Nick Dunlap becomes first amateur to win on PGA Tour since 1991 – but does not get £1.17m cheque
Nick Dunlap, a 20-year old student from the University of Alabama, made golfing history on Sunday when he became the first amateur player in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour.
But Dunlap’s victory in the American Express tournament in La Quinta, California came with a catch – he is not allowed to cash the $1.5 million (£1.17 million) winner’s cheque.
The winner’s purse will instead go straight to the runner-up, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who Dunlap beat by one stroke after getting up and down for par at the 72nd hole at the PGA West Pete Dye Stadium Course.
Dunlap, who hails from Huntsville, Alabama, can console himself with the fact that he has joined a very select group of golfers.
Not since Phil Mickelson won the Tucson Open in 1991 – also as a 20 year-old student, at Arizona State – has an amateur player won on the PGA Tour.
A champion at every level.
Inside the rise of Nick Dunlap 📈— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 22, 2024
Dunlap joined Mickelson and Scott Verplank (1985 Western Open) to become only the seventh amateur winner on the PGA Tour since 1945, and the third since 1957. He is also the second-youngest tour winner in 90 years, behind Jordan Spieth who won the 2013 John Deere Classic as a 19-year-old.
“Honestly, I felt the script today was already written,” Dunlap said after nailing his final putt. “I was going to give it everything I had. Whether that was a 75 or 65 or 70, I just was going to give it everything I had.”
He added: “It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt. It was so cool to be out here and experience this as an amateur. Whether I had made that or missed that, if you would have told me on Wednesday night I would have a putt to win this golf tournament, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Dunlap is getting used to joining rarefied company. Last year he became the first player since Tiger Woods, and only the second ever, to claim both the US Junior Amateur and US Amateur titles.
And while this win may not have made him an overnight millionaire, he will be able cash in another way thanks to the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deal that ensures that participating US college athletes are compensated for their identity and ability to market products and services.
Dunlap joked on Saturday, after an extraordinary third round 60 featuring 10 birdies and an eagle, that it would be enough to take his girlfriend to Ruth’s Chris steakhouse for dinner. After clinging on on Sunday, recovering from an early double bogey to edge out playing partner Sam Burns and Bezuidenhout, he can probably afford to push the boat out even further.
The bigger question is whether Dunlap now chooses to turn professional. This victory gives him a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and qualifies him for The Players Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship.
The 20 year-old said he was in no rush to decide on his future.
“I don’t know,” Dunlap told PGA Tour Radio about the possibility of leaving Alabama early. “I have to take a second to let what just happened sink in a little bit. That’s a decision that’s not just about me. It affects a lot of people, and obviously I’m going to try to enjoy this.”
Whatever Dunlap decides, he has already convinced plenty of seasoned tour pros that he has what it takes.
Bezuidenhout was (perhaps unsurprisingly given he took home the winner’s purse) magnanimous in defeat. “It’s amazing,” Bezuidenhout said. “Actually, I heard his name last year when he won the US Amateur. Yeah, he’s obviously a hell of a player and congrats to him and hopefully he can be out on the PGA Tour soon, and we all can get to play with him”.
Justin Thomas, who joked on Saturday that he “didn’t think I was gonna have to deal with a freaking college kid shooting 60 today” called Dunlap a “stud”.
The 20 year-old also won a vote of confidence from the last amateur to win on the PGA Tour. “This generation of Aberg, Surratt, Sargent, Dunlap, and M.W. Lee are the youngest and most talented group of players I’ve seen and will be a force for decades,” tweeted Phil Mickelson on Saturday evening.
Dunlap will get the chance to live up to that prediction in a matter of days. He has already signed up to this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
