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Paolo Uggetti, ESPN
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Two weeks ago, Nick Dunlap couldn’t have imagined he would be standing on the iconic 18th tee at Pebble Beach on Wednesday and playing a practice round in advance of his first PGA Tour appearance as a professional.
“I remember playing this place on PGA Tour PlayStation game, so to be out here and to see it for the first time is pretty cool,” Dunlap said in his news conference. “It’s better than being in class.”
Since shooting 29-under and winning the American Express tournament two weeks ago to become the fifth amateur to win a PGA Tour event since 1940 and the first since Phil Mickelson in 1991, Dunlap’s life has been a whirlwind.
“I’ve had numerous moments where you just kind of have to take it all in, it’s overwhelming,” Dunlap said. “But also I’ve dreamed about doing this my whole life and playing golf on the PGA Tour. To finally be here and to be able to do that as a 20-year-old is pretty cool.”
Though he wasn’t able to accept the $1.5 million check for his win at the Amex, the historic victory gave Dunlap status on tour through 2026, entry into the signature event at Pebble Beach as well as a spot in the Masters, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. That is, if he chose to give up his amateur status at Alabama.
Following the win, Dunlap withdrew from the Farmers Invitational at Torrey Pines and returned to Tuscaloosa. Dunlap said Wednesday that he knew following the win he would likely take the opportunity to go pro but wanted to spend some time talking to his family, friends, teammates and coaches about the decision. A week ago, Dunlap officially announced in a news conference that he would be turning pro and leaving Alabama. He called it the “easiest hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.”
While Dunlap said his expectation was that he’d make it to the PGA Tour through PGA Tour U — the newly instituted system allows elite college players to earn a spot on the tour immediately after graduation — the Amex win changed everything.
“I wasn’t expecting to go out and win,” Dunlap said Wednesday. “I thought I would have a couple months to figure out my path and figure out everything outside of professional golf because now I’m learning how much there is outside of that. But no, to do it all in six days has been a little much, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
Suddenly, Dunlap was faced with a life-changing decision and, before he knew it, he was playing in a practice round at Pebble Beach with world no. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.
“Scottie and Sam were awesome,” Dunlap said. “I’ve reached out to them on numerous occasions the last week just seeing what their advice is on certain things and their opinions on some of the things I’m doing moving forward.”
As Dunlap explained, there is still plenty to figure out: whether he will continue to try and take classes or simply drop them for the semester, what his playing schedule will look like leading up to the Masters, and even what his caddie — who is working a full-time job — will do going forward.
“We’re figuring all of that out as we speak,” Dunlap said.
This week, though, everything else will take a backseat as Dunlap tries to follow up his successful entry into the professional golf world with another strong performance at an event featuring most of the best players in the world. After all, this is his job now.