Weekend Wrap: Dunlap Wins Amateur, U.S. Walker Cup Team Set
PGA Tour's Top 30 set for 2024's majors and Ryder Cup USA's top six are confirmed after the BMW Championship. Plus, Homa heckled over $3 bet.
The weekend provided more clarity for this fall’s team matches all while some old school End Times activity played out here in SoCal. But The Quad staff lit some candles, pulled out their Underwoods and put the Shake alerts on silent mode—they really worked this time!—to get this edition to the printing press even as a tropical storm and earthquakes descended on the region where, just a week ago, we hosted a USGA championship in idyllic weather.
While we found out how the Florida half sometimes lives, Nick Dunlap captured the U.S. Amateur, Viktor Hovland broke a few-days-old course record at Olympia Fields and we learned who is headed to St Andrews for the Walker Cup to have the time of their lives (until they’re two down to someone named Nigel and headed to the Road hole).
On the the topic of course records, next year’s PGA Championship host saw an unofficial record set when Michael Block posted 63 at Valhalla. Note to those who say scoring records are not falling so don’t touch my free supply of ProV’s: just in the last two weeks scoring records were set at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Amateur’s Colorado Golf Club, Olympia Fields twice (Homa 62, Hovland 61) and at Valhalla by a part-timer who broke free from stocking the shop for a pre-2024 PGA round. And a quick Google search of 2023 and “course record” turned up more entries than I care to recap. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
Just spare us a “scores are the same so don’t touch my free balls,” to all you Titleist toadies.
Today’s Weekend Wrap includes notes on the U.S. Amateur, the ten-man 2023 Walker Cup squad, the PGA Tour Top 30 who will enjoy some major perks, confirmation of the Ryder Cup official six, and an ominous anecdote on the gambling-will-cure-all-revenue-evils front.
U.S Amateur: Dunlap Joins Tiger
It’s almost incomprehensible to think only two golfers have won the U.S. Junior and the U.S. Amateur. Even more incomprehensible: the first golfer to do it managed to win three of each USGA titles in a mere six-year span.
Nick Dunlap joined Tiger Woods on Sunday at Cherry Hills as winners of both in holding off Neal Shipley 4 & 3 to become just the second player to have captured the two USGA events.
“Well, I think it’s only a third of what Tiger’s actually done,” said the modest Dunlap, 19, an Alabama sophomore. “But just to be in the same conversation as Tiger is a dream come true and something that I’ve worked my entire life for. It’s the hours and hours that nobody sees to try to get to this point and even have a chance to win this trophy. It’s unbelievable; can’t put it into words.”
The win caps a stunning summer where Dunlap has won what was once (and remains) the impregnable triangle, or something like that: the North And South, the Northeastern and U.S. Amateurs. In an era of stroke play specialists, Dunlap is the increasingly rare match play master.
According to Golf.com’s Jack Hirsch, Dunlap is 30-2 in eight career match play events.
For the effort, Dunlap receives the Havemeyer Trophy for a year, a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Amateur if he decides to forego pro golf, a prime pairing in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, a spot in the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon and a likely invitation to the 2024 Masters.
Runner-up Shipley is also exempt into the 2024 U.S. Open and will likely receive an invitation to the 2024 Masters along with a 10% off coupon in the Clifford Roberts Barbershop. He’s also in the running for shot of the year after an incredible wedge spun back to gimme range at the 17th hole in Saturday’s semifinal win (which takes on even greater magnitude if you know the history of over-spinning a wedge into that green.)
The week reinforced how there is never a dull moment at Cherry Hills. Even with too much rough kept to defend the poor old place from today’s plant-based-diet fueled distances, the volatile William-Flynn design showed off many fun design features recaptured by Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf Design. Cherry Hills once again reminded us that it’s one of the more engaged clubs in golf and finest places for a championship.
Sunday at the storied course, the morning 18 was apparently quite exciting. But no television coverage was provided by the USGA or their once-proud partners at Kabletown who, I found out the hard way, have made their NBC Sports app an even bigger autoplay boondoggle of late designed to drive home just how much they hate viewers. (And for those of us in tropical storm/earthquake zones we had to migrate there for coverage as local news intervened.)
