Despite achieving an extremely rare feat on Sunday by becoming the first amateur golfer to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991, Nick Dunlap had to forgo the $1.5 million in prize money normally awarded to the winner becomes.
The Alabama University finance student made birdie on the 18th hole to formalize his win at the American Express Tournament, which ended in La Quinta, California. However, his amateur status prevented him from essentially receiving the amount he would have received, so the second player in the final ranking, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout, left the scene with the spoils.
Dunlap can join the ranks of the PGA during the 2024 season and benefit from the advantages reserved for his professional competitors. Thanks to his triumph at the 2023 US Amateur Championship, he received the right to take part in the Masters tournament, the US Open and the British Open this year.
Although he failed to become rich, he can boast of adding more to his golf resume. He is the youngest winner of a circuit competition in 90 years; Only Jordan Spieth was a previous champion at age 19 at the 2013 John Deere Classic.
More than 30 years ago, Mickelson won the Northern Telecom Open in Tucson, Arizona. The case of New Zealander Lydia Ko has been widely discussed among women over the last decade. As a teenager, she won the Canadian Open twice in a row in 2012 and 2013. Each time, the player drew a line under the stock market for the same reasons as Dunlap.