Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Chris Gotterup is taking aim at a green jacket this week in his Masters debut in just his fifth major start. Not since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 has a golfer won in his Masters debut. The only others to win at Augusta National on their first try were Horton Smith in 1934’s inaugural Masters and Gene Sarazen a year later.
World number 11 Gotterup has been on a glittering run over the past nine months, winning last year’s Scottish Open to qualify for the British Open, taking third at Royal Portrush and following up with wins at Hawaii in January and Phoenix in February. “After winning a couple big events, I feel like I’m comfortable being there. I feel like I’m playing well,” Gotterup said of Sunday contention. “I’ve played well and earned the right to be in that spot…Having executed under the gun makes you feel like you can do it again.”
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Gotterup will be among 22 players making a Masters debut this week, hoping to recapture the form that won in Scotland last year. “That event kind of kick-started everything for me,” Gotterup said. “I was at a good frame of my game at that point. I had a couple of top 25s and was playing well. Since then, I feel like I’ve kicked it into a different gear. That tournament gave me a ton of confidence going up against a great field.”
And success in different-style courses such as those in Hawaii and Arizona gives him confidence he can handle imposing Augusta National at first sight. “I feel like I’ve won on different courses,” he said. “And that gives me confidence being able to bring it to any course.”
Gotterup practiced Monday with England’s Justin Rose, the 2013 US Open winner and a three-time Masters runner-up, to learn some secrets about Augusta National shotmaking. “We were really talking about holes on the front,” Gotterup said. “There are funny spots you can get yourself in. There are little weird things. It’s hard to describe. You learn as you go.”
“It’s more preparation work and hearing that stuff than picking their brain on the course. It’s more what to expect if this happens. It was great. I’m happy he let me join him.” Gotterup, whose paternal grandparents were born in Denmark, is in a Masters field with three Danish players. “I kind of feel Danish,” said Gotterup. “I’m very American for being Danish, but yeah, there’s a bit of me that definitely feels European, to say the least.”
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