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Reuters

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Reuters

With his 2024 AmEx win, Nick Dunlap has become the talk of the town. The 20-year-old became the first amateur golfer to win a PGA Tour event since 1991. With this newfound fame, debates about his future have also started to emerge. People have started comparing him to Tiger Woods, the person Dunlap considers his idol.

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To be fair, the comparison between the two began when Dunlap became the US Amateur Golf Championship winner. While Woods towers over the amateur golfer in many domains, there are some areas where the 20-year-old has left the legendary golfer behind!

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After his record-breaking win, Nick Dunlap has earned praise from multiple sports personalities. One of the players praising him is Johnson Wagner. The three-time PGA Tour winner praised the 20-year-old for joining the ranks of Tiger Woods in his amateur career.

He said, “He’s sitting at a two-top with Tiger Woods—the only player to ever win the US Junior and the US Amateur.” But Wagner believes Dunlap became a better amateur golfer than Woods by winning the PGA Tour event!

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Interestingly, Tiger Woods has not won a PGA Tour event as an amateur. Woods won his third US Amateur title in 1996 and went on to win two PGA Tour events that year. However, he turned pro before winning those events.

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Nick Dunlap overtakes Tiger Woods

This makes Dunlap the only US amateur title winner to win a PGA Tour event as an amateur! Apart from this, Dunlap also made another record at the 2024 AmEx. He tied the lowest round by an amateur in PGA Tour history during the third round.

Read More: LIV Golf Rumors: Is Nick Dunlap Going to Snub the PGA Tour After Turning Pro?

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Carding a 60, Dunlap matched the amateur record set by Patrick Cantlay. Furthermore, his 12-under performance relative to par establishes a fresh amateur record! Cantlay had previously set this record during the 2011 Travelers Championship. The amateur star scored 29-under 259 remarkably which shattered the 72-hole record for the lowest winning score by Patrick Reed in 2014 mark of 28-under.

With all these record-breaking stints in his amateur career, the 20-year-old will be a force to be reckoned with when he turns pro. But will he be able to achieve the laurels that Tiger Woods has? The answer to this question only time will tell.

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Written by

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Ajitesh Rawat

1,222 Articles

Ajitesh Rawat is a WNBA and College Basketball Writer at EssentiallySports, where he leads the outlet’s Strategy Desk. With a research-driven approach and a reader-first mindset shaped during his stint as a Content Analyst, he covers the mechanics of the game with depth and precision. From injury reports and roster depth charts to player trades and transfer portal moves, Ajitesh brings clarity to the decisions that shape outcomes. Known for highlighting under-covered talent across the women’s game, his reporting has also earned him a spot in ES’ Journalistic Excellence Program. Beyond basketball, Ajitesh’s versatility has seen him spearhead LPGA and LIV Golf coverage while contributing to esports and FPS gaming guides, a reflection of his background as both a game developer and digital strategist. That unique blend of technical expertise and editorial instinct allows him to navigate fast-moving sports landscapes while connecting fans to the tactical and cultural undercurrents driving the games they love.

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Riya Singhal

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