2023 U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap T8 at the Hero World Challenge
05 Dec 2024
by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Nick Dunlap Rankings
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Nick Dunlap (USGA Photo)
2023 U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap is T8 at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and four shots back of leader Cameron Young, who shot a first-round 8-under 64 to set the pace.
Dunlap shot 4-under 68 and recorded eight birdies and two bogeys. He was 7-under though 15 holes and only shot back of Young in solo second place, but a bogey on No. 16 and a double bogey on No. 18 saw him fall to 4-under.
Dunlap is playing his first two rounds with Sam Burns and will tee off his second round at 11:50 a.m. EST.
PREVIEW
While Nick Dunlap should be a junior at Alabama enjoying his winter break, he is instead in the Bahamas with the best golfers in the world for the ninth annual Hero World Challenge.
Dunlap will tee it up with eight members of the United States’ victorious 2024 Presidents Cup team (Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala, Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley, Sam Burns, and Brian Harman) and three members of the International team (Sungjae Im, Tom Kim and Jason Day) in the Bahamas.
"To be in the Bahamas when I should be a junior in college is unbelievable, and I definitely don't take it for granted," Dunlap told the PGA Tour on Tuesday.
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Dunlap hit the national headlines after winning the 2023 U.S. Amateur over Neal Shipley.
In January, Dunlap became an American Express champion, the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson conquered the Northern Telecom in Arizona in 1991.
He became the first amateur in three decades to win on the PGA TOUR and the second-youngest winner in the last 90 years. The only younger winner on Tour in the last 90 years was Jordan Spieth at the 2013 John Deere Classic.
Six months after winning the American Express as an amateur and subsequently turning professional, Dunlap won the 2024 Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood) in Truckee, Calif.,
In the Stableford format tournament, Dunlap put together a remarkable final round, recording 19 points in the final round to propel 27 spots up the leaderboard and chase down the leaders.
Dunlap had seven birdies and an eagle to shoot a 9-under 62. He recorded 12, 7, 11, and 19 points through the four rounds to get to 49 points and win by two shots over Vince Whaley.
Along with Tiger Woods, he is one of two men to win the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur. He broke a 33-year streak when he won on the PGA Tour as an amateur. That puts him next to Phil Mickelson, who won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open, and Tiger Woods in the record books.
In the summer of 2023, Dunlap also won the Northeast Amateur and the North & South Amateur, both Elite Amateur Series events. He was also a member of the winning Walker Cup team at St. Andrews.