North Shelby’s Nick Dunlap wins Barracuda Championship, first to win as amateur and pro in same year

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

TRUCKEE, Calif. – While much of the golfing world’s attention was half a world away at The Open Championship, one of Shelby County’s own made history in the States.

Former Spain Park golfer and current Greystone Golf and Country Club member Nick Dunlap won the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship on Sunday, July 21 at Tahoe Mountain Club in California.

The victory is Dunlap’s second PGA Tour victory of the year after he won The American Express in January as an amateur. It was the first time an amateur had won on tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991 and led to him joining the PGA Tour days later.

He made more history with this win, now standing alone in the record books as the only player to win as both an amateur and professional in the same year.

The Barracuda Championship is unique as the only PGA Tour event to use the Modified Stableford scoring format, which is designed to reward aggressive golfing with more points for lower scores. Five points are given for an eagle, three for a birdie, and zero for par while one point is deducted for a bogey and three are for a double bogey.

Dunlap trailed by nine points entering the day but rallied to overcome the difference. He started the round with birdies on six of the first 12 holes and eventually took the lead by sinking a 55-foot eagle putt on the par-5, 562-yard 15th hole.

He never relinquished that lead thanks to his bogey-free round as he finished with 19 points in the final round and 49 points overall, two above second-place finisher Vince Whaley.

The victory gave Dunlap $720,000 in winnings and 300 FedEx Cup points to move into 95th place.

Dunlap has had a season full of highs and lows, including top-12 finishes at the Houston Open, Memorial and Rocket Mortgage Classic along with six missed cuts, albeit three of them being at majors including the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open along with one at The Players Championship.

However, he was able to bounce back from a missed cut in his last start on July 7 at the John Deere Classic to win the Barracuda Championship while many of the top golfers were away in Scotland at the British Open.

As a result of his two wins, he is eligible to play in next year’s Masters, PGA Championship and Players Championship and his PGA Tour membership has been extended an additional year through 2027.

Just two events remain on the PGA Tour schedule before the playoffs begin: the 3M Classic from July 25-28 in Minnesota and the Wyndham Championship from August 8-11 in Greensboro, N.C. Both tournaments will air on CBS and the Golf Channel.

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