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University of Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap made waves over the weekend by picking up a win at The American Express. With the improbable victory, he became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour in more than 30 years.
Dunlap saw an immediate, and historic, bump in the Official World Golf Rankings.
The sophomore entered the tournament as a 400/1 longshot but went on to dominate the first three days. He started Sunday’s closing round with a three-shot advantage, one that slipped away over the front nine.
Dunlap zoned in on the back nine, though, birdieing two holes while sinking par on the remaining seven. A short putt on the 18th green secured his spot atop the leaderboard as he squeaked past Christiaan Bezuidenhout by a single stroke.
While Dunlap picked up a huge win, he was unable to land a share of the purse. His final $1.5 million cut instead went to the runner-up.
Though he didn’t get paid, he did see a significant jump in the rankings.
In fact, it was the biggest jump in the history of the OWGR, according to Golf Digest.
Nick Dunlap has made the biggest jump in Official World Golf Ranking history. 🤯
(H/T: @VC606) pic.twitter.com/N6vB0yPSVR
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) January 22, 2024
He shot up from 4,129th place to cracking the Top 70, and his teammates have been showing love since Sunday.
Nick Dunlap’s teammates have awesome reaction to his PGA Tour win.
The University of Alabama golf team went absolutely nuts after seeing Dunlap sink his final putt as they watched along on TV.
ROLL TIDE! 🐘
As Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a PGA TOUR event since 1991, his teammates at @AlabamaMGolf went crazy!
(via @canonclaycomb) pic.twitter.com/06vOiHSpl7
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) January 23, 2024
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While Dunlap just landed the biggest win of his young career, he’s decided to pull out of the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open.
“After a life-changing last 24 hours, I’ve decided to withdraw from the Farmers Insurance Open,” he said in a statement. “I plan to return home to Alabama to be with family, friends and teammates. Thank you to Farmers Insurance and American Express for giving me these opportunities.”
We’ll have to wait to see what lies ahead for the young star.