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American Nick Dunlap, who last weekend became the first amateur golfer since Phil Mickelson to win a tournament on the PGA Tour, will immediately switch to the Pro Tour. This was announced on Thursday.
Twenty-year-old Dunlap won the American Express golf tournament (PGA Tour/$8.4 million) on Sunday in La Quinta, California, in the United States. In principle, that tournament will earn the winner 1,512,000 dollars (1,387,000 euros), but because Dunlap was an amateur and student-athletes are not allowed to earn money from their sport, runner-up Christiaan Bezuidenhout took away that amount.
Dunlap dropped out of the Farmers Insurance Open in recent days because he was still unsure about switching to professional status. He combined golf with studies at the University of Alabama. “This was the toughest decision I have ever had to make,” he said during a press conference on Thursday. He would make his professional debut next week in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He has now risen to 68th place in the world rankings.
He will remain on campus
His decision could mean an unexpected early end to his college career, but Dunlap confirmed that his coach at Alabama has allowed him to stay with his teammates and friends on campus.
“If you had told me a week ago that as a 20-year-old I had the opportunity to make my dream come true, that would be pretty surreal. But it is also scary, there are a lot of changes,” he said. “My coach is kind enough to let me live here and spend at least part of my student life for the rest of this year.”
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