Nick Dunlap makes history with second PGA Tour win and this time he’s able to bank the cheque

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[PHOTO: Lachlan Cunningham]

This time Nick Dunlap will be able to bank the winner’s cheque.

While Xander Schauffele made history in Scotland by capturing his second major at the Open Championship, Dunlap, a 20-year-old from Alabama, won the Barracuda Championship in California, becoming the first player in history to win a PGA Tour event as an amateur and a professional in the same year.

“Never even thought that was a possibility, to be honest with you,” Dunlap said.

Dunlap shot 60-70 on the weekend at the American Express event in January in Palm Springs to top Christiaan Bezuidenhout by a shot. However, the full $US1.512 million went to Bezuidenhout. Dunlap left the University of Alabama and turned professional the next week.

This time there will be no sharing from Dunlap, who earned $US720,000 for his victory at Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee. He shot a final-round 62 to earn 19 points in the Modified Stableford scoring system, topping Vince Whaley by two points.

Dunlap started the final round well down the leaderboard but slowly plodded his way up the board to take advantage of those at the top who were not able to produce many birdies. He birdied four of his first eight holes to turn in 31, birdied the 11th and 12th holes, then made the biggest move on the 15th.

After reaching the par-5 in two shots, Dunlap rolled a 55-foot eagle putt from right to left gently into the hole to earn five crucial points. He finished par, birdie, par to set the pace in the clubhouse while many others still had work left.

“After I made the putt on 15, we started playing for some serious adrenaline,” Dunlap said.

But no one was able to mount a charge as, one by one, everyone fell short. Whaley made birdie on the last hole to earn two points and jump into outright second-place, his best finish in tour. Patrick Fishburn was in third place, while third-round leader Mac Meissner fell to fourth.

“I definitely feel like I’m trending in the right direction and all that jazz, but definitely disappointed right now,” Whaley said.

Nick Dunlap: How To Compete

Since the American Express win, Dunlap has had mixed results. He’s missed six cuts – including at his most recent start, the John Deere Classic – and his best finish has been a 10th-place tie at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

The Barracuda victory for Dunlap, however, has moved him up 32 spots in the FedEx Cup race late in the season, with only two events remaining in the regular season. He’s now in 63rd place, with the top 70 earning a spot in the FedEx St Jude Championship, the first playoff event.