Nick Dunlap disastrously opened the master. Then he opened his soul

Augusta, Ga. – In the lunch crowd on the second floor porch of Augusta National Club on Friday afternoon, classes, tournaments and competitions may look gentlemanly. Fifty yards away, on the first tee, golfer Nick Dunlap knew the truth. His stomach was knotted, his thoughts were frying, and his hands were wet. Among the 21-year-old golfer, a war is in progress and he is losing the war. But facing the second round of battle or flight option, he is choosing to fight.

“Man, give him credibility – he showed up,” said the audience in the first tee. His friend did some math. If he took 62 course records, can he advance? No, not an opportunity. But Nick Dunlap did show up. Back to the day, Tiger, if you play the first round always Played for the second time. However, over the past few decades, the second round of WD has become commonplace. On this basis, Nick Dunlap just gained credibility for being there.

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Dunlap’s Thursday score – 90, or even 5 seconds, over 18) told the public that he’s known for some time. Something went wrong. He is famous for at least a month, even if it isn’t long anymore. But a score of 90 made it drastically relieved. Now, the man calls him to the tee with Augusta’s oldest song: Please move forward – drive now. Dunlap’s racing partner, left-handed Scots Billy Horschel and Robert MacIntyre drove with the driver. Dunlap hit 3 woods and occupied the concession stand in front of the right, and the TV stand stood out.

Dunlap was the bullet of Left Tree in the opening ceremony of Salvo on Thursday. The nightmare is continuing. He walked up the mountain 50 yards away from his racing partner.

Then, something amazing happened. He performed well on one up and down one up and down, and when he reached the 10th tee, he was firmly green on one windy afternoon, three years old. Some scoreboards list scores for MacIntyre and Horschel, but leave blanks next to Dunlap’s name. Maybe the scoreboard operator thought they did him a favor. They used to work hard to break 90 points for Billy Casper and Charlie Coody, but for professionals with travel cards, they might be the first. Dunlap played one of the best rounds of the day. It’s not fairways and green – anyway. But this is 9 holes with 33 shots. After par on 10, he drove close to the 14th green on 11 (driver), about 70 yards off line. But he also managed to set par there.

That’s when Rory McIlroy was in the news building, telling reporters that his second round of 66 was 66, with pain, too many 72 times, and even nothing. He described a moment in Thursday’s round, when he lost his lead after cutting into the water from the 15th green green. He described some second round talking to himself, and he said, “You idiot, what did you do?” No, this game is not a gentleman. Whether we see it or not, we are always fighting.

McIlroy was asked about Dunlap and the art of wriggling everything, hitting three-thirds on Friday on Thursday. He said: “It reminds me of a story from the Memorial. I filmed 63 first rounds at the Memorial in 2014 and supported it at a rate of 79. I came in for lunch, and I saw Jack Nicklaus there. It was the golf ball of the championship.

“But we are all great players. We’re in the Masters. We all have the ability to shoot and score.”

Yes.

Dunlap has a small gallery with him, including his mother and a friend. When he won the American Express Championship in February 2024, he was a 20-year-old Alabama sophomore with his parents, girlfriend, agent, swing coach and college coach there. A lot has changed since then. “He’s fighting,” Dunlap’s mother said as she walked up the Big Hill, 18, “he doesn’t quit.”

The three-down birds turned four under the 15-year-old birds, but Dunlap ended with three bogeys. When you’re not playing well, you can’t get to the house quickly when you’re going through a round of smoke and mirrors. He signed 71, a 19-shot improvement. Dunlap is not lying to himself. If anything tells you that he has a chance to take back his old game, that’s it. To play this private war game at the highest level, you have to be honest with yourself.

Dunlap was asked to compare how he felt about himself and golf, the first day and the second day, “about the same.” Indeed, it was an amazing admission.

Dunlap evaluated his experience for one and two months in his very successful and unbalanced career:

“It’s very rewarding, very humble and frustrating at the same time. I think professional golf can be a very lonely place, especially when you’re not playing well.”

Dunlap hit dozens of balls Thursday night – every brand and color of the store was purchased in the backyard of his rental home in the emergency of Augusta’s target. This is not an exercise. That was an escape. The golfer escaped his own golf. Now Nick Dunlap is looking for new ammunition that he can call his swing.

“It’s like I want to do more than you can and then add weight to that,” he said. “I’m trying to do something that I think will work in the first place, so it’s hard to stand there and see good things happening.”

You almost never hear a golfer who is deeply involved in the battle talking about the struggle so openly.

As they walked down the 18th green, Horschel stepped to the scorer’s room and placed his right hand on Dunlap’s back and told him he was proud of Dunlap for the second round to be eliminated. Dunlap looked exhausted and shocked.

“I will never quit,” he said.

He plays at Hilton Head next week.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments via michael.bamberger@golf.com