Nick Dunlap withdraws from Farmers Insurance Open field following historic PGA Tour win at American Express

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 21: Nick Dunlap of the United States reacts to winning The American Express on the 18th green at Pete Dye Stadium Course on January 21, 2024 in La Quinta, California.

Following Sunday’s thrilling victory at the 2024 American Express, Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open on Monday. He had a sponsor exemption into the event just like he did into American Express, though his participation is now unnecessary after beating Justin Thomas and Sam Burns on Sunday in Palm Springs. It was the first PGA Tour event won by an amateur since Phil Mickelson did it in 1991.

“After a life changing last 24 hours, I’ve decided to withdraw from the Farmers Insurance Open,” Dunlap said in a statement. “I plan to return home to Alabama to be with family, friends and teammates. Thank you to Farmers Insurance and American Express for giving me these opportunities.”

There will be a lot of speculation about Dunlap’s future. He is already qualified into the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship as the 2023 U.S. Amateur winner. If he decides to turn pro before then, he will qualify for the Masters and PGA Championship via his win at the American Express. The U.S. Open allows U.S. Amateur champions to play as either professionals or amateurs, so he will be in that event regardless of his decision.

Dunlap did, however, immediately turn his focus to Torrey Pines on Sunday for the Farmers, so the WD on Monday was a bit of a surprise.

“I haven’t even looked at my phone,” he said. “A lot of the people that are really close to me are here, and that means a lot. I’ve got them, we’re going to probably grab a good dinner tonight and celebrate and focus on how I’m going to get to Torrey Pines next week, or for this coming week.

Of course, there is also speculation about a potential jump to LIV Golf. Swiping one of the best stories of the year would be a coup for the upstart league that has tussled with the PGA Tour over the last few years and just signed Jon Rahm to a mega-deal. Dunlap is also a client of GSE Worldwide, which has had several of its clients sign with LIV.

Dunlap was asked on Sunday if he had been contacted by the rival league.

“As of right now, I have no idea, I really don’t,” he said. “I know, you know, Kevin Canning is my representative from GSE, and, obviously, I think he has Jason Kokrak, and maybe somebody else on LIV. But as far as me, I’ve always grown up dreaming of playing on the PGA Tour, and making a putt just like a little bit ago, to win a PGA Tour event. That was always my dream, to do that.

“I’ve always tried to chase something that nobody else has done. That’s why I always put in the work that I do, I want to do something special, and something memorable, not only for me, but maybe to leave something behind for somebody else to try to follow and gauge at. For me, that’s Tiger, right. Like I probably won’t ever even close to some of the records he set, but I always try to set myself, you know, I’m trying to chase him. I know that’s an extremely high bar, and I don’t know if that comes off really cocky or not, but for me that’s something. I consider him the greatest ever, and for me to try to chase that, and even to be in somewhat of a conversation with him is, like I had said, it’s a dream come true, and it’s why I do what I do.”

Dunlap also said that he has not made a decision about turning professional because of how many people will be affected by that decision. Whenever he does turn pro, he will have his PGA Tour card through the end of the 2026 PGA Tour season. He will also, seemingly one way or another, play in at least three of the four major championships. If he stays an amateur, he is not currently qualified for the PGA. If he turns pro, he would ostensibly not be qualified for the Open Championship.

However, he just moved from No. 4,129 in the world to No. 68 so his path into either of those majors is looking pretty good right now.

Dunlap is the second high-profile withdrawal from the Farmers Insurance Open — which will be played Wednesday-Saturday this weekend to avoid the AFC and NFC Championship Games in the NFL. Thomas also withdrew after moving to No. 23 in the OWGR and securing himself a spot in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am next week (the top 30 in the OWGR automatically qualify).