Nick Dunlap, the 2024 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, etched himself a regrettable place in Masters Tournament history with a wretched first round at Augusta National Golf Club.
Dunlap became just the 11th golfer to fail to break 90 in the first round of the famed major tournament after carding 18-over on Thursday afternoon.
It’s the first time a player has failed to break 90 since Ben Crenshaw shot 91 in the first round of the 2015 Masters Tournament. Only four players have achieved the unwelcome feat since 2000.
Dunlap recorded seven bogeys, four doubles and a triple bogey. He holed a 14-foot putt on No. 16 to avoid a triple bogey on an otherwise dismal day.
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Who is Nick Dunlap?
Dunlap, 21, is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour and considered one of the top young players in professional golf.
A former golfer at the University of Alabama, Dunlap turned pro early after winning the American Express as an an amateur in 2024. He was the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour in 33 years.
He picked up his second career PGA Tour victory in July 2024 at the Barracuda Championship.
Dunlap’s round a rarity
It’s a rarity for golfers in the prime of their professional career to fail to break 90 in the first round of the Masters Tournament.
In the 21st century, only three golfers prior to Dunlap had achieved the feat: Ben Crenshaw (91, 2015), Tommy Aaron (92, 2000) and Doug Ford (94, 2000). Crenshaw, 63, was the youngest of the trio while Ford the oldest at 77.
Other first round scores of 90 or more at Augusta include Horton Smith, who was in his 50s when he shot 91 in 1962 and 92 in 1963. Smith was the winners of the first and third edition of the Masters Tournament.
Fred McLeod was 73 when he shot 91 at the 1955 Masters Tournament while Jock Hutchison was 71 when he shot 90 at the 1955 Masters Tournament. Amateur Chick Evans was in his late 60s when he shot 90 in 1959 and 91 in 1960.
Amateur Frank Souchak was the first and youngest player to card a score of 90 or worse in the first round. He was 39 years old when he shot 90 in the first round of the 1954 Masters Tournament.
The worst unofficial first round score in Masters history belongs to Billy Casper, who shot 106 in the opening round of the 2005 Masters, but, perhaps wisely, did not sign his scorecard, excluding it from an official place in the record books.
Worst first round scores in Masters Tournament history
- 94 – Doug Ford (2000)
- 92 – Tommy Aaron (2003)
- 92 – Horton Smith (1962)
- 91 – Ben Crenshaw (2015)
- 91 – Horton Smith (1963)
- 91 – Chick Evans* (1960)
- 91 – Fred McLeod (1955)
- 90 – Nick Dunlap (2025)
- 90 – Chick Evans* (1959)
- 90 – Jock Hutchison (1956)
- 90 – Frank Souchak* (1954)
*indicates amateur status
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
