Nick Dunlap is the 123rd U.S. Amateur Champion (USGA Photo)
It has been a summer to remember for Nick Dunlap.
After winning two Elite Amateur Series events and making the roster for the Walker Cup in September, he can now add the Havemeyer trophy to his case.
Dunlap defeated Neal Shipley 4 & 3 in the final match to win the trophy. The match was tied after the first 18 holes, then Dunlap was able to pull away on the second 18, winning holes No. 21, 22, 25 and 28 to go 4-up. Shipley won hole No. 31, but Dunlap won the next hole, No. 32, to go back to 4-up and won the match on the 33rd hole.
With this win, Dunlap joins Tiger Woods (maybe you have heard of him) as the only winners of the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur.
“Well, I think it’s only a third of what Tiger’s actually done,” said Dunlap, 19, a standout at the University of Alabama, “But just to be in the same conversation as Tiger is a dream come true and something that I’ve worked my entire life for. It’s the hours and hours that nobody sees to try to get to this point and even have a chance to win this trophy. It’s unbelievable; I can’t put it into words.”
Dunlap won the Northeast and the North & South earlier in the summer to claim two of the Elite Amateur Series titles. He finished second in the Elite Amateur Series, right behind Kazuma Kobori.
“I learned that I could do it; I always thought I could, but when you’re 5-over through seven and your mind is spinning, and you can't see straight, you’re looking at the negative – I think I was in last place at one point,” said Dunlap about the win. “For me to be able to snap out of that, slow things down, back off, whatever it took for me to slow down and get back into my process, I think I just learned that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it.”
Related: NICK DUNLAP: A SUMMER TO REMEMBER FOR THE HOTTEST PLAYER IN COMPETITIVE AMATEUR GOLF
Shipley has had an incredible summer as well, but he just hasn't quite got it done in terms of a win.
Shipley, a recent Ohio State graduate, finished at the Sunnehanna Amateur and the Trans-Mississippi Amateur and tied for third place at the Pacific Coast Amateur. With these top-five finishes, he finished fourth in the Elite Amateur Series.
“You shoot 5-under [in the morning round], and you would think you’d be at least 1 or 2 up,” said Shipley. “Nick played great, and he just made a lot of putts on me this afternoon. That’s what it takes to win these things. He has what it takes, obviously, and I just didn't really play my best. I got outdueled today.”
ABOUT THE U.S. Amateur
The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA
championship, was first played in 1895 at
Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The
event,
which has no age restriction, is open to
those
with a Handicap Index of 2.4 or lower. It is
one
of 14 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA, 10 of which are
strictly
for amateurs. It is the pre-eminent
amateur
competition in the world.
Applications are typically placed online in the spring
at www.usga.org.
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