Nick Dunlap Officially Ends LIV Golf Speculation with Latest Move

Nick Dunlap is PGA TOUR Bound.

20-year-old Alabama college star Nick Dunlap has taken the plunge and turned professional, officially becoming part of the PGA tour for 2024 and beyond. The news broke today via a press conference, with Dunlap’s professional debut expected at the AT&T Pro-Am.

.@AlabamaMGolf ➡️ @PGATOUR

Nick Dunlap is heading to the PGA TOUR! #TOURBound pic.twitter.com/8mVF1ulRLL

— PGA TOUR University (@PGATOURU) January 25, 2024

His win at the American Express tournament gave him a two-year exemption until 2026, and there was much speculation on whether he would take advantage of this or finish out his studies and competitive amateur career while in college. His Official World Golf Ranking is now 68^th, making the largest jump of all time after being outside the top 4000 in the world.

Obviously, the validity of these rankings is dubious now with so many golfers playing on the LIV Tour.

With the ever-changing apparel landscape in the Professional Golf world, we wouldn’t be surprised if he was kitted out in lululemon or Malbon attire before too long. The 20-year-old is an attractive prospect, having an amateur record matched only by the likes of Tiger Woods, including a US Junior Amateur as well as the US Amateur.

The latter accolade won him an exemption into this year’s masters, but he will be driving down Magnolia Lane as a fully-fledged professional golfer. Financially, it makes great sense for Dunlap to take advantage of his win at the American Express because he will be exempt for the remaining seven signature events on the 2024 Tour schedule, the next of which is the AT&T at Pebble Beach.

Cover Image via Golf Magazine