Nick Dunlap’s rookie year on the PGA Tour was already historic, but now he’s taken it to uncharted territory — and he has a unique practice to credit for it.
While most eyes in the golf world were fixated on this weekend’s Open Championship in Scotland, the PGA Tour held the opposite field Barracuda Championship for those not in the field at Royal Troon.
That field included Dunlap, last year’s U.S. Amateur champ and history-making PGA Tour rookie.
Dunlap, you may recall, became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since 1991 when he won the American Express in January. With the win came a host of exemptions he could take advantage of, including a nearly three-year membership on the PGA Tour, if he turned professional. He ultimately chose to become a pro and leave the University of Alabama in the middle of his sophomore season to play on the PGA Tour.
While the win in Palm Springs got him into the one major his U.S. Am win over Neal Shipley at Cherry Hills didn’t exempt him into — the PGA Championship — turning pro forced him to give up his exemption to the Open Championship.
But none of that mattered this week in Tahoe. In the unique, Stableford scoring event, Dunlap started the day nine points back, but took the lead alone after a dramatic 55-foot eagle putt (five-points in the format) on the 15th hole. He added another birdie (two-pointer) on 17 for some cushion and ended with a 19-point 62 to win the Barracuda Championship by two points.
“It’s been a little tough after AmEx,” Dunlap said after the win. “You know, you kind of lose a little bit of confidence and wonder if you can do it again. I truly have the greatest team and they support me, they believe in me, they push me, and they’re the reason that I’m here.”
Not only did he do it again in the same season, but he just accomplished something no one else has. With the victory, Dunlap becomes the first player ever to win as both an amateur and professional in the same year on the PGA Tour.
“It’s kind of neat,” Dunlap said, laughing as he acknowledged the achievement. “It’s really cool. Yeah, I never thought that I would have my name next to that, but it’s definitely an honor.”
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Dunlap very well could have earned a ticket to Royal Troon through his play on the PGA Tour, but he struggled to adjust to professional life. Since his unlikely win at the AmEx, he’s recorded just one top-10 on the PGA Tour and and missed four cuts, including all three major championships he’s played in.
After finding the top of the mountain again in Tahoe at the Barracuda, he said he’s learned a lot in his six-month crash course in being a pro.
“My first couple events I always thought I had to be at the golf course all day practicing, grinding, and you do that week-to-week, it’s a lot,” he said. “So I think for me, it’s like I’ve tried to find a schedule and a routine and something that works for me and that’s been the hardest part, is when do I work out, how long do I practice on Monday and Tuesday, when do I play my practice rounds, what’s best for me. You know, a lot of these guys have their own certain things.”
He revealed he’s added time for a hobby while he’s on the road: fishing.
“I’m traveling with a fishing pole now, so I’ve been trying to go fishing every evening and it’s just that little reset that helps me not focus on golf all day long,” he said. “I can kind of reset, have some fun, come back out with a new mindset the next day.”
Even though Dunlap was successful on the course this week, he said he hasn’t been able to catch anything, either on the nearby Truckee River or at a pond at Tahoe Mountain Club. And while Dunlap walks away from Tahoe a now-two-time PGA Tour winner, it still seems like he wants a little more from his trip to outdoor mecca.
“I think we might try to catch one this evening,” he said Sunday.
