Despite Registering The Worst Driving Stats At The John Deere Classic, Nick Dunlap Cards A Seven-Under Final Round to Jump Into Contention
The American carded a seven-under 64 final round at the John Deere Classic, despite Dunlap registering the worst driving stats among the field at TPC Deere Run


Nick Dunlap has had his struggles of late but, at the John Deere Classic, the 21-year-old showed glimpses of his old self.
A two-time PGA Tour winner, Dunlap sprung on the scene following his American Express victory as an amateur, as well as his PGA Tour win later that year at the Barracuda Championship.
However, since that winning moment the American has struggled immensely, with an example of that being at Augusta National, where he carded the worst score of the whole championship.
Dunlap, though, isn't a quitter and, at the John Deere Classic, he showed what he is made of, carding a seven-under final round to vault himself up the leaderboard.
What is perhaps more impressive is that, for the final round, Dunlap was ranked as the worst driver, but his putting stats were the best in the field, with the former US Amateur winner moving himself, momentarily, into the clubhouse lead.
On Sunday, Dunlap lost 5.425 shots in terms of Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, but it was on the greens where he saved his strokes, as the American registered 10.971 shots gained over the final round at TPC Deere Run.
Ranking last in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, but first in Strokes Gained: Putting, Dunlap jumped a near 30 places over the final round at the John Deere Classic to all-but secure a top 10 finish.
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In April, at The Masters, Dunlap registered an opening round of 90, with the 18-over-par score including a back nine of 47.
Struggling off the tee, Dunlap explained that, that week, he "hit a couple buckets of balls at my Airbnb into the woods," with the American then carding a one-under 71 the next day, an improvement of 19 shots.
Since that missed cut, he has registered missed cuts at the PGA Championship, RBC Canadian Open, US Open and Rocket Classic, with his best result of 2025 coming at the Sony Open in Hawaii back in January.
Currently, he is inside the top 10 of the John Deere Classic, with rounds of 68, 69, 68 and 64 putting him 15-under-par.

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover news and social media.
Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. His favorite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.
Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?
Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°
Fairway Wood: Ping G430 LST 15°, 19°
Irons: TaylorMade P.7CB
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
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