It was a rough day at Augusta National for Nick Dunlap, to say the least.
Dunlap finished his first round at the Masters shooting 18-over for 90. He put himself in dead last with this score, with Thriston Lawrence sitting in second-to-last with a score of 8-over, a whole 10 strokes better than Dunlap.
Luckily for Dunlap, this isn't the highest score in Masters history. Charlie Kunkle holds that record with the 95 he shot in 1956. The only other player to shoot at least 90 under the age of 50 was Frank Souchak, who shot a 90 in 1954. However, Dunlap shot 47 on the back nine, which is closer to the tournament's worst back nine total of 49.
Tough day at the office for Nick Dunlap. pic.twitter.com/v91WD7oLE0
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 10, 2025
Dunlap's first round started off on the wrong foot as he bogeyed the opening hole. He went on to bogey three more times and even tally one triple bogey on the front nine. The back nine, as mentioned before, was much worse for Dunlap. He had four double bogeys and three bogeys to finish out his round.
Impressively, despite his high score, Dunlap did not have a single three-putt through his entire round on Thursday. Whether that makes the performance better or worse is for the viewer to decide.
This has to be one of most unbelievable stats in Masters history.
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) April 10, 2025
Nick Dunlap didn’t have a three-putt, averaged 1.83 putts per hole and shot 90. pic.twitter.com/KxLs2J6S2u
The 21-year-old hasn't had the best luck in majors since turning pro. He's made zero major cuts in five starts, and it looks like this year's Masters won't be his first major cut.
Dunlap has the opportunity to turn things around on Friday, of course. In order to make Masters history, Dunlap would need to shoot a 68 or lower to break the record for the biggest improvement from round one to two, per The Athletic's Justin Ray. It's been a long-standing record as Craig Wood improved his play by 21 strokes from the first round to the second in 1936.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nick Dunlap Finishes First Round With One of the Highest Scores in Masters History.
