Nick Dunlap made history at The American Express by becoming the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
The University of Alabama sophomore began the final round at La Quinta with a three-shot lead over Sam Burns. It ended up being much tighter, with Dunlap needing to hold his nerve to hole his six-foot putt on the 18th to avoid a playoff with Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
After rolling the ball into the hole, he admitted afterwards he'd given plenty of thought to the possibility of winning. He said: “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. I'm so happy to be standing here.
"Honestly, I felt the script today was already written. I was going to go give it everything I had. Whether that's I shoot 75 or 65 or 70, I just was going to give it everything I had."
He also explained he had never experienced the emotion that came with victory. "Nothing like I had ever felt. It's so cool," he said. "I told Sam numerous times, like, it is so cool to be out here and experience this as an amateur.
“Whether I had made that or missed that, if you had told me on Wednesday night I would have a putt to win this golf tournament, I wouldn't have believed you.”
Dunlap’s nerves understandably showed on the final hole with a wayward tee shot that went towards the crowd to the right of the fairway. He also revealed that all the while, he thought he had a bigger lead over his rivals.
He explained: “I thought I had a two-shot lead. That's kind of - our line was almost right of the green. It's like, just don't put this in the water, kind of. But, no, then, obviously, I think I hit somebody. I'm sorry. I don't know who that was. But got a great break and was able to give myself a good look.”
Dunlap also credited his caddie Hunter Hamrick for helping him see out the victory with his all-important final putt. He said: “I just, I got to give Hunter credit. Man, he just, he was so calm all day, his attitude never changed. Just kind of, his last thing is, like, Man, this is inside left, you made a million of these putts before, it's just another one.”
As well as the prestige of becoming the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Mickelson claimed the Northern Telecom Open title 33 years ago, there are potentially life-changing perks coming Dunlap’s way.
If he opts to turn pro and takes up PGA Tour membership, he will now be eligible for each of the lucrative signature events remaining on the Tour this season, as well as The Sentry in 2025.
He has also now secured a spot at the PGA Championship and The Masters, although if he leaves the amateur game behind, he’ll give up his exemptions to play at the US Open and The Open, which he earned after winning the 2023 US Amateur.
While Dunlap will no doubt mull over his options in the coming days, for now, he can bask in the glory of his historic achievement.
