Nicholas Dunlap Bio
Nicholas Dunlap, born on December 23, 2003, is an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour. He first drew national attention as an amateur, winning both the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021 and the U.S. Amateur in 2023. His victory at The American Express in January 2024 made him the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event in 33 years. Shortly after that breakthrough, he turned professional and finished the 2024 season as the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Early Life and Background
Nicholas Dunlap was born on December 23, 2003, to parents Charlene and Jim Dunlap in Birmingham, Alabama, although he is listed as being from Huntsville, Alabama. He grew up as an only child, and the family briefly moved to Greenville, South Carolina, before his freshman year of high school. After returning to Alabama, Dunlap was homeschooled, which allowed him the flexibility to train and compete in junior golf.
Dunlap discovered golf at Greystone Golf and Country Club, where he developed under lead instructor Brian Speakman. Speakman recalled that Dunlap was extremely athletic, and he also played baseball and football at a high level as a youth. In 2013, he reached the finals of the National Football League’s Punt, Pass, and Kick competition, reflecting his broad athletic ability.
His talent for golf surfaced early. At age 12, Dunlap shot a remarkable round of 59 at Highland Park Golf Course in Birmingham during a junior tournament he won by 13 strokes. That kind of dominant performance hinted at a future he would eventually build on golf’s biggest stages.
Path to Professional Golf
Dunlap captured the Alabama State Junior Championship in 2018, launching a string of high-level junior results. He was a finalist in several national events, including the 2020 Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship, the 2021 Junior Players Championship, and the 2021 Boys Junior PGA Championship. He answered those close calls with a breakthrough summer in 2021, winning the Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship, the AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic, and the U.S. Junior Amateur, where he defeated Cohen Trolio 3 and 2 in the final.
The U.S. Junior Amateur title made Dunlap the first Alabama native to win the event, and it earned him an exemption into the 2022 U.S. Open. Named the 2021 AJGA Boys Golfer of the Year, he was recognized as the top junior golfer in the Golfwatch class of 2022 and committed to the University of Alabama to study finance while playing for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
At Alabama, Dunlap battled tendinitis in his left wrist during his freshman year but still found his footing. He claimed his first individual collegiate win at the Linger Longer Invitational in March 2023, then added the Northeast Amateur in June and the North and South Amateur in July. Those wins set the stage for his biggest amateur moment yet.
Nicholas Dunlap Career
Amateur Career (2018–2023)
Dunlap’s amateur resume grew rapidly between 2018 and 2023, highlighted by three major USGA titles. After winning the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur, he joined the Alabama Crimson Tide and continued to refine his game while balancing college coursework. His form peaked in the summer of 2023, when he won the Northeast Amateur and the North and South Amateur before capturing the U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club.
His U.S. Amateur win was decisive. After a rough start in stroke play, Dunlap rallied to make the cut and rolled through match play, beating Gordon Sargent in the first round and Neal Shipley 4 and 3 in the final. The victory placed him alongside Tiger Woods as the only players to win both the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Amateur. Dunlap then represented the United States at the 2023 Walker Cup and the 2023 Eisenhower Trophy, helping both U.S. teams to victory and finishing as the individual runner-up at the Eisenhower Trophy.
The American Express Breakthrough (2024)
In January 2024, Dunlap accepted a sponsor exemption into The American Express on the PGA Tour. He opened the tournament with a third-round 60 that tied Patrick Cantlay’s record for the lowest round by an amateur on Tour, giving him a three-shot lead. He closed with a 2-under final round to win by one stroke, becoming the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson at the 1991 Tucson Open.
At 20 years and 29 days old, Dunlap became the second-youngest winner on the PGA Tour in the past 90 years, behind only Jordan Spieth. Because he was still an amateur, the $1,512,000 winner’s share went to runner-up Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The win also moved Dunlap to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and made him the first player to have won the U.S. Junior Amateur, the U.S. Amateur, and a PGA Tour event.
