Tour Life
Nick Dunlap's feel-good victory phone call with mom features fantastic surprise ending
Lachlan Cunningham
Far, far away from the Open Championship in Scotland, Nick Dunlap made PGA Tour history of his own on Sunday in Truckee, California. With his victory at the Barracuda Championship, Dunlap became the first player to win as both an amateur and a pro in the same season. But it was something that happened moments after his win became official that was the highlight of the day.
Unlike his first win at the American Express, Dunlap's parents weren't there on Sunday to witness him hoisting his latest trophy. So we didn't get an emotional embrace like the one we saw from Xander Schauffele and his dad, Stefan, at Royal Troon that had golf fans everywhere feeling like they were cutting onions.
Instead, the 20-year-old Dunlap promptly called home and put it on speaker. The results, predictably, were amazing ("Son, how awesome. I'm so proud of you."). Both mom Charlene and son (kind of) got emotional. And then mom provided a fantastic surprise ending when Nick asked if they'd come see him at the 3M Open next week in Minnesota.
"I am going to tell my boss I'm taking next week off," Charlene says. "I'm coming out to 3M if that's OK with you."
"Oh, perfect," Nick replies with a big smile. "Yes, yes."
Aww, that's the good stuff. Have a look and listen:
You really love to see it. And with Nick starting to rack up big checks (He won a cool $720K on Sunday) now that he's not an amateur anymore, Charlene might be able to tell her boss she's quitting soon.