Nick Dunlap accepts PGA Tour spot after stunning AmEx title

Days after his uncommon win as an beginner on the PGA Tour, Nick Dunlap introduced Thursday that he’s turning professional and accepting membership on the tour.

Together with his victory Sunday on the American Categorical, Dunlap turned the primary beginner to win on tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991. The 20-year-old is simply the fifth beginner to win on tour since 1950 and the second-youngest champion prior to now 90 years. Jordan Spieth gained the 2013 John Deere Basic when he was 19.

The College of Alabama sophomore had withdrawn from this week’s Farmers Insurance coverage Open to judge his future and is about to make his skilled debut on the AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am, which begins Feb. 1.

“It was the best, hardest resolution that I’ve ever needed to make,” Dunlap stated Thursday. “I used to be very lucky that everybody had the identical opinion about it, and my teammates had been superior and really supportive. It goes again to the household that Alabama has. They had been very supportive and needed me to chase my desires.”

Dunlap’s victory gave him full-time PGA Tour membership by way of the 2026 season — he’ll be the youngest participant on tour — and spots in profitable signature-series occasions similar to Pebble Seashore and the Gamers Championship, which have purses of no less than $20 million. He is also exempt into the Masters and PGA Championship and might play the U.S. Open because the reigning U.S. Beginner champion.

As an beginner, Dunlap had forfeited the $1.5 million winner’s purse for the American Categorical and the five hundred FedEx Cup factors that got here with it.

“It is a week right now that the primary spherical began, and every week in the past, if you happen to had advised me that I had the chance to stay out my dream as a 20-year-old — it is fairly surreal,” stated Dunlap, who plans to proceed residing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. “However it’s additionally scary. There’s quite a lot of adjustments.”

Dunlap stated the toughest a part of turning professional in the course of the Crimson Tide’s golf season was telling his teammates this week that he would not be there for them.

“There’s going to be a script A [Alabama’s logo] on my bag endlessly,” Dunlap stated.

An prompt superstar, Dunlap took calls from not too long ago retired Alabama coach Nick Saban and {golfing} alum Justin Thomas after the victory. He stated he leaned closely on his household and coach Jay Seawell for opinions and steering. The consensus suggestions: “Go chase your dream.”

“I’ve identified him since he was 10 years previous when he got here to golf camp,” Seawell stated. “I’ve identified his dream, and I am honored that he gave us the chance to educate him.”

Info from ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, The Related Press and Reuters was used on this report.