Nick Dunlap has a chance to do something special this weekend.
The 20-year-old sophomore at Alabama is tied for third and two shots back of leader Sam Burns at the PGA Tour’s American Express in La Quinta, California, after two rounds. The tournament normally doesn’t give exemptions to amateurs, but Dunlap is no regular amateur.
Last summer, he won the U.S. Amateur, becoming the second player ever to win a U.S. Junior and U.S. Amateur. The other? Tiger Woods.
Only seven amateurs have ever won a PGA Tour event (none since 1991), and the last am to finish in the top five was Michael Thorbjornsen at the 2022 Travelers Championship.
Here’s a look at the seven amateurs who have won PGA Tour events.
The first amateur to win an event on Tour was Middlehoff, who captured the 1945 North and South Open. He went on to win the Masters.
That same year, Haas became the second am to win on Tour, capturing the 1945 Memphis Invitational. He eventually represented the U.S. in the Ryder Cup.
Frank Stranahan is the only amateur to win multiple times, claiming titles at the 1945 Durham War Bond Tournament and the 1948 Miami Open. He was also a powerlifter known as the “Toledo strongman.”
