{"id":21172,"date":"2024-01-22T15:50:30","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T12:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/21172\/amateur-nick-dunlap-20-wins\/"},"modified":"2024-01-22T15:50:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T12:50:31","slug":"amateur-nick-dunlap-20-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/?p=21172","title":{"rendered":"Amateur Nick Dunlap, 20, wins PGA Tour&#8217;s The American Express"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Amateur Nick Dunlap, 20, wins PGA Tour&#8217;s The American Express\u060c<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>LA QUINTA, Calif. &#8212; Nick Dunlap doesn&#39;t possess false confidence and he doesn&#39;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&#39;s first amateur winner in 33 years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most nervous I\u2019ve ever been, by far,\u201d Dunlap said.  \u201cI just tried to breathe, but also look up and enjoy it a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline editorial float-r\" data-behavior=\"article_related\">\n<h2 class=\"editorial-title\">Editor&#39;s Choice<\/h2>\n<p>2 Related<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The 20-year-old simply played through it all \u2013 through his mistakes, the mounting pressure and the overall improbability of his <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/week\/\"   title=\"week\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">week<\/a> at American Express.<\/p>\n<p>Dunlap walked away with a victory that could herald the arrival of a major golf talent \u2013 \u200b\u200band one who might not even need to complete the homework he brought with him to the West Coast.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone has doubts,\u201d Dunlap said.  &#8220;I probably had a thousand different scenarios in mind for how the day was going to go, and it didn&#39;t go the way I expected. I think that was what was cool. That&#39;s the golf.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2013 and the third since 1957.<\/p>\n<p>Mickelson took to social media to congratulate Dunlap, one of many in the golf world who praised the feat, including some of Dunlap&#39;s Crimson Tide teammates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuch an impressive performance from Nick Dunlap,\u201d Mickelson wrote.  &#8220;Congratulations on this incredible victory. This is just the beginning.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Such an impressive performance from Nick Dunlap.  Congratulations on this incredible victory.  This is just the beginning \ud83d\udc4d\ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n<p>-Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PhilMickelson\/status\/1749223437334151414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What an incredible achievement <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NickDunlap62?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NickDunlap62<\/a> , 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Jon Rahm Rodriguez (@JonRahmOfficial) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JonRahmOfficial\/status\/1749225081593843763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CHAOS!<br \/><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NickDunlap62?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NickDunlap62<\/a>It&#39;s the winning moment from within <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlabamaMGolf?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AlabamaMGolf<\/a> team bus! <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sCBXCobMnr\">pic.twitter.com\/sCBXCobMnr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2013 PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PGATOUR\/status\/1749227648197222896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>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&#39;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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing like I\u2019ve ever felt,\u201d Dunlap said.  \u201cIt 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 <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/win\/\"   title=\"win\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">win<\/a> this golf tournament, I wouldn\u2019t believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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&#39;t check the leaderboard or see Bezuidenhout&#39;s birdie moments earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Dunlap&#39;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.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/college\/\"   title=\"college\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">college<\/a> coach, Jay Seawell, all of whom traveled the country this weekend. end to watch in person.<\/p>\n<p>He finished with a 70 \u2013 by far his worst round of the week \u2013 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline float-r inline-track\">\n<h2 class=\"img-title\">One for the ages<\/h2>\n<p>\u2022 Nick Dunlap is the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson at the 1991 Tuscon Open.<br \/>\u2022 fifth amateur to win on tour since 1950, joining Mickelson (1991), Scott Verplank (1985), Doug Sanders (1956) and Gene Littler (1954)<br \/>\u2022 first reigning American amateur champion to win on tour since Tiger Woods<br \/>\u2022 Lowest score above par (29 under) by an amateur in a 72-hole tour event ever (lowest T-7 of any player)<br \/>\u2022 At 20 years and 29 days, he is the second youngest player to win a tour event in the last 90 years (Jordan Spieth at the 2013 John Deere Classic; 19 years and 352 days)<br \/>\u2022 Joins Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia as the only players born after 2000 to win on tour.<br \/>\u2022 With three eagles this week (one bogey, one double bogey), joins Ludvig Aberg and Dustin Johnson as the only players to win a tour event with more eagles than holes over par in the last five seasons .<br \/>\u2022 Missed the cut in three previous tour starts (Butterfield Bermuda Champ. 2023, US Open 2023, US Open 2022)<br \/>\u2022 Lowest ranked player (4,129th) to have won on the tour since the creation of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986 (the previous one was Matthew Wolff at 1,659th).  Dunlap should now enter the top 70<br \/><i>&#8211;ESPN Stats and Information<\/i><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Dunlap doesn&#39;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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d Bezuidenhout said of Dunlap\u2019s feat.  &#8220;I actually heard his name last year when he won the US Amateur. He&#39;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Dunlap and his parents both said they didn&#39;t immediately decide what he would do next \u2014 but his meteoric career reached a new peak in the Coachella Valley.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have no idea, I really don\u2019t,\u201d Dunlap said of his future.  &#8220;It&#39;s really cool to have this opportunity in the first place. Starting the week, if you had said, &#39;Hey, in five days you&#39;ll have a PGA Tour card, or a two-year opportunity,&#39; I would &#39;would have done. I looked at you sideways. But it&#39;s something that doesn&#39;t just affect me. It affects a lot of people &#8212; the coach there and my teammates &#8212; and it&#39;s a conversation that I have to talk to a lot of people before making this decision.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Dunlap already planned to play at Torrey Pines next week thanks to a sponsor exemption, but he acknowledged he also brought homework to California.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I probably won\u2019t,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Dunlap quickly regained the lead, lost it again and battled Burns down the stretch, even pulling away with a birdie on the 16th.<\/p>\n<p>And then Burns was the one who flinched, completely missing the island&#39;s famous green on the 17th and hitting the water.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t want to win by hitting in the water,\u201d Dunlap said.  &#8220;I wanted to win by making four birdies on the last four holes. But unfortunately, that&#39;s golf. I did it several times.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><i>Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amateur Nick Dunlap, 20, wins PGA Tour&#8217;s The American Express\u060c LA QUINTA, Calif. &#8212; Nick Dunlap doesn&#39;t possess false confidence and he doesn&#39;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&#39;s first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9573,5919,9574,7113,7356,6011,6012,1536],"class_list":["post-21172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-sports","tag-amateur","tag-american","tag-dunlap","tag-express","tag-nick","tag-pga","tag-tours","tag-wins"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21174,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21172\/revisions\/21174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}