An amateur won on the PGA Tour for the first time in 33 years on Sunday.
In other words, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm, the last two Masters champions, had not yet been born when Phil Mickelson won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open in Tucson, Arizona, as a 20-year-old Arizona State student.
Nick Dunlap, a 20-year-old Alabama sophomore and the defending U.S. Amateur champion, made a putt of nearly 6 feet to win the American Express by one shot over Christiaan Bezuidenhout at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in La Quinta, California. Dunlap shot 60-70 on the weekend and won with a 29-under-par 259.
It’s the 72-hole tournament record since the event went from 90 holes to 72 holes in 2012.
Here are questions and answers in the aftermath of Dunlap’s victory:
Can Nick Dunlap accept the first-place check of $1.512 million?
No. Dunlap would have to have turned professional before the tournament began to take the money. But you’ve got to assume he’ll more than makeup for it with endorsement deals sure to fall his way.
Does Christian Bezuidenhout get first-place money?
Yes. And Justin Thomas, Kevin Yu and Xander Schauffele, who tied for third, will evenly divide the total of second-, third- and fourth-place money and collect $635,600 each and so on down the line for the players who made the 54-hole cut.
What about the FedEx Cup points?
FedEx Cup points do not trickle down. When Dunlap won he received no points, but Christian Bezuidenhout got second-place FedEx Cup points (300) and no one received the 500 FedEx points that typically go to the champion.
Does Dunlap get the standard two-year PGA Tour exemption for winning?
Yes. That means he can turn pro and start playing a PGA Tour schedule, which would include spots in the Masters, the Players Championship and the PGA Championship. He will have to turn pro to enter the Tour’s “Signature Events,” such as the Players. Notably, he was already in the 2024 Masters field by virtue of his U.S. Amateur victory last year.
Who was the last reigning U.S. Amateur champion to win on the PGA Tour?
That would be Tiger Woods, who won the third of his U.S. Amateur titles in 1996, then won twice that fall on the PGA Tour after turning pro.
Is Dunlap the youngest to win on the PGA Tour?
Not quite. Jordan Spieth has that distinction, for winning the 2013 John Deere Classic as a 19-year-old. Spieth turned pro before that event.
How many amateurs have won on the PGA Tour?
Dunlap is the eighth amateur to win on the PGA Tour. Note the glut of amateur winners in 1945, possibly due to many of the pros serving in the military opening up more spots in the fields.
