the end with a couple birdies in a row.

But, yeah, even though I played pretty well today I don't think it felt easy at any point out there. Happy with the round, obviously, and, yeah, hopefully two more good days.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. When you watch golf at home or wherever you would be watching it, would you rather watch golf like this than a birdiefest? What do you like seeing when you're watching golf?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: It's a good question. Today would definitely be one of those days where I would be on the couch and I would be like how did he hit it there and how did he do this? And then you're out there, and it just feels like it's impossible.

I don't know, I think there's -- I think there's a good mix of like -- I think at this point, being out here for a couple years, you kind of know what to expect with certain tournaments and courses. So like if you're getting ready for AmEx, you know there's going to be a ton of birdies. But out here, yeah, I think it's a little more almost U.S. Open-esque.

So I think -- I don't know what the answer is to that question. But I'll watch this afternoon probably a little bit, and having been out there and how tough it is, I think I'll have a greater respect for some good shots.

But, yeah, I mean, I think it's a good, there's a good mix of tournaments, especially this year, that I feel like it hasn't been super low. I think I'd like it somewhere in the middle if I was a fan. Like I think the 16-under is a good tournament and a good number to shoot for for the week.

Q. Being so close to home I wanted to ask, how many family and friends do you have coming here this week to support you, and did you have any history at this course growing up during junior or college golf?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: I had never been here before until Monday. I've been around the area a decent amount. We didn't really play much stuff in Philly growing up. We played more New York and New Jersey tournaments. Philly was kind of its own different section.

But, yeah, I mean, on the friends and family part, it's been nice to have some people out here. My parents were here today, and girlfriend and her family were here today and yesterday. A couple buddies were here. So it's been fun in that respect. It makes it feel a little bit more like you're at home. For how much we're on the road, you don't get to feel that that much.

So it's been nice to -- I slept in my own bed on Sunday, so I take that as a win when I can get it. Yeah, just, you know, it's nice to be back wearing a sweatshirt and being in the Northeast.

Q. Many congrats. You have the low round of the championship so far. How do you reflect on it all? What clicked into place for you, would you say, and how do you feel about your position going into the weekend, because you're in a pretty good shape.

CHRIS GOTTERUP: Yeah, I obviously feel good about the position, but only two days in, so got to keep it going. But, yeah, I mean, I don't know -- it's hard to say that anything clicks on this golf course with these pins and some of these holes.

I felt like I -- if I missed, I missed in the right spot and was able to scramble and get it up-and-down, but by no means were those shots any easier than, you know, than any other shot I've had out here. So I felt like I hit it in the right spot today for the most part, made a couple nice putts. And, yeah, my bogey was really just a weird one. I 3-putted from 15 feet.

But, yeah, I felt like I played well today and managed my way around the course as best you can around here.

Q. Your first couple birdies, I guess 11, 17 and 3, really lengthy putts. How much break did they have? Were you just in the right spot?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: They all had pretty good amount of break. I usually putt with a line, and the line was useless on those putts.

Yeah, 17 I probably played it three, four feet out to the right. 11 was probably another two feet out to the right. 3 was straight-ish out here, which is not, you know, not straight, but it was probably a foot of break. I felt like I hit it in the right spot. 17, if you hit it on the green you feel like did you something good.

Yeah, if you're in the right spot you can make a putt, but it's really hard to get it close. I felt like I got it about as close as you could on 11 today, and I had 25 feet and got -- made a nice putt. But, yeah, I felt like I just was in a good spot for some of those putts.

Q. I know it's only two rounds in, but you had a taste last year at the British, being right up near the top of the leaderboard. How ready do you feel to win a major championship right now, given what you have accomplished in a short period of time?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: You know, I feel like it's just -- so far I've been just trying to put myself in the best position possible and trying to be in a good flow out there of, you know, both mentally and within my golf game. Today was definitely a much better version of that.

But, yeah, I think, you know, for the most part any time that you can get in the mix, you just get more and more comfortable. And that's not going to say that anything is easy to win. Every tournament that I've won has been a challenge. So hopefully give myself a challenge come Sunday.

Yeah, I mean, I'm just trying to put myself there, get the experience possible, and if it comes through, great, and if not, I'll learn from it.

