Amateur Wins On The PGA Tour (Since 1940)

Nick Dunlap (USA)¹ – 2024 American Express
Phil Mickelson (USA) – 1991 Northern Telecom Open
Scott Verplank (USA) – 1985 Western Open
Doug Sanders (USA) – 1956 Canadian Open
Gene Littler (USA) – 1954 San Diego Open
Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1948 Miami Open
Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1946 Fort Worth Invitational
Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1946 Kansas City Invitational Victory Bond Golf Tournament
Frank Stranahan (USA) –  1945 Durham War Bond Tournament
Cary Middlecoff (USA) – 1945 North & South Championship
Fred Haas (USA) – 1945 Memphis Invitational

Nick Dunlap (Photo: Ray Acevedo)

¹ Nick Dunlap (d.o.b. 23/12/03), a sophomore at the University of Alabama who had just turned 20, won on 21st January 2024. He became the youngest amateur and second youngest player ever, behind Jordan Speith, to win on the PGA Tour. Whilst Dunlap gave up a first prize cheque of $1.512m he did rise to 1st in WAGR and 68th, from 4,129th, in the OWGR. The American Express was Dunlap’s fourth PGA Tour event (two of which were U.S. Opens) – he missed the cut in all of his previous outings – and in the third round shot an 11-under 60 at La Quinta C.C., the joint lowest by an amateur on Tour. Tiger Woods and he are the only two players to have won both the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship (2021) and the U.S. Amateur Championship (2023). However, Woods never won a PGA Tour event as an amateur.

Littler, Verplank, Mickelson, Dunlap and Lee were all the reigning U.S. Amateur champion at the times of their wins.

Amateur Wins On The European / DP World Tour

Shane Lowry (IRL) ¹ – 2009 Irish Open Championship
Danny Lee (NZL) ² – 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic (AUS)
Pablo Martin Benavides (ESP) ³  – 2007 Estoril Open de Portugal

Shane Lowry (Photo: Matt Browne)

¹ Just 12 events after Lee’s success Shane Lowry won his national open at Baltray aged 22.

² Danny Lee, the 2008 U.S. Amateur champion, became the youngest ever amateur to win on a professional tour when he took the Johnnie Walker title aged 18 years and 213 days old.

³ 20 year old Pablo Martin Benavides was studying at Oklahoma State University, by coincidence the same college as Scott Verplank (see PGA Tour table above), when he became the first amateur to win on the European Tour.

ME.

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