Nick Dunlap reveals surprise reaction to shooting 90

It would have been so easy for Nick Dunlap to withdraw after such ignominy at Augusta National. 

In his ruinous first round on Thursday, the two-time PGA Tour winner became the first man in a decade to fail to break 90 at the Masters. Dunlap’s game was absolutely broken.

He didn’t make a three-putt, but couldn’t put an adequate swing on the ball either.

Yet against all convention, the American turned up and shot an under-par round on Friday. Through 15 holes, he was four-under par.

A second round 71 ultimately proved 19 shots better than his harrowing Thursday effort.

Seldom has the peculiarity of golf been shown off quite like Dunlap’s wildy constrasting scores on the hallowed Augusta course.

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“Just impressed that I showed up today, to be honest,” he said afterwards. “I think a lot of people would have maybe backed out, maybe not. Certainly I wanted to at times. I know that.

“There’s a lot of things I could have done that would make me a lot more happy to come out and feel like I’m not playing well at all and come play golf in front of a bunch of people.

“I’ve never withdrawn from anything. I’ve never teed it up and not finished. I take pride in that, and that’s always how I’m going to be. I’m never going to quit. I’m always going to show up.”

Coming into the first major of the season on the back of three missed cuts, Dunlap’s revealed that he’s been feeling at a complete loss with his game for some time.

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“A couple weeks now,” he explained when asked how long he has been struggling. “I’m hitting hundreds of golf balls that not everybody can see. I’m doing it alone, and it’s not getting any better, so it’s pretty frustrating.”

Dunlap’s next revelation was the most telling though.

When he would have been forgiven for burying his head in the pine straw on Thursday, the 21-year-old instead spent the evening after shooting 90 hitting balls into them.

“I hit a couple buckets of balls at my Airbnb into the woods,” he explained.

“I don’t know if there was any houses or anything back there. But you just hit a bunch of golf balls.  I had more of a knot in my stomach today than I’ve ever had starting a round of golf.

“I definitely can learn something from that, but it’s certainly not a position that you ever want to be in again.”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.