WILL YOUTH BE SERVED? YOUNG STAR WILL ZALATORIS TEAMS WITH EVEN YOUNGER STAR NICK DUNLAP IN ZURICH CLASSIC

Dunlap won The American Express as an amateur, then took a second title as a pro last year

 NEW ORLEANS, LA (April 3, 2025)—Two of the new, young generation of stars in professional golf, Will Zalatoris and Nick Dunlap, have teamed to play together in this year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.

“Nick has already won two titles, one as an amateur, in his first season on the PGA Tour,” said Worthy. “Will had great success prior to injury and bounced back extremely well in 2024 after missing nearly a full season from major back surgery, ” Worthy added.

Zalatoris was forced to withdraw before the first round of  the 2023 Masters when he suffered a herniated disc in his back. He was ranked eighth in the world at the time. He lost the rest of the entire 2023 season and started 2024 ranked 43^rd.

Earlier, he burst on the PGA Tour to earn full-time membership for the 2020-21 season on the strength of three top 10 finishes in the majors–a second in his debut at the Masters, a tie for sixth in the U.S. Open and a tie for eighth in the PGA Championship. In 2022, he did even better in the majors with a tie for sixth in the Masters, a tie for second in the U.S. Open and a second in the PGA Championship when he lost a three-hole playoff.

He scored a total of eight top-10s and 14 top-25 finishes in only 25 events in his first season on Tour and ran away with the Arnold Palmer Award for Rookie of the Year honors before he even earned his full-time card.

He followed up that brilliant rookie season with his first victory in 2022 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but then was forced to withdraw from the following week’s BMW Championship when his back problem first appeared. Before that happened, however, he had posted three runner-up finishes and nine top-10s, including a tie for fourth in the 2022 Zurich Classic, teamed with Davis Riley.

He returned healthy on the Tour in 2024 and tied for second in The Genesis Invitational and tied for fourth in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. So far this year, in seven tournaments he has posted three top-25 finishes, the best a tie for 12^th in The American Express.

As an amateur, he won the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. In college, he played for Wake Forest on the Arnold Palmer scholarship and was named first-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year in 2017.

He made the Walker Cup team that year and contributed to a 19-7 U.S. win over the Europeans by going 3-1 in his matches. That American team included Collin Morikawa, Cameron Champ, Doug Ghim and Maverick McNealy, all of whom compete on the PGA Tour today.

Nick Dunlap will be making his debut at the Zurich Classic this year, his first full time year on the PGA Tour.

He started 2024 with a victory at The American Express while still an amateur playing on a sponsor’s exemption. He became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since 1991. Along the way, he posted a 12-under 60 at La Quinta Country Club in the third round to hold a three-shot lead entering the final round. The event marked his fourth PGA TOUR start, and he turned pro four days later.

He then went on to win the Barracuda Championship in July for his second PGA TOUR title of the season and became the first player in PGA TOUR history to win as an amateur and a professional in the same season.

Dunlap also scored seven top-25 finishes last year, including a tie for fifth in the BMW Championship of the FedExCup Playoffs.

He easily won the Arnold Palmer Award as the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season.

Before his meteoric rise in professional golf, Dunlap was recognized as an outstanding athlete when very young. He was a finalist in the NFL’s Punt, Pass and Kick competition in 2013. When he was 12, he shot a round of 59 during a junior tournament that he won by 13 strokes.

e won the Alabama State Junior Championship in 2018 and the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur title in 2022, which gave him an exemption to the U.S. Open that year. He was subsequently named the 2021 AJGA Boys Golfer of the Year and ranked the number one junior golfer in the class of 2022. He played on the winning U.S. 2023 Walker Cup team.

He won the 2023 U.S. Amateur to become only the second golfer in history to win both the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Amateur titles. The first was Tiger Woods. He is the first amateur player to have won the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur, and a PGA Tour event. Even Tiger Woods did not do that.

About Fore!Kids Foundation: 

 Since 1958, the Fore!Kids Foundation has raised money to fund children’s service organizations through golf events like the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and several charitable golf tournaments.

In 2024, the Fore!Kids Foundation generated a record $3.3 million in charitable giving for children’s charities in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas. Charitable contributions have been rising in recent years:

• $3.3 million in 2024
• Over $22.9 Million to charities in last 10 years
• Over $51 Million to charities since inception

More information at http://www.forekidsfoundation.com.

About the Zurich Classic of New Orleans:

 Zurich Insurance has sponsored the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for 21 years, one of the longest title sponsor relationships on the PGA Tour. The Zurich Classic is the only team tournament on the PGA TOUR season. Since launching the team format in 2017, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has drawn some of the highest-ranking fields for any regular-season tournament on the PGA TOUR.

The 2024 Zurich Classic had over a $59 million economic impact to the regional economy. Since Zurich became title sponsor in 2005, the tournament has generated more than $700 million in estimated economic activity for the New Orleans community.

With 42 hours of total television coverage on Golf Channel and CBS, a total of 13 million viewers tuned in to watch the tournament.

Internationally, PGA TOUR coverage of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is available across 148 countries and territories via local broadcast partners, and garners $33 million in positive national and international media exposure for both the city and state throughout the year beyond the days of professional competition.

The tournament will be played April 21–27, 2025, at TPC Louisiana in Avondale. Purse for 2025 totals a record $9.2 million.

All tickets to the 2025 Zurich Classic will be mobile entry only. Day-specific grounds tickets are only $45. In addition, the Best of the Zurich Class Pass offers a variety of dishes from some of New Orleans most famous restaurants at three locations across the TPC course starting at $185 per day. The Walk-On’s Stadium Club offers close-up viewing at the 17^thhole in the only two-story, air-conditioned tent on the course. Additional ticket options are available by calling the Tournament Office at 504-342-3000 or online at www.zurichgolfclassic.com