At the biggest junior events in 2021, Nicholas Dunlap was always a factor. Perhaps nothing demonstrates that better than the U.S. Junior Amateur trophy Dunlap carted off from the Country Club of North Carolina in July.
Now, Dunlap, who is verbally committed to play for Alabama, has been named the AJGA’s Rolex Player of the Year, which is the organization’s highest honor for a player.
While the U.S. Junior trophy might have scored him the biggest headlines – and also earned him a spot in the 2022 U.S. Open – the rest of Dunlap’s season was equally impressive. Early in the year, he won the Dustin Johnson World Junior and early in the summer, he won the Polo Golf Junior Classic at Liberty National. The latter, like the U.S. Junior, was a match-play event.
In AJGA competition, the high school senior played in 11 events recognized by the Rolex AJGA Rankings and finished outside the top five just twice. Even when Dunlap wasn’t winning, he was in the mix. He tied for second at the Wyndham Invitational, tied for fifth at the Western Junior and was runner-up in both the Boys Junior PGA Championship and Junior Players Championship late in the summer.
Dunlap, No. 1 in Golfweek’s Junior Rankings, and the rest of the 2021 Rolex Junior All-America Teams listed below will be honored virtually through a Rolex Junior All-America Awards celebration on Friday, Dec. 3 dubbed “The Greatest Night in Junior Golf.”
First Team
Luke Clanton of Miami Lakes, Florida
Nicholas Dunlap of Huntsville, Alabama
Maxwell Ford of Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Zach Heffernan of Boerne, Texas
J. Holland Humphries of Austin, Texas
Benjamin James of Milford, Connecticut
Jackson Koivun of San Jose, California
Eric Lee of Fullerton, California
Bryan Lee of Fairfax, Virginia
Jacob Sosa of Austin, Texas
Jase Summy of Keller, Texas
Caleb Surratt of Indian Trail, North Carolina
Second Team
Sihao Cong of Irvine, California
John Daly II of Dardanelle, Arkansas
Ethan Gao of Alpharetta, Georgia
Jonathan Griz of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Bryan Kim of Brookeville, Maryland
Bruce Murphy of Johns Creek, Georgia
Anawin Pikulthong of Gilbert, Arizona
Aaron Pounds of The Woodlands, Texas
Nicholas Prieto of Miami, Florida
Mason Snyder of Las Vegas, Nevada
Matthew Troutman of Louisville, Kentucky
Wells Williams of West Point, Mississippi
Honorable Mention
Kyle An of Aliso Viejo, California
Jonas Appel of Encinitas, California
Gavin Aurilia of Phoenix, Arizona
Carson Brewer of Jacksonville, Florida
Ryder Cowan of Edmond, Oklahoma
Matthew Doyle of Madison, Connecticut
Nicholas Gross of Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Will Hartman of Marvin, North Carolina
Scotty Kennon of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Shawn Lalmoni of Orlando, Florida
Carter Loflin of Duluth, Georgia
Kyo Morishita of (Japan) Bradenton, Florida
Will Morlan of Alpharetta, Georgia
Sebastian Moss of Houston, Texas
Chase Nevins of Great Falls, Virginia
Calder Overfelt of Newport Beach, California
Alex Papayoanou of The Woodlands, Texas
Deven Patel of Johns Creek, Georgia
Solomon Petrie of Akron, Ohio
Sihan Sandhu of Pinehurst, North Carolina
William Sides of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Brendan Valdes of Orlando, Florida
Keaton Vo of Austin, Texas
Rylan Wotherspoon of Florence, Kentucky
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