In this week’s “The Starter,” PGA professional Brendon Elliott, a three-decade industry veteran, gives his thoughts on the week that was in golf for R.org. Chris Gotterup wins his fourth career title in dramatic playoff fashion. Scottie Scheffler bounces back from a rough start. Patrick Reed dominates the Middle East swing. And TGL returns with a California showdown.

Gotterup Wins in Playoff: Fourth Title Comes at the Greenest Show on Grass

Drama at the 72nd Hole

Chris Gotterup doesn’t do boring. The 26-year-old American has now won four times on the PGA TOUR in just 71 career starts, and his latest victory at the WM Phoenix Open might have been his most dramatic yet.

Gotterup shot a closing 7-under 64 on Sunday, making five birdies on his final six holes to post 16-under 268. That was good enough to force a playoff with 54-hole leader Hideki Matsuyama, who stumbled at the finish with his only bogey of the day coming at the 72nd hole.

“I really wasn’t expecting to be in this position,” Gotterup said. “Even during the back nine, I was like, all right, just keep climbing the board, try to get into a good spot.”

The playoff lasted just one hole. Matsuyama pulled his tee shot on 18 into the water left of the fairway, the same spot that gave him trouble in regulation. Gotterup crushed a drive down the middle and rolled in a 27-foot birdie putt to seal the victory.

“Can’t feel a thing and just trying to make sure I didn’t bomb it by the hole,” Gotterup said of the winning putt. “For it to find the hole like that is really awesome.”

Second Win in Three Starts

This marks Gotterup’s second victory in three starts this season. He won the Sony Open in Hawaii to kick off 2026, finished T18 at the Farmers Insurance Open, then captured the WM Phoenix Open. It’s his third win in his last 10 starts on TOUR.

The victory came from four strokes back entering the final round. Gotterup started the week with a field-low 63 but posted middle rounds of 71 and 70 that left him in T11 heading into Sunday. His nine birdies in the final round tied his career high.

“I hit it into the grandstands pretty much” on 18 in regulation, Gotterup admitted. “I was in the right rough, and I was up against the grandstand and then got a decent lie in the trampled down grass. I had like 120-something yards and just trying to hit it on the green, and for it to land perfectly on the green and roll up to three feet was definitely some luck involved for sure.”

Matsuyama’s Missed Opportunity

For Matsuyama, it was a painful loss. The two-time WM Phoenix Open champion was seeking to become the fifth player with three victories at this event. He had converted all five of his previous 54-hole leads into victories on TOUR.

“Was grinding all weekend,” Matsuyama said through a translator. “Didn’t have my best stuff, but hung in there. I wanted to avoid the playoff as much as I could, but I just hit a bad tee shot there in regulation at 18 and Chris made a good putt there in the playoff.”

Matsuyama missed 11 fairways in the final round, including the critical tee shot on 18 that found the church pew bunkers. He couldn’t get up and down from 43 yards to avoid the playoff, then hit an even worse drive in the playoff that caromed off the bank and into the water.

The Crowded Leaderboard

Five players finished tied for third at 15-under, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who posted a final-round 64 to extend his streak of consecutive top-10 finishes to 17.

Si Woo Kim continued his hot start to 2026 with his third consecutive top-10 finish (T6 at The American Express, T2 at Farmers Insurance Open, T3 at WM Phoenix Open). He’s one of just two players to finish inside the top 20 in all four events to start the season, along with Pierceson Coody.

Akshay Bhatia bounced back from two missed cuts to open his season with three consecutive rounds of 67 for a T3 finish, his best result since a T3 at the 2025 PLAYERS Championship.

Michael Thorbjornsen briefly held the lead after eagling the par-5 15th hole but made bogeys on 16 and 17 to finish T3. It was his seventh top-five finish in 48 career starts as he continues searching for his first TOUR victory.

Nicolai Højgaard also finished T3 despite making a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 second hole in the final round.

Scheffler’s Rebound: World No. 1 Flips the Script After Opening 73

From Danger Zone to Dominance

Scottie Scheffler opened the WM Phoenix Open with an uncharacteristic 2-over 73 that featured five bogeys and a double bogey. For a brief moment, the world No. 1 was staring at a potential missed cut that would have ended his TOUR-leading streak at 65 consecutive cuts made.

“I put myself in a tough position after the first round,” Scheffler said. “But three really solid days.”

That’s an understatement. Scheffler responded with rounds of 65, 67, and 64 to finish T3 at 15-under, extending his remarkable streak of consecutive top-10 finishes to 17. He’s the first player since Billy Casper in 1965 to post 17 straight top-10s on TOUR.

