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While always a thrill for an amateur golfer to get the opportunity to compete on the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour, the likelihood of such a player actually winning an event lies somewhere between slim and none.
Now, over the first few decades of organized professional golf, amateur winners in professional events were much more common than they are in today’s game. And we’re not talking small-time tourneys here.
In fact, from 1890 to 1933, eight amateur golfers combined to win 14 major championships. Eight of those, of course, were won by the greatest amateur golfer of all time, Bobby Jones.
Since then, there have been six second-place amateur finishers in the majors, including Jack Nicklaus following his famous duel with Arnold Palmer at the 1960 U.S. Open, but no winners.
As for the PGA Tour, only eight amateurs have hoisted trophies at the end of a tournament since 1945, which is when the tour became a bit more structured. An additional three amateurs have taken tournaments on the DP World Tour.
Let’s take a look at the complete list.
Amateur Golfers to Win on the PGA Tour
The first amateur golfer to emerge victorious in the PGA Tour’s modern era was 29-year-old Fred Haas, who won the 1945 Memphis Invitational. And not only did the 1937 NCAA individual champ win, he broke Byron Nelson’s historic 11-tournament winning streak. Haas finally turned pro the following year and ended his career with five PGA Tour wins.
Dr. Cary Middlecoff and Frank Stranahan, the latter of whom is the only player on this list to record multiple victories as an amateur, also won events in 1945.
| Amateur Golfers to Win on the PGA Tour | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Golfer | Tournament |
| 1945 | Fred Haas | Memphis Invitational |
| 1945 | Cary Middlecoff | North and South Open |
| 1945 | Frank Stranahan | Durham War Bond Tournament |
| 1946 | Frank Stranahan | Kansas City Invitational Victory Bond Golf Tournament |
| 1946 | Frank Stranahan | Fort Worth Invitational |
| 1948 | Frank Stranahan | Miami Open |
| 1954 | Gene Littler | San Diego Open |
| 1956 | Doug Sanders | Canadian Open |
| 1985 | Scott Verplank | Western Open |
| 1991 | Phil Mickelson | Northern Telecom Open |
| 2024 | Nick Dunlap | The American Express |
The most recent amateur to take a tournament on the PGA Tour was 20-year-old Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap, who shot 29-under at the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West in La Quinta, California, to win the 2024 edition of The American Express.
Dunlap, who came into the event as the reigning U.S. Amateur champ, garnered praise from several big names throughout the golf world, including the man who was previously the most recent amateur winner on the game’s biggest tour.
Prior to Dunlap’s victory, the last amateur victor on the PGA Tour, of course, was none other than Phil Mickelson, who was still a 20-year-old junior at Arizona State when he won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open in Tucson.
The win was the first of 45 PGA Tour titles for Mickelson, who captured six major championships before making the jump to LIV Golf in 2022.
Amateur Golfers to Win on the DP World Tour
As for the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), just three amateurs have taken titles, with all three doing so in a 25-month stretch between 2007 and 2009.
Pablo Martin Benavides became the first to accomplish the feat with a one-stroke win at the Estoril Open de Portugal in April 2007.
In February 2009, New Zealand’s Danny Lee, then just 18 years and 213 days old, became the youngest player, amateur or professional, to ever win a DP World Tour event with a one-shot victory at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia.
| Amateur Golfers to Win on the DP World Tour | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Golfer | Tournament |
| 2007 | Pablo Martin Benavides | Estoril Open de Portugal |
| 2009 | Danny Lee | Johnnie Walker Classic |
| 2009 | Shane Lowry | Irish Open |
Just under three months later, future Open Championship winner Shane Lowry won the Irish Open in front of his home crowd, defeating Robert Rock in a playoff to become the first amateur and just the sixth player overall to win his DP World Tour debut.
Stats courtesy of PGATour.com and EuropeanTour.com.
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