PINEHURST — A new U.S. Open golf champion will be crowned on the famed 18th green of Pinehurst No. 2 this Sunday and two new faces have been crowned on the course in the past 24 months.
Nicholas Dunlap and Luke Clanton will both be drawing from positive memories and could turn heads when they tee it up.
Both Clanton and Dunlap are winners of the North & South Amateur Men’s Championship which is held annually at Pinehurst Resort. Dunlap won last summer in 2023, and Clanton took the title in 2022.
The North South & Amateur is a grueling summer tournament held during the summer months, the hottest time of the year in the Carolinas.
To win, both Dunlap and Clanton had to best a 120-player field over the course of five days — making it into the top 32 after two rounds of stroke play and then surviving and advancing through one-on-one match play until becoming the eventual last ones standing.
The majority of rounds played during the event take place on Pinehurst No. 2 where this year's Open is being held and their recent experience will possibly give both of these young talents an edge this week. A unique feature and challenge of Pinehurst No. 2 is its green complexes, which feature domed or turtle-back greens that require a good deal of accuracy and short game acumen to navigate and score well over the course of a tournament. Part of the trick of scoring well and succeeding is based on a good knowledge of where to miss and also when to be aggressive and stay conservative with shot selection. Both Clanton and Dunlap have spent extensive time over the past several years grinding their ways around the famed course and no doubt also growing a good base knowledge of the lay of the land. Clanton in particular is an exciting player to keep an eye on this upcoming week as he is entering the week in good form. Besides finishing in the top five in the final qualifying event in Florida earlier this week, he has also been on a tear finishing up his college season where he plays for the Florida State Seminoles as a sophomore (rising junior). Clanton has racked up a plethora of awards and victories during his sophomore season this year, setting the scoring average record for FSU, being selected as a D1 Ping First Team All-American, a finalist in both the Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award, and earning All-ACC Team selection — to name just a few. Along with these awards he also was back-to-back ACC Golfer of the Month in March and April and racked up several wins during that time winning the 2024 Seminole Intercollegiate Tournament, the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, and the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Tournament. The Seminoles finished runner-up in the NCAA Men's Golf National Championship last week to a red hot Auburn Tigers team. Clanton tied for second place overall during the stroke play portion of the championship and would go on to play an integral role in both the quarterfinal and semi-final match play rounds, winning tight matches to help decide the outcome of both before losing a tight match in the finals to Auburn. Another arrow in Clanton’s quiver this week is the return of Jason Weirtel on his bag caddying this week. Wiertel has caddied for Clanton during several amateur events the past few years, including his 2022 win at the North & South Amateur tournament. Dunlap is also entering the U.S. Open riding some momentum in a different way. Earlier this year, Dunlap exploded onto the scene of professional golf winning the American Express as an amateur, a feat which had not been accomplished in over 30 years. Shortly after his win at the American Express he dropped his amateur status and turned professional . Since turning professional, Dunlap has played in 10 events this year — not including his break-out win at the American Express tournament — and has managed four top-30 finishes including a top-12 finish with a loaded field at the Memorial Tournament last week. Note: Photos of Clanton are from June 10 at the U.S. Open; photos of Dunlap are from the Wells Fargo Championship in May.
