It’s not a matter of masochism or a taste for carnage on a golf course, but a tournament loses some charm when tranquillity reigns on almost all the holes of the tournament, on most of the 54 that make up this American Express (Nicklaus Tournament, La Quinta and Stadium Course). Between the US Open and the Palm Springs event, there’s not a world, but an ocean. Anyway, Kevin Kisner (+5) and Tyson Alexander (+6), second last and last classified after the second round, won’t think the same.
Neither will Sam Burns (-17). The five-time PGA Tour winner had breakfast in the Californian desert, the Eden of birdie and eagle, the best round of his career. A fabulous 61 (-11) that brought him closer to that 59 so coveted by professionals and so rarely achieved. The golfer from Louisiana said it only crossed his mind after the last of his string of joys (eagles at 4 and 11 and birdies at 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15 and 16) at the Nicklaus Tournament. He has never crossed that figure of less than 60 and he considered it on the 17th tee, although he already stood and closed with two pars that propelled him to the top of the leaderboard. Davis Thompson, last year, reached the halfway point of the Coachella Valley tournament with -18 and was defeated by Jon Rahm, who added -16 after 36 holes. So anyone from the pack chasing Burns can unseat him this Saturday, when the cut is closed, and Sunday.
No one else pointed out the double digit on their second tournament card (as veterans Zach Johnson and Alex Noren did at the premiere) and the closest was Michael Kim (-16), who on the same ground as Burns scored nine less with the luxury of even scoring a bogey on another spectacular day in the area: good temperature and no wind. A putting green, as Rahm once defined it…
Yes, the -8s proliferated, among them that of K. H. Lee (-15), third alone after another walk in the clouds at the Nicklaus Tournament. Or that of Eric Cole (-14), born precisely in Palm Springs 35 years ago, who at La Quinta packed four birdies on the first nine and as many on the second. The PGA Tour rookie in 2023 is tied with some hungry wolves lurking around the top positions: Patrick Cantlay, Si Woo Kim (champion in 2021), Noren, Adam Hadwin and Christiaan Bezuindenhout.
No fear for the college sophomore.
Nick Dunlap heads to the weekend just two shots off the lead @TheAmExGolf. pic.twitter.com/IMrubrFgg4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 19, 2024
Who broke out of that equation was the sensation of the tournament. Nick Dunlap (-15), the only amateur competing with professionals at the American Express after receiving an invitation from the organizer, came endorsed by his sensational amateur record, being the only one in history along with Tiger Woods to win the US Junior and the US Amateur. Now he can put another pike in Flanders, as the last amateur to win a PGA Tour tournament was a certain Phil Mickelson in 1991, the Northern Telecom Open in Tucson, which he took when he was a junior at Arizona State. Dunlap is third two strokes behind Burns after a brutal start at the Stadium Course (six birdies in nine holes) and a great success on the 18th after a second shot. If the boy from Alabama withstands the pressure in the third round, he can go out to have fun, and to win, on Sunday.
Zach Johnson (-13) has not lost face to the tournament although the -3 after yesterday’s sensational -10 feels a bit short and at his side, brushing the top ten, walk the rookies Min Woo Lee, who wants his name to start sounding strong in the United States, and Alexander Bjork, coming from the DP World Tour. Among the top 20 we already find Justin Thomas (-12) and a stroke behind the world’s Number One, Scottie Scheffler (-11), a danger with legs with so much still to play.
Those who have a hard time making the cut this Saturday are Matt Wallace (-5), Tom Kim (-4), Robert MacIntyre (-4) and Billy Horschel (-4). The sieve should be around -12 in this paradise of low rounds.
