LA QUINTA, Calif. – Alabama Crimson Tide sophomore Nick Dunlap of Huntsville did something Sunday that hasn’t been seen on the Professional Golf Association Tour in over three decades – win as an amateur.
Dunlap won the 2024 The American Express in the Coachella Valley by holding off some late charges to earn the $1,512,000 first-place check he won’t be able to cash because he’s an amateur and can’t retroactively turn professional.
Dunlap, 20, is the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and entered the tournament on a sponsor’s exemption. He shot a third-round 60 to take a three-shot lead, lost it on the first nine Sunday and then recovered. He sank a six-foot putt to clinch the trophy by one stroke over Christiaan Bezuidenhout to become the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
“It’s so cool,” Dunlap, who was homeschooled while cobbling together a glittering resume in his teens, said afterward. “I told (playing partner Sam Burns), it is so cool to be out here and experience this as an amateur. Whether I had made that or missed that (final putt), if you would have told me that, you know, come Wednesday night I would have a putt to win this golf tournament, I wouldn’t believe you.”
Bezuidenhout, a veteran tour player from South Africa, called his colleague’s win, “amazing.’’
“Actually, I heard his name last year when he won the U.S. Amateur,’’ he said. “He’s obviously a hell of a player, and congrats to him. Hopefully he can be out on the PGA Tour soon, and we all can get to play with him.”
His parents, other family members, friends and coaches flew to California when it became clear the 20-year old was in contention. He became the second youngest winner on the PGA Tour in 90 years.
In a story by the Palm Beach Desert Sun, Crimson Tide coach Jay Seawell said he felt “jubilation’’ as Dunlap accepted the trophy.
“When you’ve known a young man for a long time and know this is what he dreamed of when he was 11 years old and he’d tell you that himself, I’ve been emotional all day,” he said. “Some people are built differently. He’s won everywhere he’s been, and you saw it today. He made a double (bogey) on seven and he could have folded the tent right there, but he didn’t.
“He kept playing and he didn’t fold, so I was really proud of that. This wasn’t too big for him. It was new to him, but it wasn’t too big for him.”
Dunlap’s 60 on Saturday tied for the lowest round on the PGA Tour by an amateur since Patrick Cantlay in 2001.
In addition to holding the U.S. Amateur title, he won the U.S. Junior Amateur. The only other golfer to pull off that double-double is Tiger Woods. Dunlap is the lone player to have ever won those two events and also win on the PGA Tour as an amateur.
Dunlap will have to settle for the trophy he won at the PGA West’s Stadium Course, because, as an amateur, he’s not allowed to accept compensation. By rules, Dunlap can’t retroactively declare to become professional and accept the money. The first-place money goes back into the prizes that are paid out.
However, the victory entitles Dunlap, if he chooses to turn pro, to entries in the Masters, the PGA Championship, the Players Championship and, most notably, a two-year tour exemption.
The Associated Press reported Dunlap and his parents, Jim and Charlene, said they hadn’t immediately decided what he’ll do next.
“I would say I have had a little bit of experience leading golf tournaments, but nothing to this extent,” Dunlap said. “Obviously, the PGA Tour’s extremely different. So that whole process was different for me, and whether it had turned out the way I was looking or not, I was just going to try to learn from it.”
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