Timeline: Nick Dunlap’s incredible road to becoming a PGA TOUR winner

Nick Dunlap made history Sunday by winning The American Express, but the 20-year-old started achieving incredible things well before his victory. He shot 59 when he was 12, fired a 62 five years later to qualify for a Korn Ferry Tour event and recently tied the lowest round in the history of collegiate golf.

He also is the only player other than Tiger Woods to win both the U.S. Junior and U.S. Amateur. Below is a look at the road Dunlap took to becoming a PGA TOUR winner and his outstanding accomplishments along the way.

June 15, 2016: Shoots 11-under 59 as a 12-year-old to win a Birmingham Golf Association junior event by 13 strokes.

July 26, 2018: As a 14-year-old, shoots a final-round 66 to win the 14-18 age division of the Alabama Boys State Junior Championship by five strokes. His 66 was the low round of the final day and beat the field average by 10 strokes.

May 3, 2021: At the age of 17, shoots 62 to Monday qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation. He shoots 75-74 to miss the cut in the event.

July 24, 2021: Defeats Cohen Trolio, 3 and 2, in the final match of the U.S. Junior Amateur at The Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal Course) in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Two years earlier, Trolio was a semifinalist in the U.S. Amateur. Dunlap becomes the first player from Alabama to win the U.S. Junior.

Sept. 5, 2021: Dunlap finishes second to Ben James at the Junior PLAYERS Championship.

Oct. 28, 2021: Dunlap is named AJGA Player of the Year after a year that saw him win the U.S. Junior Amateur, the Polo Golf Junior Classic at Liberty National and the Dustin Johnson World Junior. Dunlap finished outside the top five just twice in 11 events recognized by the Rolex AJGA rankings.

June 17, 2022: Playing in his first major championship at the age of 18, Dunlap shoots 78-74 at the 2022 U.S. Open. He was exempt into the event by virtue of his victory at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

July 29, 2022: Trying to become the only back-to-back winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur other than Tiger Woods, Dunlap advances to the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur.

March 21, 2023: Dunlap shoots 70-66-70 to win his first collegiate title at the Linger Longer Invitational. He finishes two strokes ahead of Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, who would go on to win the British Amateur and be low amateur at The Open, and Vanderbilt’s William Moll. Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent, the reigning NCAA champion, finishes fourth.

June 5, 2023: Shoots 68-68 and survives a 3-for-2 playoff at U.S. Open Final Qualifying in Columbus, Ohio, to advance to his second consecutive U.S. Open.

June 24, 2023: One week after shooting 77-71 in the U.S. Open, Dunlap wins the prestigious Northeast Amateur. Dunlap shoots 68-67-63-66 to win by two. Past champions of the event include Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Anthony Kim, Luke Donald, David Duval, Hal Sutton and Ben Crenshaw.

July 2, 2023: Dunlap goes back-to-back, winning the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst one week after his victory at the Northeast Amateur.

Aug. 20, 2023: Dunlap becomes the only player to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur by beating Neal Shipley, 4 and 3, in the championship match of the U.S. Amateur. “Just to be in the same conversation as Tiger is a dream come true and something that I’ve worked my entire life for,” Dunlap said. “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.”

Sept. 3, 2023: Dunlap is part of the U.S. team that wins the Walker Cup on St. Andrews’ Old Course. Dunlap goes 1-2-1. The U.S. wins 14.5-11.5 after outscoring Great Britain & Ireland 7-3 in Sunday Singles.

Sept. 26, 2023: Dunlap shoots a final-round 63 to beat Sargent, the world’s top-ranked amateur, by one at the SEC Stroke Play hosted by Jerry Pate. Sargent shoots 70 in the final round to finish one behind Dunlap.

Oct. 2, 2023: Dunlap ties the lowest round in the history of college golf by shooting 12-under 60 in the second round of the Hamptons Intercollegiate at Maidstone Golf Club in East Hamptons, New York. Dunlap had an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole but it lipped out. He goes on to finish second in the tournament after shooting 71 in the final round.

Oct. 21, 2023: Dunlap leads the United States to victory in the World Amateur Team Championship. Dunlap finishes second in the individual portion of the event as the U.S. Team of Dunlap, Sargent and David Ford wins by 11 shots. Dunlap, Sargent and Ford are the first Americans since Justin Thomas to win both a Walker Cup and World Amateur Team Championship.

Jan. 21, 2024: Dunlap wins The American Express, becoming the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on the PGA TOUR. He makes a 6-foot par putt on the final hole to win by one with scores of 64-65-60-70. Dunlap’s third-round 60 matches the lowest score by an amateur in PGA TOUR history. Patrick Cantlay also shot 60 in the 2011 Travelers Championship. Dunlap, at 20 years and 29 days, also is the second-youngest winner on TOUR in the past 90 years; only Jordan Spieth was younger.