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Nick Dunlap

Nicholas Dunlap[4] (born December 23, 2003) is an American professional golfer. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021 and the U.S. Amateur in 2023.[5] With his victory at The American Express in 2024, Dunlap became the first amateur in 33 years to win a PGA Tour tournament.[6] He subsequently turned professional, ending his amateur career ranked number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Nick Dunlap
Personal information
Full nameNicholas Dunlap
Born (2003-12-23) December 23, 2003 (age 20)
Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceTuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.[2]
Career
CollegeUniversity of Alabama
Turned professional2024
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins2
Highest ranking30 (October 20, 2024)[3]
(as of November 17, 2024)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
European Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 2024
PGA ChampionshipCUT: 2024
U.S. OpenCUT: 2022, 2023, 2024
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Early life

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Born on December 23, 2003, to parents Charlene and Jim Dunlap in Huntsville, Alabama,[1] Dunlap is an only child.[7] The family briefly moved to Greenville, South Carolina before Dunlap's freshman year of high school, and he was then homeschooled when they returned to Alabama.[8]

Dunlap displayed talent in golf from a young age at his home club, Greystone Golf & Country Club. Brian Speakman, lead instructor at Greystone, recalled in 2021 that Dunlap was "extremely athletic" and also a "pretty high-level" baseball and football player. He was a finalist in the NFL's Punt, Pass, and Kick competition, in 2013.[9][10] When he was 12, Dunlap shot a round of 59 at Highland Park Golf Course in Birmingham, Alabama, during a junior tournament which he won by 13 strokes.[11]

Amateur career

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Dunlap won the Alabama State Junior Championship in 2018.[12] He was runner-up in the 14-18 division of the 2020 Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship,[13] the 2021 Junior Players Championship,[14] and the 2021 Boy's Junior PGA Championship.[15] He won the 2021 Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship,[16] the 2021 American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Polo Golf Junior Classic,[17] and the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur, defeating Cohen Trolio, 3 and 2, in the final.[18] This win made Dunlap the first native of Alabama to claim the U.S. Junior Amateur title, and granted him an exemption to the 2022 U.S. Open.[19] He was subsequently named the 2021 AJGA Boys Golfer of the Year.[20]

Ranked as the No. 1 junior golfer in the class of 2022 according to Golfweek, Dunlap committed to the University of Alabama to study finance and play for the Alabama Crimson Tide golf team.[1] He is a lifelong Alabama fan,[21] and had known Alabama's golf coach Jay Seawell since the age of 10.[22] Dunlap battled with tendonitis in his left wrist during his freshman season.[8] He claimed his first individual collegiate win at the Linger Longer Invitational in March 2023.[23] He then won the Northeast Amateur in June,[24] and the North and South Amateur in July.[25]

Dunlap won the U.S. Amateur in August 2023. He was five over par through his first seven holes of the stroke play portion, but rallied to make the cut. He defeated Gordon Sargent in the first round of the match play en route to reaching the final, where he beat Neal Shipley, 4 and 3, to win the title. This made Dunlap the second golfer in history to win both the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur championships, after Tiger Woods.[26] Following his U.S. Amateur victory, Dunlap represented the United States team at the 2023 Walker Cup and the 2023 Eisenhower Trophy. The United States won both titles, and Dunlap was the runner-up in the individual stroke play at the 2023 Eisenhower Trophy.[27]

In January 2024, Dunlap received a sponsor exemption to play in The American Express on the PGA Tour. In the third round, he shot a 12-under 60, tying Patrick Cantlay's record for the lowest round by an amateur on the PGA Tour. This gave Dunlap a three-shot lead heading into the final round.[28] Dunlap shot 2-under in the final round to win the tournament by one stroke. He became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson won the Tucson Open in 1991.[29] At 20 years and 29 days old, Dunlap also became the second-youngest winner on the PGA Tour in the past 90 years, behind Jordan Spieth who won at 19 years and 352 days old,[30] and he is the first amateur player to have won the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur, and a PGA Tour event.[31] Due to his amateur status, Dunlap was ineligible for the winner's prize money of $1,512,000, which instead went to runner-up Christiaan Bezuidenhout.[32] The win moved Dunlap from third to first in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, which takes into account the performance of amateurs in both amateur and professional tournaments.[33][34]

Professional career

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The week after his American Express victory, Dunlap announced that he was turning professional and had accepted PGA Tour membership.[35] He struggled for form afterwards, and stated he had difficulty adapting to life as a professional golfer. In his first six months, he recorded only one top-10 finish, and missed the cut at each of the three major championships he played.[36] In July 2024, Dunlap recorded his second PGA Tour win and his first as a professional at the Barracuda Championship, an opposite field event to The Open Championship. Dunlap was exempt into the Open due to his win at the 2023 U.S. Amateur, but forfeited the exemption by turning professional. With the win, Dunlap became the first player in PGA Tour history to win in the same season as both an amateur and as a professional.[37]

Amateur wins

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Source:[38]

Professional wins (2)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Jan 21, 2024 The American Express
(as an amateur) 		−29 (64-65-60-70=259) 1 stroke South Africa  Christiaan Bezuidenhout
2 Jul 21, 2024 Barracuda Championship1 49 pts (12-7-11-19=49) 2 points United States  Vince Whaley

