Nick Dunlap captures Barracuda, first rookie to win twice on PGA Tour since 2017

Just hours after Xander Schauffele lifted the claret jug at Royal Troon, Nick Dunlap was 4,867 yards away polishing off a PGA Tour victory of his own. Like Schauffele, Dunlap is now a two-time winner this season following Sunday evening’s win at the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California.

And the parallels don’t end there: Dunlap, who captured the American Express in January as an amateur, became the first player since Schauffele in 2017 to win twice as a rookie.

Not even Schauffele, though, matched the distinction Dunlap just cemented, as the only player in Tour history to win as both an amateur and a pro in a single season.

“I never thought that I would have my name next to that, but it’s definitely an honor,” Dunlap said. “It’s been a little tough after AmEx. You know, you kind of lose a little bit of confidence and wonder if you can do it again. I truly have the greatest team and they support me, they believe in me, they push me, and they’re the reason that I’m here.”

Dunlap fired a closing 9-under 62 at Tahoe Mountain Club, which equated to a tournament-best 19 points in the modified stableford format. Boosted by a 55-foot eagle make at the par-5 15th and a trio of par-3 birdies, he rocketed 27 places up the leaderboard to grab the clubhouse lead at 49 points, and then headed to the range to stay warm, just in case of a playoff.

When Dunlap finished, the last group was on the 15th hole. No one caught him; Vince Whaley came closest, at 47 points, but needing to birdie each of his final two holes to force extras, Whaley found a centerline bunker at the 366-yard, par-4 17th and ended up making par. Whaley’s closing birdie did secure him a solo second, a point clear of Patrick Fishburn and three ahead of 54-hole leader Mac Meissner, to bump himself from No. 167 in the FedExCup to No. 117.

Dunlap’s 300 winner’s points will likely extend his season.

The former Alabama standout turned pro just days after winning in Palm Springs. His maiden victory didn’t just earn him a two-year winner’s exemption, but it also guaranteed Dunlap spots in all the signature events. But Dunlap has struggled in these early months as a pro, finishing last in two signature events, at Pebble Beach and Harbour Town, and missing the cut in all three of his major starts. He showed blips of breaking out in Houston (T-11) and at the Memorial (T-12), and after bolstering his short game following a move a few months ago to work with instructor Josh Gregory, he finally notched his first top-10 as a pro a couple weeks ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Still, after taking last week off for a much-needed rest, he arrived in Lake Tahoe ranked No. 95 in the FedExCup.

Dunlap is now inside the top 70, at No. 63, with two events remaining before the playoffs start.

And he’d soon be on a flight to Minneapolis for next week’s 3M Open, carrying not just his fishing pole – he recently started doing that to take his mind off golf after rounds – but also his newest trophy.

“Never gets old, it really doesn’t,” Dunlap said. “I told myself after AmEx I wanted to enjoy the moment a little bit more. I feel like going through it, kind of my mind was spinning, my world was spinning a little bit, and everything went extremely quick. The only sour thing about this is that winning moment goes quickly. It doesn’t stay as long as you may think, just because tomorrow I’m flying to Minnesota and trying to repeat and do the exact same thing.

“So, I promised myself if it did happen or when it happened again that I would try to enjoy it a lot more, so, yeah, I’m going to look at it all night.”