After Nick Dunlap’s sensational triumph at The American Express as an amateur, popular sportscaster Jim Nantz believes the triumph to be one of the remarkable moments, and called it the “Roger Bannister moment.” This is because Sir Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile within four minutes in 1954. This had an impact back then for weeks and Dunlap is believed to have created such an impact.
Jim Nantz went on to express his thoughts about Nick Dunlap’s feat. Let’s see what he said!
Jim Nantz Sings Praises About Nick Dunlap’s Latest Achievement
Nick Dunlap surpassed Sam Burns and Justin Thomas to win The American Express as an amateur after Phil Mickelson did it in 1991. This achievement landed him exemptions in all signature events and his PGA Tour card valid until 2026.
Nantz, in an interview, stated how glorious Dunlap’s achievement was.
“What Nick Dunlap did, we know that it had been done in ‘91 by Phil and in ’85 by [Scott] Verplank, but it felt like a Roger Bannister kind of a moment because the game that has got more depth now. I think you could argue from one to 1,000—and I know he jumped 4,000 in the world ranking points—but there’s so much depth in the game.”
Added to that, he continued,
“There are so many good young players. I think that gives a lot of players the ability to say to themselves, ‘I can break the four-minute mile, too.’ If he can do that, I can do that. So I think it’s a harbinger.”
Moreover, Nantz thinks Dunlap will be an inspiration for other budding golfers, as Dunlap once looked up to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, which resulted in such an accolade.
Even golf analyst Trevor Immelman said,
“he [Dunlap] was just playing with in the final group and these guys that he’s staring down trying to win for the first time when he’s a sophomore at Alabama. He’s staring some pretty stiff competition and handled himself so well.”
Seeing Dunlap’s execution of the game at such a young age, everybody is high on praises, and this golf star surely has aspirations after getting his PGA Tour card.
