What a year it was for men’s amateur golfers.
Players dominated the college game and others took over the scene during the summer. An amateur legend further cemented his legacy while one of the up-and-comers continued to make a name for himself.
When it came to selecting Golfweek‘s Male Amateur of the Year, there were plenty of candidates to choose from, but one stood out among the rest. This player did something this summer that had only ever been done once by a guy named Tiger Woods. I wonder what he’s up to these days.
The 2023 Golfweek Award winner for Male Amateur of the Year goes to …
MORE: Every Golfweek Award for 2023
Winner: Nick Dunlap
This summer, Nick Dunlap became the best amateur in golf when he won back-to-back events at the Northeast Amateur and the North & South Amateur. The feather in his cap, however, was his victory at Cherry Hills Country Club outside of Denver for the U.S. Amateur title, becoming only the second amateur ever to win both a U.S. Junior and U.S. Amateur, the other being Tiger Woods.
Dunlap also represented the U.S. on the victorious Walker Cup team at St. Andrews, and he finished second and helped the Americans to the team title at the World Amateur Team Championship. Additionally, he has two college victories at Alabama, coming in the Linger Longer Invitational and the stroke-play portion of SEC Match Play.
Honorable mention: Ludvig Aberg
The 2023 Haskins Award winner had a dominant end to his college career at Texas Tech. He became the first golfer to win consecutive Big 12 Conference individual titles and was the only Div. I men’s college golfer to win both conference and regional titles. He also became the first golfer to earn a PGA Tour card via PGA Tour University.
Honorable mention: Stewart Hagestad
What a year it was for the mid-am legend. Hagestad won his fourth Walker Cup, helping the Americans to a win at St. Andrews. He also won his third U.S. Mid-Amateur and the Crump Cup.
Honorable mention: Gordon Sargent
Gordon Sargent wowed the masses this summer with his long drives at the 2023 U.S. Open, where he earned low amateur honors. He also won the Mark H. McCormack medal while going 4-0 at the Walker Cup and 3-0-1 at the Palmer Cup in addition to two collegiate victories for Vanderbilt.
Previous winners
2022: Chris Gotterup
