Chris Gotterup Is the PGA Tour’s First Champion of 2026: Here’s What He Earned
Chris Gotterup USA, OCTOBER 9, 2025 - Golf : Baycurrent Classic Presented by LEXUS 1st round at Yokohama Country Club, Kanagawa, Japan. Noxthirdxpartyxsales PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxJPN aflo_306639528
Chris Gotterup USA, OCTOBER 9, 2025 - Golf : Baycurrent Classic Presented by LEXUS 1st round at Yokohama Country Club, Kanagawa, Japan. Noxthirdxpartyxsales PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxJPN aflo_306639528
The PGA Tour has found its first winner of 2026, and that’s Chris Gotterup.
Gotterup surpassed Ryan Gerard and Patrick Rodgers by posting a 6-under 64 in the final round and winning the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club. And the two-shot win over the field brought him a lucrative paycheck.
He walked away with 500 FedEx Cup points and $1,638,000 in prize money. And that’s his biggest paycheck since becoming a professional PGA Tour golfer.
Back in the 2025 season, Chris Gotterup secured only one win and two top-five performances. That win came at the Genesis Scottish Open, garnering him $1,575,000. A third spot at the 2025 U.S. Open got him $1,128,000. And a T2 finish at the Grant Thornton Invitational brought him a paycheck of only $190,000.
So, how much did the runner-up and third-place finisher earn at the 2026 Sony Open?
July 27th, 2025: Chris Gotterup of the United States hits his shot on the second tee during the final round of the 3M Open 2025 at TPC Twin Cities on July 27th, 2025 in Blaine, Minnesota. -CSM Blaine USA - ZUMAc04_ 20250727_zma_c04_039 Copyright: xStevenxGarciax
July 27th, 2025: Chris Gotterup of the United States hits his shot on the second tee during the final round of the 3M Open 2025 at TPC Twin Cities on July 27th, 2025 in Blaine, Minnesota. -CSM Blaine USA - ZUMAc04_ 20250727_zma_c04_039 Copyright: xStevenxGarciax
Ryan Gerard (second) collected $991,900, while Patrick Rogers took home $627,900. Golfers who finished in the top-20 also received a six-figure paycheck, leaving Gotterup as the only one to earn over a million.
As the PGA Tour schedule progresses, this strong start could prove influential in his season goals. But what changed this time?
Chris Gotterup Opens Up on His 2026 Sony Open Win
After the win, Gotterup reflected on the things that helped him achieve the feat. And it was all because of the constructive criticism from his teammates.
During the post-game press conference, Gotterup said, “We sat down and did a bunch of stat stuff at the end of the year, and there were a couple of things that stood out. And obviously, I had a great year last year, and a couple of things that stood out, and that’s all I really practiced.”
“This week, I felt like it’s everything I practiced. Like, I had those numbers and those putts, and having practiced that, I felt a little more confident in what I was doing.”
Chris Gotterup converted a reflection into results with a statement win at Waialae. His offseason analysis paid off, marking a strong opening chapter to his 2026 campaign. But can he maintain this streak in the upcoming events?
Written by
Krushna Pattnaik
Edited by
Joyita Das