JACKSON, Miss. — A white notepad with the words “ROLL TIDE” spelled out in Crimson red peeked out of the right back pocket of Nick Dunlap’s dark blue slacks Friday as he walked to turn in his scorecard at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
The pencil lead used to write the number “63” − Dunlap’s 6-under core − had barely stuck to the paper after the second round at The Country Club of Jackson.
That 6 under plus his 3 under showing during the first round Thursday equaled two more days of golf for the 20-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
“I’m playing better than I feel,” Dunlap said. “I haven’t played much golf lately.”
Before the Sanderson Farms, Dunlap hadn’t played in a tournament since Aug. 25 at the BMW Championship.
Sanderson Farms: Leaderboard
That’s partly because the PGA Tour rookie traded his clubs for bows and arrows and fishing poles for most of September when he was hunting deer in Tennessee and trying to catch fish everywhere.
“I just went to the Alabama (football) game last week,” he said. “I’ll get to a majority of them this year.”
‘I love how hard the game is’
Dunlap lives in Tuscaloosa and played golf for the Crimson Tide until he turned pro at the beginning of this year.
He decided to do that after his victory at the American Express in January, when he became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour tournament in 33 years. Besides that, the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur champ and 2023 U.S. Amateur champ was ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
He’d pretty much hit his college ceiling.
“I’m 20 years old and I’m living out my dream,” he said. “I’m very grateful for that.”
It’s a dream that goes back farther than Dunlap’s memory.
“My parents could tell you, but I don’t remember,” he said with a chuckle.
Dunlap’s high school diploma is from the International Virtual Learning Academy, an online accredited K-12 school that allows for flexibility in students’ schedules.
Being homeschooled meant Dunlap could make time to play in golf tournaments.
“Golf is a very expensive game. I learned that quickly,” he said.
Now he’s making that money back, in spades.
The Sanderson Farms is Dunlap’s 23rd event of the season. He’s won twice. He’s finished in the top 10 four times. He’s made 15 cuts. Going into this tournament, he’d earned $2,878,325.
“I work as hard as I can,” Dunlap said. “Sometimes maybe a little too…
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