Nick Saban discusses amateur Nick Dunlap, Justin Thomas on The American Express broadcast

During his wildly successful era as the University of Alabama’s head football coach, Nick Saban often snuck away for a few swings at the golf team’s practice facility, which features robust simulator technology.

One time he came across Nick Dunlap and was struck by the college sophomore’s dedication to his craft.

“I sat and watched on one of those machines. He was hitting drivers; he must have hit 100 of them, just checking the spin on the ball,” Saban said Sunday during The American Express broadcast. “He’s really a dedicated guy. He’s a hard worker, and he’s got the right disposition to play. He doesn’t seem to get flustered about anything.

“Golf’s like a metaphor in life; you’ve got to be able to play the next shot, whether you’re in the hazard, whether you hit a good one. You’ve got to have the right disposition to play it, and I certainly think he has it.”

Saban called into Golf Channel’s broadcast of The American Express on Sunday afternoon as Dunlap played the back nine at PGA WEST's Pete Dye Stadium Course, looking to make history as the first amateur to win on TOUR since 1991. Dunlap, a sophomore at Alabama, held the 54-hole lead in the Coachella Valley — the first amateur to do so on TOUR since 1991 — captivating the golf world with his fearless playing style and unwavering poise.

Dunlap played in Sunday’s final grouping at PGA WEST alongside fellow Crimson Tide alum Justin Thomas and former Louisiana State University golfer Sam Burns. Thomas and Saban are frequent playing partners in South Florida – and the games look to only increase in the future, as the newly retired Saban recently purchased a home in Jupiter. The duo first met when Thomas visited Tuscaloosa on a recruiting trip.

“He was like a shy little puppy dog sitting in my office,” Saban said at THE PLAYERS Championship’s media day in 2022, where he joined Thomas to play TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course’s famed closing three holes.

Saban has been vocal in his support of Thomas throughout the 30-year-old’s sterling TOUR career, and it appears Thomas is well on his way back from a slump (by his standards) that saw him struggle in last year’s major championships and miss the FedExCup Playoffs. Thomas entered The American Express on the strength of three straight top-five finishes in stroke-play events worldwide, and Saban expressed confidence that the former world No. 1 Thomas could again approach that mark.

“Everybody asks me, ‘How many shots does he give you?’ and I say, ‘He doesn’t give me any; he’s always my partner,’” Saban quipped. “Justin is a great person, great family … He’s a hard worker. I know he had to overcome some adversity last year, but he’s done it like a trooper, and I think he’s going to have a great year this year.”

As Saban spoke, Dunlap was in the throes of the back nine in contention at The American Express, looking to accomplish “something that’s legendary,” as Saban described the prospect of an amateur winning on TOUR.

So, what would the seven-time national champion football coach say to Dunlap as he eyed that legendary feat?

“Focus on the next shot, regardless of what happened on the last shot,” Saban said. “Stay focused on not the outcome but what you have to do to get the outcome, which is process to me, and I think that’s the best way to focus.

“We live in such an outcome-oriented world that sometimes that’s hard to do, but I think that’s the key to being successful.”