Nick Dunlap has a flair for the dramatic.
Last year, he won the U.S. Amateur, becoming only the second golfer ever to win the U.S. Junior and Amateur, joining Tiger Woods. In January, he became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour, taking the American Express title.
On Friday, he added another bullet point to his resume: first ace as a PGA Tour member.
Dunlap has struggled since turning pro, but he seems to have found something this week during the 2024 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. On the par-3 seventh hole, Dunlap hit a cut to a front right hole location, and his ball took one bounce before rolling out and finding the bottom of the cup.
🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨
@NickDunlap62 records the first hole-in-one of his career in just his 7th TOUR start to move to one back of the lead!(Presented by @CocaCola) pic.twitter.com/jcDxbv2W6S
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 1, 2024
The shot moved him to 8 under for the tournament, one shot off leaders Kevin Yu and Victor Perez, who each played in the morning wave.
For Dunlap, the ace helped put him in position to make his first cut since turning professional.
He finished last at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, an event with no cut and only 80 players in the field. Then he missed the cut at the 70-man Genesis Invitational.
Now, he’s looking for his first win as a professional, and he has an ace in his pocket.