Nick Dunlap made headlines this week as he became the first competitor in a decade and the youngest in history to score a 90 in a tournament round at the Masters. Despite facing a difficult first round on Thursday, the 19-year-old golfer fought her way through. This tough beginning would prove an ominous portent for his first foray into the Augusta National Golf Club.
Dunlap’s opening round of 90 was a staggering number next to Craig Wood’s record score. In 1936, Wood shot a phenomenal opening round of 88 and returned the next day to shoot an incredible 67. Following his challenging round, Dunlap returned to his Airbnb, where he dedicated his evening to practice, hitting golf balls relentlessly.
On Friday, he came back to the course with a different attitude. His hard work paid off, as through all of those distractions he managed to put together an under-par round. Dunlap was quick to add that this performance is no indication of a sudden renaissance in his overall play.
Even though he was much better, Dunlap did poorly in his second go. This is astounding considering he only hit six fairways and carded one triple bogey, four double bogeys and seven bogeys. His day became the 2nd biggest round-to-round improvement in Masters history, a true testament to his resilience to rise up from a troubling time.
Dunlap’s trainer, Clarke Holter, made an important decision in his preparation. For this task, he went to a local Target store and purchased 12 different brands of golf balls, which Dunlap would need to practice with for testing purposes. This dedication shows the level of commitment that both Dunlap and his team have to getting past the rocky couple the last years.
ESPN Research underscored how astonishing Dunlap’s turnaround has been. It equals the biggest round-to-round increase ever seen in any major championship over the last half a century. This figure speaks to the persistence through adversity that the young athlete has shown in her fight to get back on track.
During his second round, Dunlap achieved a birdie on the 15th hole, marking what was then a bogey-free stretch of play. Yet even in this moment of triumph, he was remarkably frank about the troubling slate of races he’d run this year.
“I tried my hardest to enjoy today for whatever it’s worth. It’s just very frustrating that my game is at this point, and it’s hard not to try to focus on that.” – Nick Dunlap
He reiterated the seriousness of his fight, which really started after the Hero World Challenge back in December. He acknowledged that these challenges have only escalated in the past weeks.
“I’m a competitor, and I love this game. It doesn’t really love me back right now,” he remarked, capturing the essence of his current feelings toward the sport.
Dunlap revealed a glimpse into his mental state: “There’s a lot of anger…. I think my 3-wood on 15 was the first free golf swing I’ve probably had in four weeks.” His commitment to getting better shines through in the fact that he works extremely hard to make sure he’s prepared.
Even as he faces these daunting challenges, Dunlap refuses to lose hope. “You try to have fun even though it can be quite frustrating at times, and especially right now it’s hard to find something fun about it. I got to come out and play Augusta today, so it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
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