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View Winners → Sports Jan 22, 2024
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Nick Dunlap on Sunday became the first amateur since 1991 to win a PGA Tour event, overcoming a double-bogey on the seventh hole and a drive into the rough on No. 18 to capture the $8.4 million The American Express by one stroke over South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
The 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Alabama began Sunday’s final round at the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta with a three-stroke lead over Sam Burns after shooting a 12-under 60 at La Quinta Country Club on Saturday — tying the PGA Tour record for the lowest round by an amateur and becoming the first amateur to reach a 54-hole lead or co-lead since Paul Dunne in the 2015 British Open.
Playing in the final group with Burns and Justin Thomas, Dunlap maintained his 3-stroke lead over Burns through six holes as both golfers birdied five holes and the par-5 fifth.
But that lead disappeared on the par-4 seventh hole as Dunlap put his tee shot in the water and missed a 13-foot, 1-inch putt for a bogey while Burns had a birdie to grab a share of the lead.
The double bogey ended Dunlap’s streak of 45 consecutive holes at par or better, which began on his 16th hole in Thursday’s first round, the seventh hole at the Nicklaus Tournament Course where Dunlap began his round on the 10th tee.
Dunlap regained sole possession of the lead on the next hole, birdieing the par-5 eighth hole.
Birdies by Burns on the par-4 10th hole, and by Kevin Yu, who was playing four groups behind Dunlap, on the par-4 14th hole, created a three-way tie for the lead.
Burns took a solo lead with a birdie on the par-5 11th hole. Yu grabbed a share of the lead by hitting a birdie par-5 16th hole while Burns parred the par-4 12th. Burns regained the solo lead with birdie on the par-4 13th hole.
Burns remained a stroke ahead of Dunlap after both birdied the par-4 14th hole. The birdie ended Dunlap’s streak of five consecutive pars following his birdie on the eighth hole.
Dunlap regained a share of the lead with a birdie on the par-5 16th hole, which Burns parred.
Dunlap became the solo leader when he parred the par-3 17th hole and Burns had a double bogey, hitting his tee shot into the water and having a 25-foot, 8-inch putt for bogey stop one inch past the hole.
Bezuidenhout, playing in the group in front of Dunlap, moved into second, one stroke off the lead, by birdieing the 18th hole, completing a round of 7-under 65.
Dunlap said after the round he did not know his lead had dropped to one shot as he prepared to play the 18th hole.
After hitting his drive 264 yards into the rough on the par-4, 435-yard 18th hole, 202 yards from the hole, Dunlap hit his second shot 194 yards into a grassy drainage area off the green, 75 feet, 5 inches from the hole.
Dunlap hit his third shot 78 feet, 6 inches, stopping 5 feet, 9 inches from the hole, then sank the putt for the victory.
“I told Hunter that we hadn’t faced much adversity yet, and hitting my ball in the water on 7, it tested everything I had,” Dunlap said, referring to Hunter Hamrick, the Crimson Tide’s assistant men’s golf coach in 2022 and 2023, who was his caddy for the tournament.
“I missed a couple putts that I thought I was going to make. I went over a scenario for today probably a million times and it’s never going to go how you plan, and it didn’t.”
Dunlap said coming down the stretch, he was “most nervous I’ve ever been, by far.”
“Just tried to breathe, but also look up and enjoy it a little bit,” Dunlap said. “I’ve said it numerous times today and yesterday and the past couple days, it’s a really cool spot to be in as an amateur, and just to be here and be given the opportunity to play, and I don’t ever want to forget today.”
Dunlap said when he received the sponsor’s exemption to play in The American Express, his goal was “just try to come here and learn.” He made three previous PGA Tour starts, missing the cuts in the 2022 and 2023 U.S. Opens and 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
“I hadn’t been on this stage much and I got paired with Wilson the first day, so it was a really comfortable pairing,” Dunlap said, referring to first-round playing partner Wilson Furr, who played for Alabama from 2017 to 2021.
Because he is an amateur, Dunlap will not receive the winner’s prize of $1.512 million, which will go to Bezuidenhout, the tournament’s runner-up at 28-under 260. Yu, Thomas and Xander Schauffele tied for third at 27-under 261.
Burns was among three golfers tied for sixth at 25-under 263 after also double bogeying the par-4 18th hole.
This was the ninth time since 1940 that an amateur won a PGA Tour event, and first since 1991, when Phil Mickelson won the Northern Telecom Open in Tucson, Arizona.
At 20 years, 29 days, Dunlap became the youngest amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Chick Evans won the 1910 Western Open when he was 20 years, 1 month, 15 days old. He also became the second-youngest winner on the PGA Tour since World War II behind Jordan Spieth, who was about two weeks from his 20th birthday when he won the 2013 John Deere Classic.
Dunlap became eligible to accept PGA Tour membership at any time during the 2024 season and receive a PGA Tour winner’s exemption, which includes membership on the PGA Tour through 2026, exemptions into all 2024 Signature Events, provided he turns pro before those events, the Masters and PGA Championship.
As the 2023 U.S. Amateur champion, Dunlap received exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. If he turns professional, he will be exempt into the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open as a PGA Tour winner.
Dunlap is next scheduled to play in the Farmers Insurance Open, set to begin Wednesday at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. He received a sponsor’s exemption for that tournament before the start of The American Express.
Dunlap said he has not made a decision about turning professional.
“That’s something that it doesn’t just affect me, it affects a lot of people, and that being my teammates and my coach,” Dunlap said. “They obviously probably didn’t think that I would ever consider turning pro after this week. I need to talk to them and a lot of other people before I make any kind of decision like that.”