The Back Nine Charge

Scheffler’s final round was a thing of beauty. He made three birdies on the front nine, then caught fire on the back with three consecutive birdies from holes 13-15. The highlight came at the par-4 14th, where he holed out from 72 feet on the fringe.

“Scottie just holed out,” said one sunburnt fan waiting in line near the 16th hole. “You’re joking,” his friend replied. “We need to get in there.”

Scheffler added a two-putt birdie from 63 feet at the par-5 17th to pull within one of the lead. He narrowly missed a 24-foot birdie putt on 18 that would have posted 14-under and potentially forced his way into the playoff.

“I’m not going to nitpick too many 64s,” Scheffler said. “String together a few more of those. If you want to nitpick, let’s look a little bit further back in the week.”

Aon Swing 5: Five Players Punch Tickets to Signature Events

The Final Standings

The WM Phoenix Open marked the conclusion of the first Aon Swing 5 window of 2026. The top five players, not otherwise exempt, who earned the most FedExCup points during the Sony Open in Hawaii, The American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, and WM Phoenix Open qualified for the next two Signature Events: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational.

Here are the five players who earned their spots:

1. Pierceson Coody (376.5 points)
2. Ryo Hisatsune (287.125 points)
3. Jake Knapp (257.5 points)
4. Matt McCarty (235.25 points)
5. Patrick Rodgers (234.492 points)

Coody Capitalizes on Strong Start

Coody claimed the top spot after posting his third consecutive top-20 finish to start the season. The former world No. 1 amateur finished T10 in Phoenix, adding to his runner-up finish at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he shot 16-under but couldn’t catch Justin Rose.

After struggling through his 2024 rookie campaign and spending a year back on the Korn Ferry Tour, Coody is finally showing the form that made him one of the most highly-touted prospects in recent memory.

Hisatsune Confirms Breakout

Hisatsune also finished T10 in Phoenix, mirroring his shared runner-up finish with Coody at Torrey Pines. The 23-year-old Japanese player narrowly retained his PGA TOUR card last fall. Three months later, he’s headed to two of the biggest early-season events.

Hisatsune fulfilled a dream on Saturday by playing in the final group with his idol, Hideki Matsuyama. He has played just one Signature Event previously (2025 RBC Heritage). That changes over the next two weeks.

The Final Two Spots

Knapp secured third place with a solo eighth-place finish in Scottsdale. Already in the Pebble Beach field via his FedExCup Fall status, Knapp removed any uncertainty about playing at Riviera as well.

The final two spots required some nail-biting. McCarty, bolstered by a runner-up finish at The American Express, missed the cut in Phoenix and could only watch the projections. Rodgers leaned on a third-place finish at the Sony Open and three made cuts to narrowly hang on.

Big Names Just Miss

Sahith Theegala entered Sunday inside the projected cut line but fell out with a closing bogey. However, he received the final sponsor exemption into Pebble Beach late Sunday afternoon, likely due to his strong start to the season (T31, T8, T7, T17).

Michael Thorbjornsen and Nicolai Højgaard both flirted with earning spots via high finishes in Phoenix. Thorbjornsen held the solo lead after an eagle at 15 before his late stumbles. Højgaard narrowly missed a lengthy birdie putt on 72 that would have added him to the playoff.

Reed Dominates Middle East: Second Win in Three Weeks

Qatar Masters Victory

Patrick Reed won the Qatar Masters on Sunday, his second DP World Tour victory in three weeks. Reed closed with a 2-under 70 at Doha Golf Club for a two-shot victory at 16-under 272.

“This little run I’ve had, two wins and a second, it’s awesome,” Reed said. “We couldn’t ask anything more than what we did.”

The 35-year-old American held off a final-day challenge from Calum Hill, who finished second at 14-under for his second consecutive runner-up finish. Jacob Skov Olesen and Johannes Veerman shared third at 13-under.

The Final Round Battle

Reed started with a two-shot lead but immediately faced pressure. Olesen birdied the first hole, and Reed bogeyed the second, tying them at the top. Oliver Lindell moved a shot ahead with a blistering start that included six birdies on the front nine.

“It wasn’t looking very good there on the front nine,” Reed admitted. “To lose the lead like that and then to be able to kind of flip the switch there on the back nine obviously felt amazing.”

Reed birdied the 10th and 11th holes to move two shots ahead once more. Lindell’s challenge ended with consecutive three-putt bogeys and a double bogey at the 15th. Hill made a late charge with an eagle at the 10th and four consecutive birdies from the 14th, including a stunning approach over the water at the par-3 17th that took him to 14-under and one off the lead.

