If you follow golf, you’ve probably heard or read about history being made earlier this week. Not since Phil Mickelson in 1991 has an amateur golfer won on the PGA Tour. But last Monday (Sunday US time), Nick Dunlap became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour.
His win at the American Express at PGA West, La Quinta, California added to the 20-year-old’s already stellar amateur career. Only two players have ever won both the US Junior Amateur and the US Amateur — Tiger Woods and Nick Dunlap. Now the Alabama sophomore has added another feather to his cap.
I re-watched last year’s US Amateur after watching highlights of his maiden PGA Tour win. Dunlap was long, and he could putt. Whenever he made mistakes, he didn’t seem to get rattled. It’s the same story with his final round at La Quinta.
Dunlap shot rounds of 64-65-60-70, for 29-under par, also breaking the previous record by one shot. While his third round 60 may look incredible, more unbelievable is the fact that he could’ve gotten a few strokes lower if not for a couple of makeable eagle putts that slid by.
He is THAT good when he is on. Oh, and he beat a field with some of the best players in the world. Major winners like Justin Thomas were at his heels for the most part of the week. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was also in the field along with players like Min Woo Lee who has been playing amazing. Xander Shauffele, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay are just some of the game’s best who all lost to Dunlap.
Dunlap’s final round 70 might seem like a letdown compared to his previous three rounds, but it was actually the most exciting. Leading at the start of the day, Dunlap made a wayward swing that resulted in a double bogey on hole 7.
Sleeping on the lead before the final round must have been agonizing. Losing the lead halfway thru the final round must have been demoralizing to most. But as Nick Dunlap’s dad, coach and friends said, Nick was “built different.” He definitely proved it by keeping his composure when most people expected him to fold.
I’m sure the fact that his final round was far from perfect made keeping his nerve under pressure and coming through to win all the more rewarding. Needing to make an up and down for par on the final hole, having a six-foot putt to win, and then draining it is every young golfer’s dream.
Dunlap’s win comes at a very interesting time. Before this rare golfing milestone, the biggest news was the huge sum reportedly offered to Jon Rahm to jump ship and join LIV. It seemed that, as in most areas of life and sport, money wins.
But here’s a college kid making history without winning a single cent in prize money. His name will be talked about for years, mentioned together with the greatest players. He will be part of golfing elite — all without any mention of dollars and cents.
That I think is worth far more than any large contract. Amateur golf, amateur sport, will always be its purest form. Dunlap’s performance serves as a reminder of how magical the game of golf can be, even without the millions of dollars.
