The last time an amateur won a PGA (professional golf association) Tour event was 1991. Until this years’ American Express Championship in La Quinta, California, this seemed like a feat that would never be achieved again. 20-year-old Alabama native Nick Dunlap changed this narrative forever. The current sophomore at the University of Alabama was playing in the tournament as a sponsor’s exception. This means the company of American Express personally invited him to participate in the tournament. It is not out of the ordinary for a few amateurs to be cluttered into PGA tour fields; it is actually well within the norm for that to occur. Making the two-day cut as an amateur is alone a feat worth celebrating but being in contention and winning is another thing.
Dunlap is no stranger to the big stage. Winning the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 2021 and the U.S. Amateur Championship in 2023, the only person besides Tiger Woods to win both, Dunlap was surly ready for his appearance this week. Further, Dunlap has appeared in a few PGA Tour events prior to the Amex Championship, including the past two U.S. Opens.
Heading into the week, Dunlap had somewhat tame expectations, make the cut and compete. Through the first two rounds, Dunlap did just that. Shooting rounds of 64-65 on Thursday and Friday propelled him right to the top amongst the leaders. But it was what he did on Saturday that was truly special. Dunlap shot a record 60(-12) to best Justin Thomas’ 61 that same day. Thomas was interviewed after the round saying, “I didn’t expect to have to deal with a frickin college kid (Dunlap) shooting 60” He said this while starring at the scoreboard where atop it sat Nick Dunlap, sitting on a three-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round.
Heading into the final round, Dunlap was atop the leaderboard and ready to compete. Paired with former Crimson Tide golfer Justin Thomas, Dunlap was in the driver’s seat. Going into Sunday Dunlap expected turbulence and lots of it. He prepared himself for the fortune but overall, the misfortune to come on the golf course. That expected misfortune came early in the round, and it came relentlessly. On his 7th hole of the day, Dunlap hit his ball into the water causing him to card a double-bogey on that hole. Now, because of that, his three-shot lead vanished, and he was back with the pack. Watching from a far was his father, Jim Dunlap who was with his wife and Nick’s mom, Charlene Dunlap. When asked about the incident on the 7th hole, Jim said “He is a grinder and I guarantee he’s going to have some birdies towards the end.” Nick did just that. Carding birdies on 8, 14, 16 with a clutch par-save on 18, Dunlap carded a final round 70(-2), edging out South African Christian Bezuidenhout and earning the victory.
What ensued was an onslaught of emotions from family and friends along with many viral videos of his Alabama teammates going crazy when watching him perform on the TV. Although Dunlap as an amateur did not earn any of the money, he earned himself entry into many major tournaments including the Masters in April. More importantly, though, he earned a PGA Tour card which allowed him to turn pro in the following days. Dunlap left Alabama with an emotional tribute on the way out, pursing his early life goal of one day being a PGA Tour golfer. Nick Dunlap will forever be etched into history as one of the few amateurs to ever triumph on the world stage, and as Dunlap’s young professional career develops, it will be exciting to see the records he will begin to shatter moving forward.
