Chris Gotterup won’t be able to play a practice round before his PGA TOUR debut, but he has plenty of good memories on the course that is hosting this week’s Puerto Rico Open.

Gotterup, a senior at the University of Oklahoma, got into the Puerto Rico Open by winning the Puerto Rico Classic on Feb. 22. He shot 20-under 196 (66-64-66) to win the collegiate event at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

His 54-hole score was one off the school record of PGA TOUR winner Abraham Ancer and earned Gotterup a sponsor exemption into the Puerto Rico Open, which also is being held at Grand Reserve.

Gotterup was the top-ranked player in Golfweek’s collegiate rankings when he won in Puerto Rico. The fifth-year senior, who transferred from Rutgers, also is No. 16 in the Velocity Global Ranking for PGA TOUR University, which take the past two seasons into account. Nos. 1-5 in the PGA TOUR U rankings at season’s end will earn Korn Ferry Tour status, while Nos. 6-15 will earn playing privileges on PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamerica.

Gotterup can earn valuable PGA TOUR U points in Puerto Rico. Despite so much being at stake, he didn’t pass up the opportunity to play a college event earlier this week in Las Vegas, four time zones away from the site of his TOUR debut.

He was part of the Sooners’ lineup that won the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate, which ended Tuesday in Las Vegas. Gotterup finished T50, while the Sooners won their third consecutive team title.

After a celebratory dinner with the team, Gotterup caught a 10 p.m. red-eye flight from Las Vegas to Orlando. He arrived in Puerto Rico around 11 a.m. local time Wednesday.

“I guess I got a little taste of the TOUR life,” Gotterup said about the crazy commute. “I think it’s a good thing. I’m not going to have any expectations. I’m just here to have fun. This is house money for me.”

Three more rounds like he had in his last trip to Grand Reserve would suit him quite well. He won by four shots with his 20-under total and was bogey-free over his final 39 holes. He admits that a few tee boxes were moved up in preparation for the Puerto Rico Open, but also said “everything was clicking.”

In addition to his Puerto Rico win, Gotterup also won the East Lake Cup and has two third-place finishes this season. At Rutgers, he was the 2020 Big Ten Player of the Year and a third-team All-American. The New Jersey native also won the 2019 Met Amateur.

He has one previous start in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned, missing the cut in the 2020 Lincoln Land Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. He earned a start in that event after winning the 2019 Fighting Irish Classic. His parents and some friends from New Jersey are expected to travel to Puerto Rico this week to watch him play on the PGA TOUR for the first time.

“I’m appreciative for them to come watch me play,” Gotterup said. “They’ve been part of my journey.”

That journey include a mad dash across a continent to get to his first PGA TOUR event.