PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Two weeks ago, Nick Dunlap couldn't have imagined that he would be standing on Pebble Beach's iconic 18th tee on Wednesday and playing a practice round ahead of his first appearance on the PGA Tour as a professional.
“I remember playing this place in the PGA Tour PlayStation game, so to be here and see it for the first time is cool,” Dunlap said in his press conference. “It's better than being in class.”
Since shooting 29 under par and winning the American Express tournament two weeks ago to become the fifth amateur to win a PGA Tour event since 1940 and the first since Phil Mickelson in 1991, Dunlap's life has been a whirlwind.
“I've had numerous moments where you have to take it all in, it's overwhelming,” Dunlap said. “But I've also dreamed of doing this my whole life and playing golf on the PGA Tour. To finally be here and be able to do it at 20 years old is great.”
Although he couldn't accept the $1.5 million check for his victory at the Amex, the historic win gave Dunlap tour status through 2026, entry to the flagship event at Pebble Beach, as well as a spot in the Masters. , the PGA Championship. and the US Open. That is, if he decided to give up his amateur status in Alabama.
Following the victory, Dunlap withdrew from the Farmers Invitational at Torrey Pines and returned to Tuscaloosa. Dunlap said Wednesday that he knew that after the win he would probably take the opportunity to turn pro, but he wanted to spend some time talking to his family, friends, teammates and coaches about the decision. A week ago, Dunlap officially announced at a press conference that he would turn pro and leave Alabama. He called it “the easiest and hardest decision I've ever had to make.”
While Dunlap said his expectation was to make it to the PGA Tour through PGA Tour U (the newly instituted system allows elite college players to earn a spot on the tour immediately upon graduation), the victory at Amex changed everything.
“I didn't expect to go out and win,” Dunlap said Wednesday. “I thought I would have a couple of months to figure out my path and discover everything that's outside of professional golf because now I'm learning how much there is outside of that. But no, doing it all in six days has been a little bit much, but it's been very fun”.
Suddenly, Dunlap was faced with a life-changing decision, and before he knew it, he was playing in a practice round at Pebble Beach with the no. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.
“Scottie and Sam were amazing,” Dunlap said. “I've reached out to them numerous times over the last week just to see what their advice is on certain things and their opinions on some of the things I'm doing in the future.”
As Dunlap explained, there is still a lot to determine: whether he will continue to try to take classes or just drop them during the semester, what his playing schedule will be before the Masters and even who his caddie will be, who is working full time, I will in the future.
“We're figuring all that out as we speak,” Dunlap said.
This week, however, everything else will take a backseat as Dunlap attempts to continue his successful entry into the world of professional golf with another strong performance in an event featuring most of the world's best players. After all, this is his job now.