Q. What did being up there so close at Portrush do for your confidence in these types of positions, in these larger tournaments?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: You know, I mean, obviously all good things. I feel like, if I'm playing well, I can compete anywhere. That's no different here. But I think it's just hard to say what it did for me other than build confidence. I felt like I played some of my best golf maybe ever as a pro that week, and I came in third.

So like it's just one of those things where you just got to keep -- I feel like you got to keep putting yourself in position, and you hope that one day it breaks through and it was your time. But as long as you can keep putting yourself there, I think that's all you can do.

Q. We have seen you play well in windy conditions. Obviously this morning it really started blowing. Is there anything in particular that you're focused on or thinking about when conditions get like that, that allows you to lock in and play as well and as solidly as you do even when it's blowing 20?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: Yeah, I think there's a certain -- especially around here, there's a certain aspect of creativity that's needed. Even if it's a generic shot, if it's blowing 30 off the right, you've got to be able to craft something that is manageable to get it in the middle of the green.

I feel like I've gotten a lot better since turning pro at being okay with hitting it to 30 feet being a good shot, and I think there's a lot of that out here. So I think there's a lot of aspects of being patient, and I feel like I've gotten better at that, but also just being creative and being willing to execute a shot that might, you know, you might not try and pull off in a normal week.

When you're hitting 4-iron from 190 out here and you're trying to cut it 20 yards to try to hold it up against the wind, it's something that I've gotten used to playing in more wind, and, yeah, it doesn't make it any easier to execute, but you just have to, you know, same thing, you got to be in the moment to hit those shots, and I've been in a couple of those and hit it. So hopefully keep doing that.

Q. We've heard some grumblings from players as they've walked off the golf course. We get the impression that it's hard, but is the setup fair, in your opinion?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: I'm going to try to answer this properly. I don't think it's unfair, but I do think for pace of play and certain aspects, there have been a couple -- you know, 14 today is probably aggressive, I will say. You're hitting a 4-iron to a 10-foot circle, and if it doesn't go there, it's off the green, and if you hit it 40 feet left, you have a very hard 2-putt.

So, you know, Bob made birdie in my group and he hit a great shot. So is it unfair, probably not. But is it going to make the round slow, yeah. Yesterday I think hole 8 was probably pushing it a little bit. I hit 5-wood yesterday, and I hit 7-iron today. Granted, I don't know if they were expecting 30 mile an hour winds yesterday, but I also did shoot 5-under today.

So like I don't think it's -- I don't think it's unfair by any stretch of the imagination, but you're not going to get any 4-1/2 hour rounds out here if that's what they, if that's what's going to happen. So, unfair, no, but, you know, tough to make birdies.

Q. Do you remember playing a lot of other golf tournaments where the pins are this specifically tucked or challenging or on ridges, or does this happen more than we think?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: On TOUR they do a good job, I mean good being relative, but like a good job of putting it in tough spots, you know, where a grain changes, and as a player you don't think it's good because it's tough, but it's probably good for scoring.

I don't think -- I think this week is definitely an extreme in that department, more so with the wind. I think if it wasn't blowing 20 miles an hour, I don't think it would be -- I think there would be a lot more birdies. But every hole today for the most part, there were some on front that were reasonable and you can make birdie, like hole 7 was relatively easy. 9 was relatively friendly.

But a lot of the holes feel like they are, like with the wind, you have no margin for error. 12 today was four paces on the green and a shelf, and it's straight downwind. I mean, no one's going to try to skip it up there and stop it on the shelf. You're just going to have 25 feet, which is fine, it's not unfair, but you're not going to see a lot of shots that are hitting next to the spin and spinning back there.

Q. We spend too much time early in weeks trying to figure out how hard the golf course is going to play. We're always wrong, but it seems like we were extra wrong this week. Did you have a sense that scores were going to be this close to par through two rounds?

CHRIS GOTTERUP: When it wasn't windy, I mean, you're playing the practice rounds and every pin's in the middle of the green, so it looks easy and feels easier than it always is. But, yeah, I was watching the coverage yesterday, and they were like, I can't believe the scores are this high. And then you see guys pulling 5-woods on par-3s and it's like, yeah, I mean, like, no one's going to be -- there's going to be a birdie maybe for the day on a hole where you're hitting 5-wood into a par-3.

So, yeah, I don't think it's easy by any stretch of the imagination, but obviously whoever wins is going to have played the best. So that's all you can ask for in a tournament.