Professional Career (2024–Present)
The week after his American Express win, Dunlap turned professional and accepted PGA Tour membership. The transition proved difficult, and he recorded just one top-10 finish in his first six months while missing the cut at all three majors he entered. His form turned in July 2024, when he won the Barracuda Championship, an opposite-field event to The Open Championship, becoming the first player in PGA Tour history to win in the same season as both an amateur and a professional.
His rookie season ended with the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award for 2024, a strong capstone to a year in which he reached a career-high Official World Golf Ranking of 30th on October 20, 2024. He is based in Jupiter, Florida, where many Tour professionals live and train.
Driving Style and Strengths
Dunlap is recognized for his ball-striking pedigree and tournament toughness, traits that allowed him to compete in high-level amateur and professional events at a young age. His calm match-play performances in USGA championships reflect a steady temperament under pressure. As a long hitter with a polished iron game, he has shown the ability to score on both long and short courses, although consistency has been a work in progress during his early professional years.
Notable Events and Milestones
Dunlap’s career is studded with signature moments, from his 59 at Highland Park Golf Course as a 12-year-old to his record-tying 60 in the third round of The American Express. Winning the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021, the U.S. Amateur in 2023, and a PGA Tour event in 2024 placed him in a class with Tiger Woods. His 2024 Barracuda Championship win added another historic footnote, as the first same-season amateur and professional victory in Tour history.
Nicholas Dunlap Career Wins
Dunlap has two verified PGA Tour wins, both coming in 2024, the same season in which he also won a Tour event as an amateur. His breakthrough at The American Express announced his arrival, while the Barracuda Championship confirmed his ability to compete as a professional. Together, the victories helped him earn PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors.
PGA Tour Highlights
Dunlap’s first PGA Tour victory came at The American Express in January 2024, where he became the first amateur to win on Tour in 33 years. His second came at the Barracuda Championship in July 2024, an opposite-field event that also counted on the European Tour. He is the only player in Tour history to win in the same season as both an amateur and a professional.
Other Wins and Performances
In the amateur ranks, Dunlap won three USGA championships, the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021, the U.S. Amateur in 2023, and several other prestigious junior and collegiate titles, including the 2021 Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship, the 2021 AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic, the 2023 Linger Longer Invitational, the 2023 Northeast Amateur, and the 2023 North and South Amateur. He also contributed to U.S. team victories at the 2023 Walker Cup and the 2023 Eisenhower Trophy.
Nicholas Dunlap Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Dunlap was raised by his parents, Charlene and Jim Dunlap, in Birmingham, Alabama, before the family moved briefly to Greenville, South Carolina, and back to Alabama. He is an only child, and his parents supported a flexible schedule that allowed him to pursue junior golf. His upbringing at Greystone Golf and Country Club, where coach Brian Speakman nurtured his early talent, was central to his development as a competitive golfer.
Personal Life
Dunlap is unmarried and focuses much of his time on his professional career. He is a lifelong fan of the University of Alabama and has trained around both Tuscaloosa and Jupiter, Florida, where he currently resides. Beyond golf, he showed early promise as a multi-sport athlete, excelling in baseball and football and reaching the finals of the NFL’s Punt, Pass, and Kick competition as a child.
2025 Season Performance
Dunlap’s 2025 PGA Tour season has been a learning year. At the 2025 Masters Tournament, he opened with a first-round 90, an 18-over-par score, before bouncing back with a 71 in the second round, the largest round-to-round improvement at the Masters since Craig Wood’s 88-67 in 1936. Despite that fight-back, he missed the cut, continuing a pattern of major-championship struggles that also saw him miss the cut at the 2025 PGA Championship and the 2025 U.S. Open.
Across the rest of the schedule, Dunlap has worked to find consistency after a strong but uneven rookie campaign. By September 2025, he ranked last on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee, a statistic that reflects the difficulty of his transition. Still, with two Tour wins already in hand and his rookie honors secured, he has a foundation to build on.
Looking ahead, the focus for the remainder of 2025 is tightening his driving accuracy and regaining the form that produced his historic amateur and early professional wins. He remains a young player with a deep record of success in match play and USGA events, suggesting that brighter stretches of golf are well within reach.
