Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Dunlap’s historic feat had golf fans dumbfounded as the 20-year-old did the impossible at the American Express.
Nick Dunlap did something on the PGA Tour that hasn’t happened in over 30 years. The amateur won The American Express by one shot to become the first non-pro since Phil Mickelson to accomplish this feat in 1991.
Even more impressive, he is the youngest amateur to win on Tour since 1910.
He handled the pressure like a seasoned veteran and didn’t let a hiccup on the 7th or his six-foot par putt on 18 affect him. Dunlap had ice in his veins as he made history.
Golf fans couldn’t believe their eyes as they watched this 20-year-old Alabama sophomore beat out some veteran players.
The reactions to his victory put into perspective how incredible it was to watch. One of the best came from his Alabama teammates as they went nuts on the team bus when the putt dropped.
“OH MY GOD HE DID IT. NICK DUNLAP, I LOVE YOU. RMFT,” teammate Canon Claycomb wrote on Twitter.
Golf journalist Claire Rogers referenced Jason Kelce at Sunday’s Chiefs-Bills game after his brother found the end zone yet again.
Kyle Porter, a CBS sports reporter, put it perfectly. It’s magical.
I think a lot of people have been disillusioned with pro golf for a lot of reasons over the last few years.
But Nick Dunlap walking around in tears with his hands on his head in disbelief over winning on the Tour as an amateur is a reminder of why a lot of us have fallen in…
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) January 22, 2024
If Dunlap doesn’t turn pro after this win, could we see something special with American Express?
An American Express NLI deal with Nick Dunlap is coming soon
— @wdotnewell (@wdotnewell) January 22, 2024
Nick Dunlap: TURN PRO TONIGHT
Any other advice would be insane!
Congratulations on an historic win!
— Jim McLean Golf (@McLeanGolf) January 22, 2024
Regardless of what he decides to do with his future, Dunlap has put his name in the history books. It’s extremely rare for an amateur to make the cut at a PGA Tour event, much less win the entire thing.
Last year, golf fans got Sam Bennett from Texas A&M at the Masters. Bennett finished T16 at Augusta National but played in that final group on Sunday. Now, here is Dunlap, doing things that Tiger Woods didn’t even accomplish. He and Woods both won the U.S. Junior Am and the U.S. Amateur, but the Big Cat didn’t win on Tour as an amateur.
Golf fans want more of Dunlap, and maybe they’ll get it if the 20-year-old chooses to turn pro.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