Via telegram I found out that Shipley made an impressive birdie on the crazy par-4 18th hole to tie the morning session before the break. Both Dunlap and Shipley birdied the par-4 first to open the afternoon before Dunlap birdied the third and fourth to never look back, eventually posting a front nine 30.
Dunlap launched a few quackers coming in and gave Shipley, the apparent working man’s hero because he’s from Pittsburgh and despite the exclusive club logo on his shirt, hope.
“Nick played great, and he just made a lot of putts on me this afternoon,” Shipley said. “That’s what it takes to win these things. He has what it takes, obviously, and I just didn't really play my best. I got out-dueled today.”
Notably, Dunlap almost missed the match play portion after opening five-over-par through seven holes before birdieing six of his next ten holes at co-host Colorado Golf Club. It was a near repeat of his two previous U.S. Amateurs where he did not reach match play’s field of 64. But the effort to overcome the early week struggles went much deeper this time, as Brentley Romine noted in his superb game story from Cherry Hills.
“For me to be able to snap out of that, slow things down, back off, whatever it took for me to slow down and get back into my process,” Dunlap said of the awful start. “I think I just learned that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it.”
Next up for Dunlap is the Walker Cup at St Andrews and no shortage of incredible tournaments in 2024.
The final day highlights:
U.S. Walker Cup Team Set
Following the U.S. Amateur’s final match, the USGA announced the remaining six members of the 2023 Walker Cup team. The group of ten will head to St Andrews September 2-3rd.
Joining the previously announced Dunlap, Gordon Sargent, David Ford and Caleb Surratt, the selections by the International Team Selection committee:
Nick Gabrelcik, Trinity, Florida
Austin Greaser, Vandalia, Ohio
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, California
Ben James, Milford, Connecticut
Dylan Menante, Carlsbad, California
Preston Summerhays, Scottsdale, Arizona
The USGA also announced two alternates: Maxwell Moldovan of Uniontown, Ohio and Neal Shipley, Sunday’s U.S. Amateur finalist.
Michael Thorbjornsen previously qualified but has withdrawn due to injury.
“These six players are outstanding additions to round out this year’s team,” said Mike McCoy, captain of the USA Team. “This group of players has earned the opportunity to be part of this team and I’m thrilled to see their hard work rewarded. I am beyond excited to have our full team set as we begin to prepare for the Old Course.”
None of the picks appeared too shocking, though Gabrelcik had a quiet summer other than winning the prestigious Southern Amateur. Greaser has played a light schedule nursing a hand injury, but he’s a former Western Amateur champion and runner-up in last year’s Amateur. Greaser also reached the Round of 32 at Cherry Hills.
The Great Britain and Ireland squad will be announced Monday.
Top 30 Set For A Year Of Plum Starts
One of the great (and strangest) perks in major championship remains the PGA Tour’s top 30 (eligible) members from the previous season. They earn their way into a host of championships the following year. The cut-off is well clear of the tournaments in question, yet the organizers of the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship continue to reward the feat (the PGA has its own points system for qualifying).
Making it to East Lake means suffering through 100-degree temps next week, but also now means a two-year PGA Tour exemption in addition to a 2024 Masters invitation, U.S. Open exemption and Open Championship berth.
Many of the top 30 already have paths to the majors. But a few don’t and will gladly take the status.
The obvious heartbreaker Sunday came with Sahith Theegala going on the same spirited run he made in 2022, only this time he came up a few points short to finish the season 31st.
Locked: USA’s First Ryder Cup Six
Brooks Koepka’s LIV-disadvantage finally caught up to him as the points cut-off ended for the 2023 Ryder Cup team. These six officially earned spots on the team:
1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Wyndham Clark
3. Patrick Cantlay
4. Brian Harman
5. Max Homa
6. Xander Schauffele
The remaining six spots will be selected by Captain Zach Johnson.
Koepka, as the PGA Champion, should be a lock to make the squad if he has signaled a desire to play.
Not that long ago the PGA Champion automatically earned a spot on the team but that was before players took Saudi millions and became pariahs to those who didn’t cash in and wish they did.
Homa Questions Live Betting After Disruption
