Nick Dunlap has opened up on the ‘lowest point’ of his golfing career in a brutally candid statement as he reflected on his Masters nightmare.
Dunlap, who won the American Express as an amateur in 2024, endured his fair share of highs and, especially, lows over the undulating fairways of Augusta National this week.
The 21-year-old flirted with golf’s most undesired record Thursday, dropping five shots over his final three holes of a horror opening outing at Augusta to a card a birdie-less round of 18-over.
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.
Yet, to his credit, the young professional returned Friday, refusing to withdraw despite shooting the highest score at the Masters since Ben Crenshaw shot 91 at the age of 63 in 2015.
It was a lot more than most players would have stomached in his shoes and Dunlap continued to show the highest level of maturity and sportsmanship as he bared his soul in a post-missed cut statement.
Nick Dunlap flirted with an undesired record Thursday, shooting an 18-over at the Masters
The 21-year-old is pictured with girlfriend Erika Baker at the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday
‘The most humbling and humiliating yet exciting and rewarding game there is,’ the University of Alabama product wrote on Instagram.
‘In possibly the lowest point I’ve ever been golf never fails to teach you lessons. It’s the worst feeling to put everything you have day in and day out into something and feel as if you’re getting worse and there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
‘No one sees or talks about the rough and struggling times. People, including myself, only skip straight to the good and don’t think anything like this would ever happen. Until it does. One thing I have learned is to never quit and to always keep moving forward. No matter what. It will in fact get better and it will be quite rewarding when it does.
‘Not sure if anyone needed to hear this but I needed to hear myself so excuse me lol. Time to keep moving forward.’
In one of the greatest turnarounds Augusta has ever witnessed, the world No 42 shot a one-under 71 Friday – a massive 19 shots better than his first round.
The comeback wasn’t enough to see him sneak through to the weekend, the damage had already long been done leaving him at last-place 17 over. But it did show incredible grit and determination from the player, who only turned professional 15 months ago.
When asked following Friday’s round if at any point he had considered withdrawing, Dunlap admitted: ‘Yeah, but I would never let myself do that. [I’m] Never going to quit.
‘I’ve never teed it up and not finished. I take pride in that, and that’s always how I’m going to be.’
The world No 42 shot a one-under 71 Friday – a massive 19 shots better than his first round
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.
‘It’s like I’m trying to bench press more than what you can, and then put more weight on that,’ he said when asked what direction his was trying to take his game. ‘I’m trying to do something that I don’t think is going to work in the first place, so it’s very hard to step up there and see something good happening.’
Dunlap is next slated to tee it up at Harbour Town on April 17 for the RBC Heritage – the fifth signature event of the PGA Tour season.
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Struggling golfer Nick Dunlap breaks his silence after recording one of the worst ever scores in Masters history