1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Results in major championships

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Tournament 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament CUT
PGA Championship CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

U.S. national team appearances

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Amateur

Sources:[38][39][40][41]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Nick Dunlap". Alabama Crimson Tide. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "Nick Dunlap PGA TOUR Bio". www.pgatour.com. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  3. ^ "Week 42 2024 Ending 20 Oct 2024" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "Nicholas Dunlap". AJGA. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Colgan, James (January 20, 2024). "'Can you spell N-I-L?': Amateur on brink of unthinkable PGA Tour win". Golf Magazine. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Nick Dunlap makes history, becomes first amateur to win on PGA Tour in 33 years". NBC Sports. January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Bamberger, Michael (January 22, 2024). "In stunning win, Nick Dunlap showed his best asset might be between his ears". Golf Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Romine, Brentley (September 3, 2023). "Sargent, Dunlap: Two boys from Birmingham turned Walker Cup superstars". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Holland, Harrison (August 4, 2021). "Nick Dunlap's Summer of Success is his Formal Introduction to the World of Golf". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "Titans Recognize Punt, Pass & Kick Champs". www.tennesseetitans.com. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "Kid's got style: 12-year-old Nick Dunlap shoots 59 at Highland Park Golf Course". ABC 33/40. June 15, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  12. ^ "Nick Dunlap Fires Final Round 66 to Win Alabama Boys State Junior". www.alabamagolf.org. July 26, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  13. ^ "Polo Ralph Lauren #InspiredPerformances: November 20, 2020". AJGA. November 20, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  14. ^ Smits, Garry (September 6, 2021). "Sizzling on the Stadium: Hot streak lifts Benjamin James to victory in 15th Junior Players". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  15. ^ "Nick Dunlap of Huntsville continues hot play". Alabama Golf News. July 17, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  16. ^ "Dustin Johnson World Junior: Nicholas Dunlap overcomes late double; Jacqueline Putrino drains winning birdie putt". Golfweek. March 8, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  17. ^ "Dunlap, Romero win 42nd Polo Golf Junior Classic". AJGA. July 2, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  18. ^ Ryan, Shane (July 24, 2021). "Nick Dunlap embraces the pressure to win U.S. Junior Amateur". Golf Digest. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Hernandez, Hailey (October 28, 2021). "2021 Rolex Junior Players of the Year announced". AJGA. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  20. ^ Herrington, Ryan (October 28, 2021). "Nicholas Dunlap, Megha Ganne win 2021 AJGA Rolex Players of the Year in unique ways". Golf Digest. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  21. ^ Schlabach, Mark (January 22, 2024). "Amateur Nick Dunlap WDs from PGA Tour event to mull pro future". ABC News. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  22. ^ Shedloski, Dave (January 21, 2024). "Nick Dunlap stood tallest in the biggest moments to become the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event in 33 years". Golf Digest. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  23. ^ Balenger, Nick (March 22, 2023). "Alabama men's golf wins Linger Longer Invitational team title". The Crimson White. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  24. ^ Jourdan, Cameron (June 24, 2023). "Alabama's Nick Dunlap comes from behind to win 2023 Northeast Amateur title". Golfweek. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  25. ^ Jourdan, Cameron (July 2, 2023). "Nick Dunlap wins again, this time at 123rd North & South Amateur at Pinehurst". Golfweek. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  26. ^ Durando, Bennett (August 20, 2023). "Nick Dunlap wins U.S. Amateur Golf Championship by embracing the history he hoped to share with Tiger Woods". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  27. ^ "2023 Eisenhower Trophy". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  28. ^ Leonard, Tod (January 20, 2024). "After a 59 watch, Alabama amateur Nick Dunlap can match history with PGA Tour win". Golf Digest. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  29. ^ "Dunlap 1st amateur winner on PGA Tour since '91". ESPN. January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  30. ^ Henson, Steve (January 22, 2024). "Why a 20-year-old golfer can't collect $1.5-million prize after PGA Tour win in SoCal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  31. ^ Powers, Shad (January 22, 2024). "'Built different': Family, coaches not surprised by Nick Dunlap's American Express win". Golfweek. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  32. ^ "'Just the beginning': 20yo American Nick Dunlap in tears after epic 114-year first". Fox Sports. January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  33. ^ "Dunlap takes Express lane to world number one". World Amateur Golf Ranking. January 24, 2024.
  34. ^ "Goal achieved: Nick Dunlap takes over top spot as No. 1-ranked amateur". NBC Sports. January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  35. ^ "The American Express winner Nick Dunlap turning professional". PGA Tour. January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  36. ^ Hirsh, Jack (July 22, 2024). "Struggling rookie credits this for historic second PGA Tour win". Golf Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  37. ^ Bolton, Rob (July 21, 2024). "Points and payouts: Nick Dunlap earns 300 FedExCup points, $720k at Barracuda". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  38. ^ a b "Nick Dunlap". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  39. ^ "2023 WATC Abu Dhabi, UAE". International Golf Federation. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  40. ^ Strege, John (October 21, 2023). "David Ford's closing 64 leads U.S. to victory in the World Amateur Team Championship". Golf Digest. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  41. ^ "Walker Cup 2023: USA beat Great Britain & Ireland to win at St Andrews". BBC Sport. September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
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