Winning as an amateur doesn’t guarantee professional success. Nick Dunlap learned this the hard way. The 21-year-old burst onto the scene in January 2024, firing a third-round 60 en route to victory at The American Express. Then reality hit hard. Very hard. The struggle became real in 2025, but at the WWT Championship, Dunlap fired an 11-under, matching the tournament and course record. Then came his honest admission.

“Golf’s been very hard recently, and today was the opposite of that. I think I hit every fairway. The fairways are pretty forgiving out here for the most part. Gave myself a ton of good iron and wedge opportunities and rolled it really, really nice,” he said. “Golf can make you be very, very hard on yourself, especially when you’re putting a lot of work in, you’re not getting good results, might get a couple of bad breaks. Some days it just feels like you never have a good number or feel every wind might make you uncomfortable. Kind of seems like that’s how it’s been for me recently, and today was a nice change of pace.”

Nick’s first round started fast with five birdies in the first eight holes. Momentum built with back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14. Then came consecutive red numbers on 16 and 17. The finale delivered drama—a chip-in eagle on the par-5 18th that Dunlap feared might roll 10-12 feet past. Instead, it came out perfect. Over his final six holes, he played at 6-under par. The generous fairways at Tiger Woods’ El Cardonal design proved perfect for his game. Calm winds and ideal conditions helped. But Dunlap’s mindset shift mattered most.

After this, Dunlap shared the lead with Finland’s Sami Valimaki, who posted an identical 61 shortly after. Both players held a commanding three-shot advantage over a group of five at 8-under, including Vince Whaley, Kris Ventura, Matti Schmid, Chad Ramey, and Andrew Putnam. Numbers tell a remarkable story. He hit all 14 fairways—something he’d never done in his PGA Tour career. He missed just one green in regulation. The performance stood in stark contrast to his season-long struggles off the tee.

Dunlap broke 66 just once in 70 rounds this season. He managed only one top-10 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Four missed cuts in his last five starts told the story of a young pro learning the game’s cruel lessons. The Birmingham native ranked 175th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee and 173rd in Driving Accuracy. Only two players found fewer fairways than his 48.57 percent clip entering the week.

The 61 represented his lowest round as a professional. His performance also etched his name in history books alongside Tiger Woods, Ludvig Aberg, and Justin Thomas as the youngest player since 1983 with multiple rounds of 61 or better on Tour.

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Golf community celebrates the breakthrough

The performance didn’t go unnoticed. Justin Thomas and Amanda Balionis both showed their support by liking the PGA Tour’s Instagram post celebrating Dunlap’s round. The post read: “Lowest PGA TOUR round as a pro and an early share of the lead 💪 @Nick.Dunlap10 had everything clicking today @WWTChampionship.”

Fans quickly rallied behind the young star. One commented, “Atta boy Nick!!! Well done, buddy.” Another who played with him at the PGA Championship wrote, “Played with Nick this year at the PGA, genuinely nice dude and great player. Awesome to see him get it rolling!”

His gutsy performance at Augusta earlier this year earned respect. “Big fan of this dude after seeing him battle at Augusta,” one fan noted. Others saw bigger potential. “The guy has future Ryder Cup talent if he can just put it all together for an entire couple of seasons,” another supporter predicted.

The path from amateur glory to professional consistency isn’t easy. Dunlap’s journey proves it. But Thursday’s 61 showed the talent that made him special never disappeared. It just needed the right conditions and mindset to resurface. Whether this signals sustained success or just a great day remains to be seen. Either way, the kid showed he belongs at golf’s highest level.