Nick Dunlap holds up the American Express Trophy after his record breaking victory. (Ray Acevedo/USA Today)
We headed into this weekend in the Coachella Valley with the strongest field of the young season thus far. Tour regulars like Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Jason Day, and Patrick Cantlay headlined an exciting weekend in PGA Golf. Among all these tour veterans, it was an amateur who stole the show.
20-year-old Huntsville, Alabama native and 2023 US Amateur Champion, Nick Dunlap teed it up for his second career Tour event. Representing the Alabama Crimson Tide, Dunlap had the chance to be the first amateur victor since Phil Mickelson’s 1991 victory at the Northern Telecom Open in Tucson, Arizona. Heading into the weekend, Dunlap was -15 and in prime position to make a run. Many undoubtedly questioned his ability to answer the bell, we’ve seen amateurs grace the top of the leaderboard early in the week and fall off time and time again. I’d say that those questions were answered well.
Dunlaps’ tournament total score of 259 is an American Express record. The amateur showed a cool and collected demeanor all weekend. He looked like a seasoned pro walking down the fairway at 18 with fellow Alabama Alumni and NCAA National Champion, Justin Thomas. Dunlaps’ victory did not come without some adversity. Dunlap shot his worst score of the weekend Sunday, a 70. Through 13 holes he was even par for the day, and one back from the current leader, the young American Sam Burns. Dunlaps’ lead vanished after his tee shot on 7 went into the water. Dunlap stabilized from there and positioned himself for a back nine charge, showing resiliency not often seen by some of our sport's most seasoned veterans. Both Burns and Dunlap birdied 14, and Dunlap tied Burns for the lead on 16.
From there, Burns fell apart with a tee shot into the water on the Par-3 17. Burns managed to go back-to-back double bogeys on 17 and 18 and went into the clubhouse with a disappointing T-6 and 71 Sunday score. With second-place challenger Christiaan Bezuidenhout from South Africa already in the clubhouse, Dunlap just needed a par to secure the victory. The emotion finally let loose when Dunlap's par putt dropped in at 18. The raw expressions from what is the first PGA tour victory for one of the most highly touted young golfers in our game is a reminder that hard work can pay off. Dunlap impressed from wire to wire, he showed fight, composure, and one hell of a golf swing. I don’t know what most of us were doing at 20, but this young man is mature beyond his years.
For those of you who did not watch, you missed one of the rarer feats in our sport. I cannot underscore how impressive Dunlap was this weekend. Looking at the betting odds Sunday morning, I turned and looked at my roommate and said, “This Dunlap guy's gonna blow up today, right?”. Wrong. Extremely wrong. Dunlap defied the odds and just put his head down and played golf. Even after his double on 7, he collected himself and answered with a birdie on 8. His confidence in himself and his game was unflappable. Dunlap kept answering the bell and kept steady all day. Despite posting his worst score of the week on Sunday, he set himself up to do what he needed and hit the big shots down the stretch. What a week for the Alabama Golfer, who’ll surely be going back to Tuscaloosa a hero. Congratulations, Nick Dunlap, I can’t wait to see more of you.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Is Justin Thomas…back?: For those of you who saw my post about the La Quinta open, you know my prediction for Thomas this weekend, and boy did it feel good to see him perform. Thomas went into this weekend looking to quiet some haters and answer some questions about where his game was heading into the 2024 season. Thomas, who struggled all last year and finished 2023 T-71 in FedEx Cup Rankings, was excited to see the calendar change a few weeks back. 2023 was a rather abysmal season for a player who had been up and down the last few years. Thomas came into the AmEx with high expectations for his play, and he delivered. Thomas finished T-3 at -27 with fellow American Xander Schauffele and Chinese Taipei representative Kevin Yu. Thomas was consistent all week, posting under-par scores all 4 days, and avoiding blow-up holes. Thomas surely impressed with his first tournament of 2024, and I hope this is a sign that Thomas has figured something out, he’s one of my favorites to root for.
Tour Veterans Getting Warmed Up: A host of perennial tour challengers finished in the middle of the field this weekend. Min Woo Lee, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Sunjae Im, and Si Woo Kim all finished top 30 and had steady performances. Jason Day, Will Zalatoris, Wyndham Clark, and Patrick Cantlay all made the cut but struggled to break through at the top of the leaderboard. It’s still early in the year for these veterans, and as we see the year go on, I am sure we’ll see these names at the top of leaderboards. It was a good week in Southern California for these champions to get primed for a long season ahead of them.
Missed Cuts: Notable missed cuts this weekend featured some prominent names in golf: Shane Lowry, Kevin Streelman, Billy Horschel, Matt Kuchar, Cam Davis, Ricky Fowler (who shot an ugly 76 on Saturday), and Joel Dahmen. I expect much more from these guys moving forward. Again, it’s still early. I’m hoping fan favorite Ricky Fowler can turn it on next weekend at the Farmers.
Bergers BACK Baby!: For those of you who read the preview of this weekend, I touched on one of the more exciting comebacks of this early 2024 campaign. After 18 months missed with back issues, Daniel Berger is back. Berger posted a -18 and finished T-39. Berger was steady all week at all 3 courses and posted 3 68s and a 67, respectively. Berger will be an interesting one to watch all season, as he was one of the more talented guys on tour before his hiatus. Everyone loves a comeback story, I’d put my money on Berger to get
Next week is a short trip for golfers who played in the Coachella Valley this week, as we head to San Diego and the South Course at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open. Max Homa is your defending champion, and a purse of $9,000,000 and 500 FedEx Cup Points are on the line. Look out for a full preview of the Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday morning.
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