Justin Thomas dubs Nick Dunlap's solo tee off at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational ‘strange’ - “I'm sure there's a different or better way”

Round 1 of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational started with Nick Dunlap taking the first tee at 7:45 am ET. Interestingly, the 20-year-old golfer took the first tee at the event alone, while the remaining 68 players were divided into pairs of twos. While Dunlap looked fine with the move, Justin Thomas was not.

Following his opening round at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Thomas has come out to slam the officials’ decision to let Dunlap tee off alone. Dubbing it a ‘strange’ call, the 30-year-old claimed that there were “different or better way” to deal with the odd-man scenario.

The 2x Major winner stated that the young 2024 American Express champion could’ve been ‘thrown in with a three-ball or another two ball.’ The PGA Tour star also questioned why the event had a 69-man field when there were alternates available to make it a 70-man field.

Sharing his take on Nick Dunlap’s unusual tee-off at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Justin Thomas said (at 3:08):

"I don't know if it's necessarily an issue. I think it's just strange. I think they could have thrown him with a thrown him with a three ball or another two ball or something. But I don't think it's necessarily like we have one now we need to add a person because we only have one. These events don't have alternate for a reason."

"You have to qualify to get in them. And I'm sure there's a different or better way to go about it, but it is very strange," he added.

It is pertinent to note that Dunlap dubbed the experience of playing alone as “a little weird.” However, the amateur golfer didn’t seem too bothered on the field. Dunlap, who had his caddie for company on the greens, made a birdie-birdie finish to sign an even-par 72 at the end of Arnold Palmer Invitational round 1.

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Is Nick Dunlap teeing off alone at the Arnold Palmer Invitational round 2?

Like Thursday's round 1, Dunlap will once again tee off alone for round 2 of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 20-year-old golfer will take his first tee at 10:40 am ET. He will follow the pairing of Sami Valimaki and Adam Scott. Meanwhile, Justin Thomas will take his first tee at 8:05 am with Jake Knapp alongside him.

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Listed below are the complete day 2 tee times for the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational (All times ET):

1st tee

• 7:45 am - David Ford, Webb Simpson
• 7:55 am - Grayson Murray, Erik van Rooyen
• 8:05 am - Jake Knapp, Justin Thomas
• 8:15 am - Corey Conners, Eric Cole
• 8:25 am - Cam Davis, Denny McCarthy
• 8:35 am - Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick
• 8:45 am - Emiliano Grillo, Byeong Hun An
• 8:55 am - Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im
• 9:05 am - Si Woo Kim, Adam Hadwin
• 9:20 am - Adam Svensson, Harris English
• 9:30 am - Seamus Power, Tommy Fleetwood
• 9:40 am - Cameron Young, Lucas Glover
• 9:50 am - Kurt Kitayama, Max Homa
• 10:00 am - Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth
• 10:10 am - Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy
• 10:20 am - Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry
• 10:30 am - Sami Valimaki, Adam Scott
• 10:40 am - Nick Dunlap
• 10:55 am - C.T. Pan, Stephan Jaeger
• 11:05 am - Luke List, Justin Lower
• 11:15 am - Will Zalatoris, Min Woo Lee
• 11:25 am - Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Schenk
• 11:35 am - Nick Taylor, Sepp Straka
• 11:45 am - Keegan Bradley, Justin Rose
• 11:55 am - Jason Day, Tom Hoge
• 12:05 pm - Taylor Moore, Patrick Rodgers
• 12:15 pm - Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley
• 12:30 pm - Brendon Todd, Andrew Putnam
• 12:40 pm - Chris Kirk, Lee Hodges
• 12:50 pm - Brian Harman, J.T. Poston
• 1:00 pm - Wyndham Clark, Tom Kim
• 1:10 pm - Sam Burns, Scottie Scheffler
• 1:20 pm - Viktor Hovland, Rickie Fowler
• 1:30 pm - Austin Eckroat, Matthieu Pavon
• 1:40 pm - Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Nicolai Hojgaard

Saturday’s round 3 tee times for the PGA Tour's 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational will be updated after round 2.