Cognizant Classic: Young star Nick Dunlap surges to contention after hole-in-one

PALM BEACH GARDENS — One of the most exciting young players in professional golf surged into contention with a hole-in-one on Friday afternoon at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.

Nick Dunlap carded an ace on No. 7 at the PGA National Champion Course to move to 8-under for the tournament and one stroke off the lead held by Victor Perez and Kevin Yu. It was the first hole-in-one of Dunlap's brief professional career.

Dunlap shot 4-under 67 in the first round and opened his second round birdie-bogey-eagle before his hole-in-one. He made the turn at 8-under and trailed only Perez, Yu and Austin Eckroat.

Dunlap faded off the lead early in his back nine after a string of missed tee shots.

He lost his drive out of bounds on No. 10 and settled for bogey to drop to 7-under, three shots back of Eckroat's lead at 10-under. Dunlap drifted further back after missing the fairway again on No. 11, settling for bogey and dropping to 6-under. He again missed the fairway and bogeyed No. 12 to drop five strokes off Eckroat.

Dunlap finished 1-under for his second round and 5-under for the tournament to make the cut for the first time in his career as a pro.

His success at the Cognizant Classic continues a sizzling season that has seen the 20-year-old become one of golf's top young players.

Dunlap began 2024 as a sophomore collegiate golfer at the University of Alabama but decided to turn pro after a historic victory in January at The American Express in California. Dunlap shot 29-under to win the tournament by one stroke, becoming the first amateur in 33 years (Phil Mickelson, 1991 Tucson Open) to win a PGA Tour event.

He played in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a no-cut event, in early February and missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational in his most recent event.

Despite growing winds and rain in the afternoon, golfers saw some success on No. 7 — a 197-yard par-3 — and Dunlap wasn't the first player to go after the pin.

In the previous group, reigning tournament champion Chris Kirk hit the pin with his tee shot. The ball trickled 2 feet away and Kirk tapped in for a birdie.

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Thomas Detry records rare six-putt

Belgian Thomas Detry stumbled to a quadruple bogey on the par-4 No. 6, a lowlight only made worse by the number of putts he took to finish.

Detry, who shot 2-over in the first round and was 4-over for the tournament entering the hole, needed six putts to finish after hitting the green in regulation.

He was visibly frustrated after missing an 8-foot par putt and appeared to rush through three more missed attempts before eventually making a 3-footer.

Detry struggled through the rest of the round, finishing dead last with an 11-over for the tournament.

Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cognizant Classic: Nick Dunlap hole-in-one pushes young star into contention