Who Is American Express Champion Nick Dunlap? Exploring His Early Life And Career So Far

Nick Dunlap has been garnering enough attention after winning the American Express last Sunday. He became the eighth amateur golfer and the second since Phil Mickelson in 1991, to win a PGA Tour event. The golfer did not receive any prize money due to his amateur status, but did end up earning a lot of fame.

He was born on December 23, 2003, in Huntsville, Alabama to American couple Charlene and Jim Dunlap. His early golf career started at Greystone Golf & Country Club where he portrayed some sheer talent. Back when he was merely 12, he shot a sensational round of 59 in a junior tournament at Highland Park Golf Course and later won that event by a huge 13 strokes.

Exploring Nick Dunlap’s Career Progression So Far

The Hunstville-born golfer’s notable early success came when he won the Alabama State Junior Championship in 2018. Later in 2020, he went on to finish as a runner-up at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship. In the following year 2021, he missed out on winning the Boy’s Junior PGA Championship and the Junior Players Championship, and ended as a runner-up again.

However, the year 2021 was really special for Nick Dunlap. He won the Dustin Johnson World Junior and the AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic. In the same year, he became the first-ever Alabama native to win the US Junior Amateur. This win earned him a direct entry at the US Open 2022.

In 2022, Dunlap joined the University of Alabama and became a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide golf team. He is currently a sophomore and is pursuing a degree in finance. In his collegiate career, he won the Linger Longer Invitational, the Northeast Amateur, and the North and South Amateur in 2023.

Nick Dunlap achieved a special feat after winning the US Amateur in 2023. He became the second golfer ever after golf legend Tiger Woods to win both the US Junior Amateur and the US Amateur. His victory earned him an invite to the US Open 2023. The 20-year-old amateur golfer was also part of both winning United States Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy teams.

Dunlap has made two major appearances so far – at the US Open in 2022 and 2023. In both instances, he missed the cut.

In January 2024 at The American Express, Dunlap tied Patrick Cantlay’s lowest score in a round of any PGA Tour event as an amateur. He later went on to win the tournament and became the first amateur golfer in 33 years to win on the Tour.

With the kind of talent Nick Dunlap has, he is quite certain to be a top star soon on the PGA Tour. It would be interesting to see how he holds himself after getting so much love and attention from fans after his maiden win!

About the author

Kunal Singh

Kunal is a golf journalist for The SportsRush. He is an avid golf fan with a huge inclination towards Rory McIlroy's drive and Phil Mickelson's short game. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and is currently pursuing a MBA in Media Management. Before joining The SportsRush, he has already penned over 1300 articles. If not covering stories on golf, you can find him brainstorming various fiction stories, composing music, and playing snooker.

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