Amateur Nick Dunlap reduced to tears after creating PGA Tour history
Nick Dunlap, 20, became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991 at The American Express.
Nick Dunlap was reduced to tears after he became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
Scores of 64, 65, 60 and 70 gave Dunlap a total of 29-under at The American Express.
That marked a tournament record score.
Dunlap held a three-shot lead after 54 holes and battled it out in the final group at the Stadium Course alongside Sam Burns and Justin Thomas.
Thomas' challenge faded mid-way through the final round when he found a watery grave at the par-5 11th hole as he attempted to hunt down Dunlap.
Meanwhile Burns spurned his chances at the penultimate hole of the tournament by also finding the water at the par-3 17th.
Dunlap, supported by his girlfriend Isabella Ellis, was allowed to enjoy a somewhat stress-free stroll down the final hole.
Although he was made to sweat as he approached the green as South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout buried a birdie to move within a shot of the lead.
After spraying his second shot to the right of the green, Dunlap had to get up and down for par for the win.
He chipped his ball to around six feet but then held his nerve to drain the putt for par to land one of the most unlikely victories of all time.
Dunlap was priced at odds of 400/1 at the start of the week with the majority of bookmakers.
He now becomes the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since six-time major champion Mickelson triumphed at the Northern Telecom Open in Houston in 1991.
Dunlap, 20, is the reigning U.S. Amateur champion so already has entry into this year's Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship.
Should he now make the decision to turn professional he would be out of The Open at Royal Troon but would gain a spot into the U.S. PGA Championship.
Dunlap would also have starting berths in all of the bumper prize purse signature events on the PGA Tour for the remainder of 2024.
He would also be fully exempt on the Tour for two years.
Dunlap started somewhat nervously here and his round threatened to derail when he hit his tee shot into the water on the seventh hole.
He regrouped after making a double bogey six to turn in level par by bouncing back with an immediate birdie.
Birdies at 14 and 16 then saw him get himself back level, before he took the lead on the par-3 17th after playing partner Burns found the water.
What Dunlap said...
Final leaderboard:
N. Dunlap -29
C. Bezuidenhout -28
K. Yu, X. Schauffele, J. Thomas -27
M. Kim, A. Hadwin, S. Burns -25
K. Mitchell, B. Griffin -24
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