Amateur Nick Dunlap, 20, wins PGA Tour’s The American Express،
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Nick Dunlap doesn't possess false confidence and he doesn't project preternatural calm. The University of Alabama sophomore fully understood how wild it was to hold off a field of professionals on Sunday as he attempted to become the PGA Tour's first amateur winner in 33 years.
“The most nervous I’ve ever been, by far,” Dunlap said. “I just tried to breathe, but also look up and enjoy it a little bit.”
The 20-year-old simply played through it all – through his mistakes, the mounting pressure and the overall improbability of his week at American Express.
Dunlap walked away with a victory that could herald the arrival of a major golf talent – and one who might not even need to complete the homework he brought with him to the West Coast.
Dunlap swallowed his nerves one last time to sink a 6-foot par putt on the final hole, clinging to a one-stroke victory over Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
“Everyone has doubts,” Dunlap said. “I probably had a thousand different scenarios in mind for how the day was going to go, and it didn't go the way I expected. I think that was what was cool. That's the golf.”
The reigning U.S. amateur champion is the first amateur winner on the tour since Phil Mickelson at the Tucson Open in 1991. Playing in his fourth tour event, Dunlap became the seventh amateur winner since 1945 – and the third since 1957.
Mickelson took to social media to congratulate Dunlap, one of many in the golf world who praised the feat, including some of Dunlap's Crimson Tide teammates.
“Such an impressive performance from Nick Dunlap,” Mickelson wrote. “Congratulations on this incredible victory. This is just the beginning.”
Such an impressive performance from Nick Dunlap. Congratulations on this incredible victory. This is just the beginning 👍👍
-Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) January 22, 2024
What an incredible achievement @NickDunlap62 , an exceptional game and a way to cope under pressure to join a very selective group of players to win PGA Tour events as an amateur! A bright future ahead of this great talent! Congratulations.
– Jon Rahm Rodriguez (@JonRahmOfficial) January 22, 2024
CHAOS!
@NickDunlap62It's the winning moment from within @AlabamaMGolf team bus! pic.twitter.com/sCBXCobMnr– PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 22, 2024
The only amateur among 156 players in the tournament long known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic, Dunlap took a 3-shot lead with a 12-under 60 in the third round. He lost that lead Sunday on the front nine on PGA West's Stadium Course, but he played with the resilience of a seasoned veteran down the stretch, capped by his recovery from two errant shots on the 18th for par winner.
“Nothing like I’ve ever felt,” Dunlap said. “It was so cool to be here and experience this as an amateur. Whether I made it or missed it. [last putt]if you had told me [on] Wednesday night I would have a putt to win this golf tournament, I wouldn’t believe you.”
After a day of competition, Dunlap and Sam Burns were tied for the lead when Burns put his tee shot in the water and made a double bogey at the 17th. Dunlap thought he had a 2-shot lead when he moved up to 18th because he and his caddy didn't check the leaderboard or see Bezuidenhout's birdie moments earlier.
Dunlap's tee shot then landed high in the rough, and his second shot could have hit a spectator before launching a lucky roll from the rough to a grassy drainage area outside the green.
Dunlap went in from 6 feet with his third shot, and he celebrated the title par putt with hugs from his parents, his girlfriend and his college coach, Jay Seawell, all of whom traveled the country this weekend. end to watch in person.
He finished with a 70 – by far his worst round of the week – to finish at 29-under 259 and break the tournament scoring record through 72 holes. He is also the youngest winner in the history of the event and became the youngest amateur to win on the circuit since 1910.
Dunlap and Tiger Woods are the only players to have won both the US Amateur and the US Junior Amateur. While Dunlap celebrated one of the most impressive performances in recent golf history on Sunday, he did not receive the $1.5 million first prize, which goes to Bezuidenhout after the 65th final round of the South -African.
Dunlap doesn't get the 500 FedEx Cup points either, but his rewards are still enough. If he stays in Alabama, he will compete in the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open as a U.S. amateur champion. If he turns professional and joins the PGA Tour, he will still play the Masters and the U.S. Open, as well as the seven remaining $20 million flagship events on tour.
“It’s amazing,” Bezuidenhout said of Dunlap’s feat. “I actually heard his name last year when he won the US Amateur. He's obviously a heck of a player, and I congratulate him. I hope he can play on the PGA Tour soon and that we can all play with him.”
Dunlap and his parents both said they didn't immediately decide what he would do next — but his meteoric career reached a new peak in the Coachella Valley.
“I have no idea, I really don’t,” Dunlap said of his future. “It's really cool to have this opportunity in the first place. Starting the week, if you had said, 'Hey, in five days you'll have a PGA Tour card, or a two-year opportunity,' I would 'would have done. I looked at you sideways. But it's something that doesn't just affect me. It affects a lot of people — the coach there and my teammates — and it's a conversation that I have to talk to a lot of people before making this decision.”
Dunlap already planned to play at Torrey Pines next week thanks to a sponsor exemption, but he acknowledged he also brought homework to California.
“But I probably won’t,” he said with a smile.
Dunlap needed tenacity to overcome his nerves in his final round. His 3-shot lead disappeared in one stroke at the seventh when he put his tee shot in the water and made a double bogey while Burns made birdie.
Dunlap quickly regained the lead, lost it again and battled Burns down the stretch, even pulling away with a birdie on the 16th.
And then Burns was the one who flinched, completely missing the island's famous green on the 17th and hitting the water.
“I didn’t want to win by hitting in the water,” Dunlap said. “I wanted to win by making four birdies on the last four holes. But unfortunately, that's golf. I did it several times.”
Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Yu are tied for third at 27 under. Burns led the event after two rounds with a career-low 61, and he was tied with two holes to play Sunday before falling into the water on each of his final two holes and recording double bogeys consecutive, finishing tied. for the sixth.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
