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In the history of golf, only seven amateur golfers have won PGA Tour events since 1945. Phil Mickelson was the last amateur player to win on the PGA Tour when he won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.
The first amateur to win a tournament was Cary Middlecoff, who won the North and South Open in 1945. Three amateur players won tour events in 1945. Middlecoff was followed by Fred Hass, who clinched the Memphis Invitational, and finally Frank Stranahan, who won the Durham War Bond Tournament.
It is pertinent to note that Stranahan is the only golfer in history to win four PGA Tour events as an amateur. After registering a victory at the Durham War Bond Tournament, he went on to win the Kansas City Invitational Victory Bond Golf Tournament in 1946. He also won the 1946 Fort Worth Invitational and the 1948 Miami Open as an amateur.
No amateur golfer could win on the PGA Tour during the 1960s and 1970s before Scott Verplank clinched the 1985 Western Open. Six years later, Mickelson won the Northern Telecom Open.
No amateur golfer has since won on the tour in the last three decades.
Here is the list of all the amateur players who won on the PGA Tour:
- Cary Middlecoff: 1945 North and South Open
- Fred Haas: 1945 Memphis Invitational
- Frank Stranahan: 1945 Durham War Bond Tournament
- Frank Stranahan: 1946 Kansas City Invitational Victory Bond Golf Tournament
- Frank Stranahan: 1946 Fort Worth Invitational
- Frank Stranahan: 1948 Miami Open
- Gene Littler: 1954 San Diego Open
- Doug Sanders: 1956 Canadian Open
- Scott Verplank: 1985 Western Open
- Phil Mickelson: 1991 Northern Telecom Open
Amateur golfer Nick Dunlap in contention to win PGA Tour's The American Express 2024
2023 US Amateur winner Nick Dunlap is in contention to win The American Express this week.
In the tournament's opening rounds, Dunlap delivered a commendable performance. The University of Alabama student is playing on sponsor exemption and finished in a tie for fifth place following the first two rounds. He shot two rounds of 64 and 65 to finish just two strokes behind leader Sam Burns.
If he wins The American Express, Dunlap will become the eighth amateur golfer to win on the tour and the first since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
The American Express started on Thursday, January 18, and will have its finale on Sunday, January 21. Dunlap is slated to tee off for the third round on Saturday, January 20, at 12:36 p.m. ET on the 10th hole of La Quinta Golf Course with Wilson Furr.
