Will a Masters debut turn into a win? History suggests not, but there are a few newcomers to watch
First-time participants almost never win the Masters. Then again, they rarely show up with a résumé like Chris Gotterup’s.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — First-time participants almost never win the Masters. Then again, they rarely show up with a résumé like Chris Gotterup’s.
The 26-year-old Gotterup already has four PGA Tour wins, meaning he’ll be the third player since World War II to make his Masters debut with that many. He’s already won twice this year and joins Ben Griffin and Jacob Bridgeman as the highest-ranked first-timers. All three are in the world top 20.
“Just embracing the whole experience,” Gotterup said. “Trying to take it all in and enjoy it while also trying to go out there and compete and give it everything I’ve got. ” Not since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 has a Masters rookie won the tournament, and before that nobody had won his debut since Gene Sarazen in the second year of the event.
But favorites like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy haven’t been all that dominant lately, and Gotterup stands out with his wins in the Sony Open and Phoenix Open earlier this year. He also won the Scottish Open last year. The immediate reward for that victory was a trip to Royal Portrush for Gotterup’s first British Open, but it also qualified him for the Masters.