Debuts for notable Masters champions
Around The Commonwealth
“ He’ s been here 25 years. Caddied in the tournament twice, so relying on him a lot for where to miss it, where to— what the reads are, where to putt it, stuff like that.”
Beck shot a respectable 77-76 to finish at 153, third out of the five amateurs who played. None made the cut.
THE HOTSHOT ROOKIE If anyone on Tour could identify with Brennan’ s sudden rise, it’ s Nick Dunlap, who, like Brennan, took an untraditional path to the PGA Tour. Dunlap, then still a member of the University of Alabama’ s golf team, won The American Express as a sponsor exemption in January 2024, leaving him a choice— go back to school, or turn pro and accept PGA Tour membership. He chose the latter.
PGA Tour wins( save for ones in the Fall Series) come with automatic Masters invites. In the span of a weekend, Dunlap went from college student to earning a trip to Augusta.
“ I wouldn’ t want to be anywhere else,” he said in 2024.“ You know, it’ s the greatest place on earth, and I’ m honored to be here. You know, I got to come two months ago, but it’ s different seeing all the patrons, and the golf course is starting to really shape up.”
The enthusiasm turned into nerves when Dunlap’ s starting time finally arrived.
“ I mean, yeah, I’ m 20 and I’ m teeing off with Jon Rahm at Augusta on the first tee,” he said.“ I was pretty nervous. I just hit a
Debuts for notable Masters champions
Jack Nicklaus( 6 wins) – Cut, 1959 Tiger Woods( 5) – T41, 1995( low amateur) Arnold Palmer( 4) – T10, 1955 Jimmy Demaret( 3) – T33, 1939 Sam Snead( 3) – 18th, 1937 Gary Player( 3) – T24, 1957 Nick Faldo( 3) – 40th, 1979 Phil Mickelson( 3) – T46, 1991( low amateur) Scottie Scheffler( 2) – T19, 2020
Sam Snead
Chris Gotterup, who won twice in the first month of this season, is making his Augusta debut in April.
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Nick Dunlap during his Masters debut. |
bad one, hit somebody in the side of the head, and it wasn’ t great from there on in.”
Dunlap recovered to shoot 77-74 and miss the cut by a stroke.
STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES South Korean Sungjae Im set the rookie scoring record at the 2020 Masters, which was a total outlier for two reasons, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was played in November, when the course conditions at Augusta National are fiercely different than they are in April, and it was played without patrons in attendance. Im posted a 15-under-par 273 to finish tied for second with Cameron Smith, five shots behind Dustin Johnson.
THREE MORE ROOKIES TO WATCH
• Chris Gotterup, 26, will be a popular darkhorse choice after a strong 2025 season
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that included a Scottish Open victory and a third-place finish at the Open Championship. The success nearly netted him a spot on the U. S. Ryder Cup squad. The former Oklahoma standout won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and the WM Phoenix Open in February, the second win moving him into the OWGR top 5.
• Ryan Gerard, 26, who traveled 10,000 miles from the U. S. to the DP World Tour’ s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in hopes of a T4 or better finish to earn a spot in the top 50 of the final OWGR in 2025. He finished second after falling a playoff. A worthwhile trip.
• Johnny Keefer, 25, was the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year and is not only making his Masters debut, but his major championship debut. A seventh-place finish at the season-ending RSM Classic helped him sneak into the year-ending top 50.
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