Dunlap Treads in Tiger’s Footsteps

Parker, Colorado, United States: Nick Dunlap joined exclusive company at historic Cherry Hills Country Club, as he replicated a feat only accomplished by Tiger Woods.

Dunlap, the 2021 US Junior Amateur champion, pulled away from Neal Shipley on the second 18 of the 123rd US Amateur Championship final for a 4&3 victory to become just the second player to win both the Junior Amateur and the Amateur. Woods captured each championship three times in a span of six consecutive years (1991-1996).

“Well, I think it’s only a third of what Tiger’s actually done,” said Dunlap, 19, a sophomore at the University of Alabama who is ninth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

“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; can’t put it into words.”

Shipley made an impressive birdie on the demanding par-four 18th hole to tie the match ahead of the lunch break, and after both birdied the par-four first to open the afternoon, Dunlap assumed control of the match by winning the third and fourth holes with birdies, and the par-four seventh with a par to take a three-up advantage.

Dunlap completed a scintillating afternoon front nine of five-under 30 by converting a 30-foot birdie putt on the ninth green that thwarted Shipley’s bid to trim his advantage, after Shipley had knocked his approach within five feet for a likely birdie of his own.

“It was the putt on nine for me, to be honest with you,” said Dunlap, when asked about a key point. “I think it halted his run. He was going to make that putt, and I think that turned things a little bit.”

Dunlap then took advantage of the type of break you need to win a title, when he hooked his tee shot on the par-four 10th hole but got a drop away from an obstruction and hit his approach to within 17 feet for a birdie that gave him a four-up edge.

“I got a really good break on 10 – I honestly thought that was out of bounds,” said Dunlap. “It turned out [that I got] relief and I was able to get a swing at it and give myself a look at it, and fortunately I made it.”

Even though Shipley had rallied from three-down after 10 holes in his semi-final victory over John Marshall Butler, he now found himself four-down to Dunlap with eight holes to play. That birdie putt put Dunlap at 11-under through the match’s first 28 holes, with 12 birdies and a lone bogey on the par-three 15th hole of the morning round.

“You shoot five-under [in the morning round] and you would think you’d be at least one or two-up,” said Shipley, a graduate student at Ohio State University who played at James Madison University before joining the Ohio State programme last year.

“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 out-duelled today,” added Shipley, who eliminated the Chinese duo of Ding Wenyi (one-up, Round of 64) and Andi Xu (2&1, quarter-finals) en route to the final.

After completing his victory, Dunlap recalled Monday’s opening round of stroke play, when he stood five-over-par through seven holes at co-host Colorado Golf Club, with a double-bogey and a triple-bogey.

He birdied six of his next 10 holes to turn things around and ended up completing 36 holes in one-under, one stroke inside the cut line of even-par. Dunlap had missed the cut for match play in his two previous US Amateurs, shooting a 79 at Ridgewood in 2022 to dash his hopes after losing out in a 12-for-one play-off in 2021 at Oakmont.

“I learned that I could do it; I always thought I could, but when you’re five-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.

“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.”