“Pressure is a privilege,” said the lad after the second round of the American Express. Nick Dunlap did not hide that he was anxious, that his nerves were affecting him in this second round. But the procession was inside and outside the sensations were quite different: seven under on the day, -15 overall and third position two shots off the leader, Sam Burns. Just what he wanted.
The sophomore from the University of Alabama is in a similar situation to Sam Bennett in the last Masters, when the then amateur was in the top 3 overall and finished sixteenth. Dunlap’s early and successful career has drawn many eyes to him.
He scored a 59 when he was 12 years old at the Highland Golf Club in Birmingham (Alabama). Today he is the third best amateur in the world, only behind Gordon Sargent and Christo Lamprecht. Dunlap beat the former on his way to victory in the US Amateur last summer at Cherry Hills. With this victory, he joined Tiger Woods as the only golfers to win both the US Amateur and the US Junior Amateur. Take note. Matching a record of the Tiger…
In Palm Springs he also has within 36 holes another great story. The 20-year-old is trying to become the first amateur to win a PGA Tour tournament since Phil Mickelson at the Northern Telecom Open in 1991. A victory would give Dunlap a card on the American Circuit.
In a career full of great achievements, this one by Mickelson has stood the test of time for more than three decades. On January 13, 1991, the left-hander who was then 20 years old (the same age as Dunlap now) won this event in Arizona and remains the last amateur to win a PGA Tour event by defeating Tom Purtzer and Bob Tway by one.
Lefty is not alone on this list of amateur champions of an American tour event. There are six more: Fred Haas (Memphis Invitational in 1945), Cary Middlecoff (North and South Open in 1945), Frank Strahanan (Durham War Bond in 1945 and Kansas City Invitational and Forth Worth Invitational in 1946, and Miami Open in 1948), Gene Littler (San Diego Open in 1954), Doug Sanders (Canadian Open in 1956) and Scott Verplank (Western Open in 1985). Dunlap, therefore, could be the eighth of this select group.
In the DP World Tour there have only been three cases of amateurs who have won professional tournaments. The first was the Malaga-born Pablo Martín Benavides (Open de Portugal in 2007) and he was followed by Danny Lee (Johhnie Walker Classic in 2009) and Shane Lowry (Open de Ireland in 2009).
For now, with the nerves inside, Dunlap is enjoying this moment: “I’ve gone from travelling in the back of a Sprinter van in Alabama to driving a BMW X5 all week,” he jokes. The sophomore arrived at the American Express with 11 points in the PGA Tour University Accelerated program, which provides a direct path to the Circuit for high-performing students who dominate college golf. Its first successful graduate was Sargent, who reached the 20-point threshold in October, giving him the option to accept PGA Tour membership after the NCAA Final in 2024.
Assuming Dunlap makes the cut in Palm Springs (he is seven strokes above the cut), he will earn his twelfth point. If he finishes in the top 20, he will get another. He can earn more at next week’s Farmers, which he will play with a sponsor exemption. Then, Dunlap will earn a point for playing the Masters, another for the US Open and one more for the Open. A cut in any of these Majors brings more points, as do end-of-season college awards. In short, getting the Tour card is becoming a matter of when, not if, for Dunlap. It could come tomorrow, next week, this summer or next year. But it’s on its way…
