Nick Dunlap wins 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship
Alabama star golfer Nick Dunlap brought home the most coveted prize in all of amateur golf on Sunday afternoon at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. He won the 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship after he defeated Ohio State star Neal Shipley–up 4 holes with 3 holes remaining. Dunlap and Shipley were tied after the first 18 holes. But Dunlap turned it on in the second set of 18 holes in the afternoon of the grueling match play marathon. The Alabama star drained 12 birdies and he was going to be tough to beat, no matter who he faced on Sunday. He built a commanding advantage thanks to some impressive putting down the stretch. Dunlap’s lead swelled to as many as four holes after the 28th hole on Sunday. Shipley cut the lead to three holes with five remaining to play, but the Ohio State star simply couldn’t hit the shots he needed to down the stretch, when it mattered the most.
Here’s the video below as Dunlap hoisted the Havemeyer Trophy for the first time after winning the 123rd U.S. Amateur crown.
With the win, Dunlap joined Tiger Woods as the only golfers ever to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur crowns. The Alabama star won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021. He was in tears following the impressive win on Sunday evening.
Another perk of winning is that Dunlap will be on the 2023 U.S. Walker Cup team–the amateur version of the Ryder Cup. USA will compete against Great Britain and Ireland in the 49th Walker Cup on Sept. 2nd-3rd at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. For more information on the Walker Cup, you can find that here.
The Alabama star certainly proved that he’s the best amateur in golf at the moment. Plenty of people are predicting superstardom for him on the PGA Tour in the near future. And it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see that happen either, considering the unbelievable success he’s had in his young golf career thus far. He’s currently the No. 9 ranked amateur in the world.
Dunlap defeated Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent in the first round of this year’s U.S. Amateur 2 & 1 to advance. Sargent generated plenty of buzz in this year’s U.S. Open and Master’s. He finished as the low amateur in the 2023 U.S. Open. Sargent will be playing on the 2023 U.S. Walker Cup team alongside Dunlap and others.
Both Shipley and Dunlap were showing signs of struggling late on Sunday, but that’s understandable–considering they played over 30 holes in one day. The week of the U.S. Amateur match play is one of the more grueling tests in all of golf. There were also likely some nerves involved.
After his impressive freshman season at Alabama, Dunlap was named a second-team Ping All-American and first-team All-SEC. He finished the season ranked as the No. 16 player in the nation, according to the Golfweek individual player rankings. The Tuscaloosa native led the Crimson Tide in average strokes per round (70.35), which ranks as the second lowest per round single-season average in program history. He also finished in the Top 10 four times this year. At the 2023 NCAA Championships, Dunlap placed 11th overall, carding a 280 for 72-holes (74-68-66-72).