LA QUINTA, Calif. — Nick Dunlap does not possess false confidence and does not project a preternatural calm. The University of Alabama sophomore fully understood how wild it was to fend off a field of pros Sunday as he attempted to become the PGA Tour's first amateur winner in 33 years.
“I'm more nervous than 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 general unlikelihood of his week at The American Express.
Dunlap came away with a victory that could herald the arrival of a major golf talent, and one who may not even need to finish the task he brought with him to the West Coast.
Dunlap swallowed his nerves one last time to make a 6-foot par putt on the final hole, holding on for a 1-stroke victory over Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
“Everyone has doubts,” Dunlap said. “I probably had a thousand different scenarios in my head about how today was going to go, and nothing went the way I expected. I think that was the interesting part. That's golf.”
The reigning U.S. Amateur champion is the tour's first amateur winner 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 praise Dunlap, one of many publications around the golf world to praise the feat, including some from Dunlap's own Crimson Tide teammates.
“What an impressive performance by Nick Dunlap,” Mickelson wrote. “Congratulations on an incredible victory. This is just the beginning.”
What an impressive performance by Nick Dunlap. Congratulations on an incredible victory. This is just the beginning 👍👍
—Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) January 22, 2024
What an amazing achievement by @NickDunlap62 Stellar play and way to thrive under pressure to join a very selective group of players to win PGA Tour events as an amateur! Great future ahead of this great talent! Congratulations.
— Jon Rahm Rodríguez (@JonRahmOfficial) January 22, 2024
PANDEMONIUM!
@NickDunlap62The winning moment from inside the @AlabamaMGolf team bus! pic.twitter.com/sCBXCobMnr– PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 22, 2024
Dunlap, the only amateur in the 156-player field in the tournament long known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic, took a 3-stroke lead with a sizzling 60 – 12 under par in the third round. He lost that lead Sunday on the front nine on the Stadium Course at PGA West, but played with the stamina of a seasoned veteran down the stretch, capped by his recovery of two missed shots on the 18th hole for the winning par.
“Nothing like I've ever felt,” Dunlap said. “It was great to be here and experience this as a fan. Whether I made it or missed it [last putt]if you had told me [on] “Wednesday night I would make a putt to win this golf tournament, you wouldn't believe it.”
After a day of back-and-forth competition, Dunlap and Sam Burns were tied for the lead when Burns hit his tee shot into the water and made double bogey on the 17th. Dunlap thought he had a 2-stroke lead when he arrived to the 18th, because he and his caddie did not check the leaderboard or see Bezuidenhout's birdie moments before.
Dunlap's tee shot then landed high in the rough, and his second shot could have hit a spectator before it had a lucky roll from the rough into a grassy drainage area off the green.
Dunlap went to 6 feet with his third shot and celebrated the title par putt with hugs from his parents, his girlfriend and his college coach, Jay Seawell, who flew across the country over the weekend to see him in person.
He finished with a 70 – his worst round of the week by far – to finish at 29-under 259 and break the tournament's scoring record as a 72-hole event. He is also the youngest winner in the history of the event and became the youngest amateur to win on the tour since 1910.
Dunlap and Tiger Woods are the only players to have won both the US Amateur and the US Junior Amateur. While Dunlap received the celebration Sunday for one of the most impressive performances in recent golf history, he does not receive the $1.5 million first-place prize, which goes to Bezuidenhout after the South African's final-round 65. .
Dunlap also doesn't get the 500 FedEx Cup points, but his rewards are still ample. If he stays in Alabama, he will reach the Masters, US Open and British Open as a US Amateur champion. If he turns professional and joins the PGA Tour, he will still be able to participate in the Masters and US Open, along with the seven remaining events of the tour, valued at $20 million.
“It's amazing,” Bezuidenhout said of Dunlap's achievement. “Actually, I heard his name last year when he won the US Amateur. He's obviously a great player and I congratulate him. Hopefully, he'll be on the PGA Tour soon and we'll all be able to play with him.” “.
Dunlap and his parents said they had not immediately decided what he will do next, but his meteoric career reached another height in the Coachella Valley.
“I have no idea, I really don't,” Dunlap said of his future. “It's really cool to have that opportunity in the first place. Starting this week, if you had said, 'Hey, in five days you'll have a PGA Tour card, or a two-year opportunity,' I would have told you. “I've looked askance. But that'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 I need to have with a lot of people before I make that decision.”
Dunlap was already planning to play at Torrey Pines next week on a sponsor exemption, but acknowledged he also brought homework to California.
“I probably won't though,” he said with a smile.
Dunlap needed toughness to overcome his nerves in his final round. His 3-stroke lead suddenly vanished on the seventh when he put his tee shot in the water and made double bogey while Burns birdied.
Dunlap quickly regained the lead, lost it again and battled Burns down the stretch, tying with a birdie on the 16th.
And then Burns was the one who shook, completely avoiding the island's famous green on the 17th and hitting the water.
“I didn't want to win if he hit it in the water,” Dunlap said. “I wanted to win by making four birdies in the last four holes. But unfortunately, that's golf. I've done it numerous times.”
Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Yu tied for third place at 27 under par. Burns led the event after two rounds with a career-high 61, and was tied with two holes left on Sunday before hitting the water on each of his final two holes and making consecutive double bogeys, finishing in a tie. for sixth.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
