Standing on the tee of the par-3 17th at Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West, amateur Nick Dunlap was tied with Sam Burns. Normally one might think the odds were in Burns’ favor, but Dunlap found the green and Burns found the water, resulting in Dunlap becoming the first non-professional to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
Given Dunlap’s words 24 hours earlier, after a sizzling 60 put him in the final group, the 2023 U.S. Amateur champion’s play under pressure should surprise no one.
“I've always said, pressure's a privilege,” Dunlap said. “I got a great opportunity to be here, and to feel what I felt on 16, 17, 18, hopefully, if I keep playing well, it's only going to magnify. Kind of, to know, on 16, that that bunker is not great and to be there, your heart's pumping. But, yeah, just try to embrace it. It's a cool spot to be in.”
Dunlap rebounded from what looked like a crushing double bogey at the seventh to make three birdies coming in—the last two on Nos. 14 and 16 thanks to impressive 10-foot makes with his Odyssey O-Works Tank 7 putter.
Dunlap also adjusted well to his new TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver, using the low-spin model to hit several drives north of 330 yards for the week.
Sounds like a guy that might go far.
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS, 9 degrees
3-wood: Ping G425 LST, 14.5 degrees
Irons (3): Srixon ZX; (4-9): TaylorMade P7MC; (PW): TaylorMade Milled Grind 3
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind 4 (52, 56, 60 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey O-Works Tank 7
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