The first amateur winner on the PGA Tour since 1991 announces he has accepted his PGA Tour card and will turn professional; 20-year-old describes turning pro as the "easiest, hardest decision that I've ever had to make" in emotional press conference at his university
Thursday 25 January 2024 18:52, UK
Nick Dunlap has announced he is turning professional in the wake of becoming the first amateur winner on the PGA Tour for 33 years.
The 20-year-old, the reigning US Amateur champion, has accepted membership to the tour, which he earned by stunningly winning The American Express last Sunday to become the first amateur winner since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
Speaking during an emotional press conference on Thursday at the University of Alabama, where he has been a second-year student, Dunlap fought back tears as he thanked those who had supported him on the path to his maiden tour triumph before announcing his decision to turn pro.
"It was the easiest, hardest decision that I've ever had to make. By far," said Dunlap, who on Monday withdrew from playing in this week's Farmers Insurance Open so he could return to Alabama.
"There are a lot of people that this affected and one of the reasons I wanted to back out of Farmers was I wanted to come back and talk with coach and my family and my team-mates.
"They were the first people that I told on Tuesday.
"It was clear that I did want to play professional golf and it was a golden opportunity to do that with what the PGA Tour has provided. But telling them [his team-mates] was the hardest thing, that I was leaving mid-year and I wasn't going to get to play the rest of the season out with them.
"Obviously I didn't plan on that, they didn't plan on that, unfortunately it's part of life.
"But I was really given a cool opportunity and I wanted to try and chase that.
"I was very fortunate that everyone had the same opinion about it, and my team-mates were awesome about it and very supportive. It goes back to the family that Alabama has; they were very supportive and wanted me to chase my dream."
In addition to being the tour's first non-pro victor since Mickelson, Dunlap is the first player since Tiger Woods to win a PGA Tour event while also being US Amateur champion.
Asked what comparisons to such illustrious major-winning players mean to him, Dunlap replied: "A lot because that's who I grew up watching and that's who, if you grew up playing golf, you always wanted to be like.
"To be compared to them is why I practise and work out and do everything I do, to be on that level on that stage.
"So to be considered with Tiger and Phil is pretty remarkable. I know 10, 11, 12-year-old me would be pretty happy right now."
Dunlap is now exempt on the PGA Tour until the end of 2026 and can play in this season's seven remaining lucrative Signature Events, the Players Championship and all-full field events.
He confirmed that his maiden tournament as a pro will be the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on February 1-4, the season's second Signature Event.
Dunlap is also exempt into three of this year's four majors: The Masters, US Open and the PGA Championship.
The exemption he already had to play in The Open as the reigning US Amateur champion is no longer valid in wake of his change of status but there are a variety of ways he could still qualify for Royal Troon in July, with the R&A yet to release this year's exemption criteria.
"To kind of pick and choose your schedule as a 20-year-old on the PGA Tour is kind of unbelievable," admitted Dunlap.
But while he can now earn tournament prize money and FedExCup points moving forward, Dunlap is not retrospectively awarded the £1.1m he would have received for winning last Sunday's California event had he not been an amateur player at the time.
The winner's prize money instead went to the second-placed finisher, Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
His decision to accept pro status may mean his formal college career is coming to an unexpectedly early end, but Dunlap confirmed that his coach at Alabama was still allowing him to stay on campus alongside his golf team-mates and friends a little longer.
"It's a week today that the first round started and a week ago if you'd have told me that I had an opportunity to live out my dream as a 20-year-old it's pretty surreal. But it's also scary, there are a lot of changes," he said.
"Coach [Jay] Seawell has been gracious enough [that] I'm going to continue to live here and hang out with the guys and at least live out some of my college life for the rest of this year. I'd like to keep that the same moving forward.
"But it's an incredible opportunity [to turn pro] and I'm very grateful for it."
The PGA Tour season continues at the Farmers Insurance Open this week, with coverage from Saturday's concluding final round live from 5pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream PGA Tour golf and more on NOW
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