Paige Spiranac hailed Nick Dunlap’s mental fortitude after he shot a much-improved second round at the Masters on Friday.
The 21-year-old dropped five shots over his final three holes of an already nightmarish day on Thursday to post a round of perfect bogey golf – a 10-over 90.
That made him the first player in a decade, the third under age 50 and the first under age 38 to fail to break 90 at the Masters.
But he followed his dismal first round, the highest score at the Masters since Ben Crenshaw shot 91 at the age of 63 in 2015, with a 71 on Friday.
That represented an improvement of more than a shot per hole and earned him plenty of admiration on social media.
Not many were more delighted with his round two performance than Spiranac, the golf influencer who has a huge following on Instagram and YouTube.
Paige Spiranac hailed Nick Dunlap after he shot a much-improved second round at the Masters
Spiranac said:’He could have easily WD but he stuck it out and came back with a great round’
‘Massive props to Dunlap for shooting under par today after his first round 90,’ she said on X.
‘He could have easily WD but he stuck it out and came back with a great round! We’ve all been there.
‘Golf can eat you alive but your next great round is always right around the corner’.
Dunlap had an unforgettable entry into professional golf. Last January, he became the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on the PGA Tour with his triumph at The American Express in the California desert.
After some deliberation, he left Alabama to turn professional, and he won again in July at the Barracuda Championship.
This year has been more of a struggle. Dunlap shot 80 in the first round at Bay Hill last month and another 80 in the second round at the Players Championship, part of a run of three straight missed cuts before he arrived at Augusta National.
Speaking after his nightmare round on Thursday, Dunlap said: ‘I hit a couple buckets of balls at my Airbnb [last night]… I had more of a knot in my stomach than I’ve ever had starting a round of golf.’
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Paige Spiranac sends message to Nick Dunlap after his Masters implosion
