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What Rory McIlroy did immediately after Chris Gotterup holed his putt to win The Scottish Open

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
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Chris Gotterup produced a huge shock by beating Rory McIlroy to The Scottish Open title on Sunday.

Gotterup was an unknown quantity heading into The Scottish Open this week, but that has all changed now.

The American played the role of David as he slayed McIlroy the Goliath in what was a scintillating final round at The Renaissance Club.

McIlroy was warned on Saturday that Gotterup would not fold during the final round of The Scottish Open.

And the 25-year-old lived up to that billing with a sparkling round of 66 on day four.

McIlroy surely would have been hugely impressed by what he saw from Gotterup on Sunday.

What Rory McIlroy did after Chris Gotterup holed putt to win The Scottish Open

Gotterup’s win at The Scottish Open will be life-changing for him.

Chris Gotterup holding the Genesis Scottish Open trophy
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

A whole new world of opportunity will now open up for the 25-year-old.

And now the pressure will be on him to reproduce what he displayed in Scotland this week on a more consistent basis.

McIlroy knows all about performing at the very highest level for a prolonged period of time.

The Northern Irishman would obviously have loved to win The Scottish Open on Sunday, but he accepted defeat on the final green of The Renaissance Club with real grace and humility.

Rich Beem was speaking on Sky Sports after Gotterup’s win, and he praised McIlroy for something he did just after the American holed out.

Beem said: Putting is not his strength, but he didn’t show any of that this week. When you win, you have to putt well, and he finished off in style. And off of the side of the green, just outside of your vision, there was a nice little moment there. Rory with his hat off, was clapping, congratulating that young man. I’ve got to say, that was good stuff, and there you go, a hug from the Grand Slam guy.

Fair play to McIlroy there. He certainly didn’t need to applaud Gotterup, and it was a fantastic display of sportsmanship.

Chris Gotterup’s final round stats at The Scottish Open

Gotterup didn’t back down once on Sunday at The Scottish Open.

Whenever he got into trouble, he got himself out of it with consummate ease, and he seemed to be at ease in what was such a highly pressurised environment.

Here are his stats from the final round at The Renaissance Club:

Statistical categoryGotterup’s rank
Driving distance66th
Driving accuracy50th
Greens in regulation23rd
Putts per GIR2nd
Scrambling32nd

Gotterup will now be looking to maintain the form he showed at The Scottish Open for the remainder of the season and beyond.

He undoubtedly has the game needed to win big trophies, and his performance this week will have given him all the confidence in the world.