"Major champion this year" - LIV Golf-linked amateur Caleb Surratt makes wild prediction for Nick Dunlap as he turns PGA Tour pro
Amateur golfer Caleb Surratt, who is rumoured to be joining LIV Golf, recently made a wild prediction about Nick Dunlap, the winner of The American Express 2024.
Dunlap created history at last week's PGA Tour event after winning The American Express and becoming the first golfer since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on the Tour as an amateur. The victory earned him the prestigious PGA Tour card until 2026 and also an opportunity to compete in the Majors this year.
Within a few days of his win, Dunlap also announced that he would be starting his professional career with next week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament.
Recently, the United States Golf Association (USGA) shared a post on its Instagram page appreciating Nick Dunlap and asking people to predict his professional career.
Surratt, who has been making headlines for his reported LIV Golf deal, jumped to the comments section of the post and said that Dunlap would be winning a Major this year.
"Major champion this year," commented Surratt.
Surratt also congratulated Nick Dunlap, the newest member of the PGA Tour, in a post he shared on his Instagram story.
"What an amazing amateur career! So happy for you bro," he wrote.
Shattering all the odds, Nick Dunlap played an exceptional tournament and became the eighth amateur winner on the PGA Tour since 1945.
After winning the US Amateur in 2023, he tied the record held by legendary golfer Tiger Woods and became just the second player in history to win both the US Junior Amateur and US Amateur.
He has previously competed at the US Open twice but failed to make the cut. But Dunlap has been playing well this year, so his fans have big expectations from him.
A look into Nick Dunlap's amateur career
Nick Dunlap enjoyed a successful amateur career. He won several tournaments while playing for his college, the University of Alabama.
Dunlap was the runner-up at the 2020 Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship in the 14–18 age group. The 2018 Alabama State Junior Championship winner had finished second at the Junior Players Championship and the Boy's Junior PGA Championship in 2021.
He defeated Cohen Trolio in 2021 to win the US Junior Amateur, which earned him an exemption to compete at the 2022 US Open in the field of professional golfing. But he failed to make the cut at the men's Major professional golf tournament.
However, for his successful year, Dunlap was awarded the AJGA Boys Golfer of the Year in 2021. He won the US Amateur in 2023 by defeating Neal Shipley.
During his amateur career, Dunlap has also played for the winning team at the Walker Cup and the Eisenhower Trophy in 2023. He received a sponsor exemption to compete at The American Express 2024, and he was fortunate to win his maiden PGA Tour event as an amateur and reach number 64 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He is set to make his debut as a professional next week.