But Hill sent his tee shot into rocks on the last hole and had to settle for par. Reed played the final two holes conservatively, two-putting for par at both to seal his fifth DP World Tour victory.

Race to Dubai Implications

Reed’s dominant stretch has completely changed his season outlook. He entered the Middle East swing planning to play a full DP World Tour schedule to earn a PGA TOUR card by finishing in the top 10 of the Race to Dubai. Two weeks in Bahrain and Qatar took care of that.

Reed now leads the Race to Dubai with 2,259 points, already more than the player who earned the final PGA TOUR card last season. He’ll move into the top 20 in the world ranking for the first time since 2021, assuring him spots in all four majors.

The Three-Week Run

In the last three weeks, Reed won the Dubai Desert Classic, lost in a playoff in Bahrain, and won in Qatar. No one has posted a lower 72-hole score in three straight DP World Tour events. Reed was 10 shots off the lead heading into the weekend in Bahrain but charged with rounds of 66 and 67 before losing at the first playoff hole.

TGL Week 8: California Showdown as The Bay Faces Los Angeles

Monday Night Battle

TGL Season 2 continues Monday night when The Bay Golf Club takes on Los Angeles Golf Club at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. It’s a battle of Golden State teams with contrasting fortunes so far this season.

Los Angeles Golf Club welcomes Tommy Fleetwood in his Season 2 TGL debut. Fleetwood has moved to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking and joins Sahith Theegala and alternate Tony Finau, who also filled in as an alternate for Los Angeles in Season 1.

Fleetwood was fifth in Driving Accuracy during the regular season last year (81.8%) and posted a 3-1-4 record in Singles while going undefeated during the regular season. His addition should provide a significant boost to Los Angeles.

The Bay’s Struggles

The Bay has started Season 2 with consecutive losses marked by multiple penalties. In their 7-4 loss to defending SoFi Cup champion Atlanta Drive GC, The Bay lost two holes in Triples when both Ludvig Åberg and Wyndham Clark hit consecutive shots into penalty areas.

Their 9-1 loss to Boston Common Golf included penalties on four different holes. The Bay earned three of its four points against Atlanta when their opponents declined Hammers, hardly the recipe for success.

For this match, The Bay will feature alternates Luke Clanton and Neal Shipley alongside Min Woo Lee. It’s a significant change from their usual lineup.

Singles Matchups

The Singles battles should be fascinating:

Luke Clanton vs. Tony Finau

Neal Shipley vs. Tommy Fleetwood

Min Woo Lee vs. Sahith Theegala

Clanton and Shipley are both making their TGL debuts as alternates, while Fleetwood brings his wealth of experience to his first Season 2 appearance.

PGA of America Names New CEO

Health Care Executive Takes the Helm

The PGA of America has appointed Terry Clark as its next CEO, marking the second time in its last three hires the organization has chosen a business leader who was serving on its board of directors.

Clark, the chief marketing officer at UnitedHealth Group, has been an independent director on the PGA of America board since 2024. He replaces Derek Sprague, a past PGA president who resigned to spend more time with his family in upstate New York.

Timing of the Hire

Clark takes over at a time of significant turnover at the PGA of America, the organization of 30,000 golf professionals that runs the PGA Championship for men, women, and seniors, and the Ryder Cup when it’s held in America.

In addition to Sprague leaving, four C-suite executives have taken new jobs in the last year, including Jeff Price (chief commercial officer) and John Easterbrook (chief membership officer).

“Terry has earned the board’s trust through his strategic judgment and a deep respect for the game,” said Nathan Charnes, the vice president who took over as board chair in November. “At a time when continuity, stakeholder alignmen,t and operational excellence matter most, we’re confident Terry is the right leader for advancing the game in meaningful ways.”

Clark’s Background

Clark has also served as chief marketing and customer officer at Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group. Optum is one of the key sponsors of THE PLAYERS Championship, giving Clark familiarity with professional golf’s landscape.

Seth Waugh, a longtime CEO at Deutsche Bank, was serving as an independent director for the PGA when he became its CEO in 2018. Waugh oversaw the move of the organization’s headquarters from Florida to Texas.

“My focus will be on providing clarity, strengthening our culture and empowering our teams to support our members and PGA of America golf professionals at the highest level, while elevating our major championships and marquee events as defining stages for the game, our partners and the communities we serve,” Clark said in a statement.

Kerry Haigh, the PGA’s chief competitions officer, will continue as interim CEO until Clark takes over in March.