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VISIT CORONANEWSPRESS.COM
Thursday, January 25-January 31, 2024
Local. Relevant. Trusted.
VOL. 8,
NO. 157
Amateur makes history by winning The American Express PGA event
Riverside Mayor’s Innovation Award goes to creators of @inlandempire Instagram
By City News Service
By Staff
N
ick Dunlap on Sunday became the first amateur since 1991 to win a PGA Tour event, overcoming a doublebogey on the seventh hole and a drive into the rough on No. 18 to capture the $8.4 million The American Express by one stroke over South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Alabama began Sunday's final round at the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta with a three-stroke lead over Sam Burns after shooting a 12-under 60 at La Quinta Country Club on Saturday — tying the PGA Tour record for the lowest round by an amateur and becoming the first amateur to reach a 54-hole lead or co-lead since Paul Dunne in the 2015 British Open. Playing in the final group with Burns and Justin Thomas, Dunlap maintained his 3-stroke lead over Burns through six holes as both golfers birdied five holes and the par-5 fifth. But that lead disappeared on the par-4 seventh hole as Dunlap put his tee shot in the water and missed a 13-foot, 1-inch putt for a bogey while Burns had a birdie to grab a share of the lead. The double bogey ended Dunlap's streak of 45 consecutive holes at par or better, which began on his 16th hole in Thursday's first round, the seventh hole at the Nicklaus Tournament Course where Dunlap began his round on the 10th tee.
Nick Dunlap displays his trophy after winning The American Express tournament in La Quinta. | Photo courtesy of PGA Tour/X
Dunlap regained sole possession of the lead on the next hole, birdieing the par-5 eighth hole. Birdies by Burns on the par-4 10th hole, and by Kevin Yu, who was playing four groups behind Dunlap, on the par-4 14th hole, created a three-way tie for the lead. Burns took a solo lead with a birdie on the par-5 11th hole. Yu grabbed a share of the lead by hitting a birdie par-5 16th hole while Burns parred the par-4 12th. Burns regained the solo lead with birdie on the par-4 13th hole. Burns remained a stroke
ahead of Dunlap after both birdied the par-4 14th hole. The birdie ended Dunlap's streak of five consecutive pars following his birdie on the eighth hole. Dunlap regained a share of the lead with a birdie on the par-5 16th hole, which Burns parred. Dunlap became the solo leader when he parred the par-3 17th hole and Burns had a double bogey, hitting his tee shot into the water and having a 25-foot, 8-inch putt for bogey stop one inch past the hole. Bezuidenhout, playing
in the group in front of Dunlap, moved into second, one stroke off the lead, by birdieing the 18th hole, completing a round of 7-under 65. Dunlap said after the round he did not know his lead had dropped to one shot as he prepared to play the 18th hole. After hitting his drive 264 yards into the rough on the par-4, 435-yard 18th hole, 202 yards from the hole, Dunlap hit his second shot 194 yards into a grassy drainage area off the green, 75 feet, 5 inches from the hole. Dunlap hit his third shot 78 feet, 6 inches, stopping 5 feet, 9 inches from the hole, then sank the putt for the victory. "I told Hunter that we hadn't faced much adversity yet, and hitting my ball in the water on 7, it tested everything I had," Dunlap said, referring to Hunter Hamrick, the Crimson Tide's assistant men's golf coach in 2022 and 2023, who was his caddy for the tournament. "I missed a couple putts that I thought I was going to make. I went over a scenario for today probably a million times and it's never going to go how you plan, and it didn't." Dunlap said coming down the stretch, he was "most nervous I've ever been, by far." "Just tried to breathe, but also look up and enjoy it a little bit," Dunlap said. "I've said it numerous times
See American Express PGA Page 32
M
ayor Patricia Lock Dawson on Thursday is set to present the 2024 Mayor’s Innovation Award the creative team behind the @inlandempire Instagram page, which harnesses social media to promote local small businesses, officials announced last week. The award will be presented to @inlandempire founders Mark Menezes and Justin Hudson during the annual State of the City address, this year themed “Riverside in Motion,” at the Riverside Convention Center, 3637 5th St. Registration and networking start at 4:30 p.m., and the program is scheduled to begin at 5:30. “Mark and Justin have captured the imagination of the region with their insightful and fun videos that highlight the depth of Inland Southern California,” Lock Dawson said in a statement. “Their innovative approach to social media helps bring our diverse region together.” Menezes, who grew up in Riverside and moved back from the East Coast about six years ago, said @inlandempire has attracted 19,000 followers in just four months, according to the city's announcement. Menezes and Hudson publish See @Inlandempire Page 31
Supervisors authorize ongoing emergency actions tied to tropical storm By City News Service
T
he Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved the Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District's request to continue "emergency actions" tied to Tropical Storm Hilary last summer. In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board authorized the district to carry on restoration and protection projects in the aftermath of the storm. The supervisors have granted the district's requests every month since Hilary occurred on Aug. 19-20. "Parts of Riverside County saw record rainfall, flooding, flash flooding, mud flows and debris flows," according to an agency statement. "Among the hardest hit areas were the San Bernardino Mountains and communities in the Coachella Valley." Flood control engineers have focused on repairs and modifications to the Mission Creek Channel, Murrieta Creek, the Potrero Creek Debris Basin and the Tahquitz Creek Channel. See Tropical storm Page 02