SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Chris Gotterup seems to have figured out TPC Scottsdale, giving him a chance to finally see the Saturday spectacle of the Phoenix Open.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler will need to go low in his next round if he’s going to get to the weekend.
Gotterup shot a bogey-free 8-under 63 to take a two-shot lead Thursday in the first round of the Phoenix Open on a rare day when Scheffler struggled.
“I don’t know if the course has changed at all,” said Gotterup, who missed the cut in his two previous trips to TPC Scottsdale. “I just feel like I’ve been playing better and managing my game better. We were flying back from TGL and I was like, I need to see Saturday here this week.”
Gotterup will get his chance after a warm day — even for the desert — that produced some long drives and low scores.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick matched the back-nine record with a 29 to shoot 65. Sam Stevens was among a group of four players at 66 and 26 players shot 68 or better before play was suspended because of darkness.
Scheffler was not among those going low. The four-time player of the year flubbed two chip shots that rolled back to his feet during a 2-over 73 that put his streak of 65 cuts in jeopardy.
Brooks Koepka also struggled. The five-time major champion had just one birdie in a 75 in his second tournament since being reinstated by the PGA Tour.
Gotterup, 26, shot a final-round 64 in season-opening Sony Open on Oahu for his third victory in three PGA Tour seasons. He tied for 18th at Torrey Pines last week.
He jump-started his round Thursday by rolling in a 27-foot eagle putt from just off the green on the par-5 13th hole. He soaked up the boozy roars at the stadium par-3 16th by pouring in a 7-footer for his third straight birdie and added another on 18 to make the turn in 6-under 30.
Gotterup two-putted for birdie on the par-5 third and added a 26-footer on the long par-3 seventh to match the opening 63 he had in Hawaii.
“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, (but) I putted great.”
Fitzpatrick opened with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11, then reeled after a run of five straight starting on No. 13. He shot 7 under to tie back-nine record with seven others and added another birdie on the par-5 third before stumbling to the finish with two closing bogeys.
The 2022 U.S. Open champion has not won since the 2023 RBC Heritage at Hilton Head.
“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,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m in a good position to start with and hopefully kick on.”
