Nick Dunlap reflects on defending a PGA Tour event for first time - ‘I definitely want to experience again"

Nick Dunlap opened up about defending his American Express title in 2025. He won two PGA Tour titles in 2024 and his first PGA Tour victory came at the American Express, where he finished at 29 under 259 by defeating Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

Dunlap's next PGA Tour victory came at the Barracuda Championship, which is yet to take place in the 2025 PGA Tour roster. As players buckle up for the American Express at the PGA WEST Pete Dye Stadium Course, Dunlap expressed his thoughts on defending his first PGA Tour title. He joined the press conference at the venue and said, via ASAP Sports:

“Pretty neat. I had never really got to in junior golf or amateur golf -- I got to defend a U.S. Junior once, but that was about it. So, yeah, just to kind of see my name around and to see some pictures, and it's pretty cool, I'm not going to lie. It's something that I definitely want to experience again, and hopefully next year I can come back to some of the same stuff.”

He added:

"Yeah, it's nice to be back. I walked in, saw my brick in the front, that was pretty cool. But it's nice to know where I'm going for the first week, I don't have to find everything for the first time.”

Nick Dunlap shot 64 in the first round of the 2024 American Express with five birdies and two eagles. He scored 65 and 60 in the second and third rounds with seven and ten birdies, respectively. He secured 70 in the last round with four birdies.

How did Nick Dunlap perform in the 2024 PGA Tour season?

Nick Dunlap had four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour including a T5 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship with a score of 13 under 267. His last 2024 tournament was the Hero World Challenge, where he landed at T16. Here's the entire list of his 2024 performances:

• The American Express: Winner, 64-65-60-70, 259 (-29)
• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: T80, 76-74-73, 223 (+7)
• The Genesis Invitational: Missed cut
• Cognizant Classic at the PGA National Resort & Spa: T53, 67-70-71-71, 279 (-5)
• Arnold Palmer Invitational: T48, 72-74-75-71, 292 (+4)
• THE PLAYERS Championship: Missed cut
• Texas Children's Houston Open: T11, 68-71-63-69, 271 (-9)
• Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club: Missed cut
• RBC Heritage at the Harbour Town Golf Links: T69, 75-73-68-74, 290 (+6)
• THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson: T30, 66-67-67-70, 270 (-14)
• Wells Fargo Championship: T24, 69-72-72-72, 285 (+1)
• PGA Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club: Missed cut
• the Memorial Tournament: T12, 70-73-70-75, 288 (E)
• U.S. Open at the Pinehurst No. 2: Missed cut
• Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands: T66, 68-70-73-68, 279 (-1)
• Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club: T10, 67-69-67-71, 274 (-14)
• John Deere Classic: Missed cut
• Barracuda Championship: Winner, 12-7-11-19, 49 (+49)
• 3M Open at the TPC Twin Cities: Missed cut
• Wyndham Championship at the Sedgefield Country Club: Missed cut
• FedEx St. Jude Championship: T5, 67-65-66-69, 267 (-13)
• BMW Championship: T31, 69-72-70-77, 288 (E)
• Sanderson Farms Championship: T28, 69-66-70-68, 273 (-15)
• Hero World Challenge: T16, 68-73-70-76, 287 (-1)