PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — One of the great things the PGA Tour does each year at its flagship event, The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, is the spotlight it puts on players competing in the event for the first time.
The day before the opening round, the players, on their maiden voyage around one of the world’s most famous golf courses, sat down for an interview on the spacious, well-manicured lawn outside the decadent clubhouse. It will be unveiled.
Twenty-two first-time players will tee up for Thursday’s opener, almost all young players, wet behind the ears and wide-eyed.
Wednesday saw a beautiful contrast between two of these players that speaks to what golf is all about, in that it’s as much for the young as it is for the old.
In one corner of the lawn was Nick Dunlap, a 20-year-old from Alabama. While still attending the University of Alabama and a member of the golf team, he surprisingly won the American Express as an amateur in January. He became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.
In another corner of the lawn was David Skins, 42, a married father of three from England who has played on more mini-tours than he can count.
Dunlap turned pro immediately after winning the American Express, a feat that earned him a PGA Tour card for three years and qualified him for big events like this week’s Players.
Skins, who won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour after finding success in Canada, said he’s been a professional for longer than he can remember and that’s all he knows.
“I think that’s the beauty of golf,” Skins told the Post. “There’s no reason you can’t grow when you’re 42. There’s no reason you can’t compete. I still have it. [swing and ball] speed. That’s the beauty of golf.You can sit here with Jake Knapp. [who won the Mexico Open] And Nick. We are on the same playing field. ”
Dunlap recalled the thoughts spinning in his head on the Saturday before his victory at the Amex, knowing he would be competing for the championship the next day. Will he stay in school and continue playing with his Alabama teammates or turn pro?
“Saturday night I couldn’t help but look at it like, ‘If we win, we’re going to get this, this, and this,'” Dunlap recalled Wednesday. “On Saturday, I was like, ‘If I win, I’m going to turn pro.’ And then it happened, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can really quit college and be away from my brothers and my teammates.’ .
“It took me a second to actually understand what was going on. It was a clear decision for me, but also a difficult one at the same time. The decision to follow my dreams was easy, but the season… It was very difficult to leave them in the middle.”
Mr. Skins called Mr. Dunlap’s dilemma “a big decision to make.”
That begged the question of how often Skins was faced with decisions about how long to continue pursuing his PGA Tour dreams.
“I’ve never felt like this is what I was meant to do,” Skins said. “I’ve always had that belief. I’m a professional golfer. That’s what I do. I’ve never thought about, ‘What else is out there?’ That’s the only thing I can do.
“I think the fact that what I was good at was always good enough to win at every level helped me stay here. I had my first breakthrough win at Korn Ferry in 2018, so I’m excited to play here. I am confident that we can win.”
Skins attended the University of Tennessee and currently lives in Atlanta with his wife and three children, who are originally from Pittsburgh. He became an avid Braves and Falcons fan, overjoyed by the signing of Kirk Cousins. He, too, is a Steelers fan through a proxy marriage.
A large part of Dunlap’s family consists of his teammates and coach Jay Sewell at the University of Alabama.
“It’s really nice to go back and spend time with them,” he said. “This is a comfortable place for me. They’re brothers to me and Jay Sewell will always be like a father to me. Whether I’m here or back at Alabama, he’s around me. It always gives me peace of mind.”
Dunlap called his whirlwind journey “crazy,” but added: deal with.
“This is ultimately where I wanted to go,” Dunlap said. “I never thought I’d come here. [age] 20.”
