There are hot starts to a PGA Tour career, then there’s what former Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap did this season en route to being named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

Dunlap, who turned pro after winning The American Express in January, won the prestigious honor in golf on Thursday.

“On behalf of the PGA Tour, congratulations to Nick Dunlap on being named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Nick carved out his place in the PGA Tour record book. To begin 2024 as a collegiate golfer and end it with two PGA Tour victories and among the top-50 players in the FedExCup is truly impressive.”

Not only did Nick Dunlap win twice on tour, he did so in historic fashion. He became the first player in PGA Tour history to win as both an amateur and a professional in the same season.

At 20 years old, he also became the youngest player to be named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year since Jordan Spieth earned the honor back in 2013.

Nick Dunlap won the award thanks to a member vote, with PGA Tour members who played at least 15 events during the 2024 campaign eligible to vote.

Dunlap received 57 percent of the vote, according to the PGA Tour.

Of course, Nick Dunlap’s year began as an amateur college golfer at Alabama. But he played in and won The American Express, then shortly after announced his move to turn pro.

He would later go on to win the Barracuda Championship in July.

Because he played so well, Nick Dunlap finished in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings, qualifying him for the PGA Tour’s signature events in 2025.

Dunlap ended his amateur career as the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He won the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2023 U.S. Amateur, joining Tiger Woods as the only players to win each title.

Don’t worry. Alabama men’s basketball knows it didn’t play well.

Alabama forward Grant Nelson, in his return to his home state, didn’t mince words talking about the Crimson Tide’s 97-90 victory over North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota on Wednesday that came down to the final minute.

“We played awful, pretty much the whole game,” said Nelson, a former North Dakota State player. “We came in, we didn’t take these guys seriously. I was telling them, this is a big game on their home court. We’ve got to take these guys serious. They’re playing for a lot.”

It showed. The Fighting Hawks (4-9) battled from start to finish, holding a lead at halftime and even tying the game with two minutes left. Alabama’s 13 first-half turnovers proved problematic early. Then the Crimson Tide (9-2) fixed its turnover problem but stopped playing good defense.

“We got yelled at like we should have,” said Nelson, a Devils Lake, North Dakota native. “I’m sure we’ll continue to get yelled at the rest of this week. But like I said, they played really great. It’s a great team and I think they’ll win a lot of games.”

Alabama coach Nate Oats was particularly frustrated by his defense. North Dakota scored 52 points in the second half, averaging 1.486 points per possession.

“I give North Dakota credit; they wanted this game,” Oats said. “They were ready for it. Great environment. Crowd was great. And our guys didn’t really come out ready to play. Our matchup on (Treysen) Eaglestaff wasn’t great to start. I don’t know that we really ever found the matchup.”

Eaglestaff scored 40 points, making him the first mid-major player to do so against a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll since 2012, per ESPN. The Bismarck, North Dakota native kept the Fighting Hawks in it until the end as he hit 15 of 30 and 8 of 18 from deep. Nelson, meanwhile, scored 23 points to go with 10 rebounds.

“Can’t sleep on those North Dakota boys,” Nelson said. “They can really hoop. I’ve known him for a while. I played him when he was here and I was at North Dakota State. I knew he was a great player. Our scouting report was pretty much around him.”

Which made it all the more frustrating that Eaglestaff did what he did.

“I feel like we let ourselves down,” Nelson said. “We’ve got a lot to learn. We’re going to watch video and see what we can do better.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.

In the current landscape of college football where players are moving teams more than ever in the transfer portal, reporting on college recruiting has become an incredibly difficult job. But on Wednesday, Alabama transfer Damon Payne and his agency made things even more difficult with his commitment to Michigan, which was voided in the span of only a few hours.

Payne, who is a former five-star defensive lineman in the midst of his junior year at Alabama, saw the field rather sparingly this season, recording just 14 total tackles in the eight games he saw action.

On Tuesday, Payne announced his intention to enter the transfer portal. And it didn’t take him long to seemingly narrow down his ideal landing spot, sending in his papers to commit to Michigan on Wednesday morning according to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports.

BREAKING: Alabama DL Damon Payne has signed with Michigan, @PeteNakos_ reports〽️

Payne was a Top 50 recruit in the 2021 class. https://t.co/zbNnUmDEOH pic.twitter.com/aHiOSZGXPH

— On3 (@On3sports) December 18, 2024

However, just three hours later, Nakos offered an update detailing how the documents that Damon Payne had signed had been nullified by his agent.

Alabama defensive lineman Damon Payne’s signed documents have been nullified, @On3sports has learned.

They were signed at roughly 9:30 a.m. ET https://t.co/c8Bun39fxE

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 18, 2024

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This obviously raises a question as to whether there was an inaccuracy in Nakos’ reporting on the matter, or if there was some loophole found by Payne’s agent that made his signed documents to Michigan non-binding.

Well, Isaiah Hole, who covers Michigan for the USA Today Sports Network via Wolverines Wire, backed the reporting from On3 Sports, detailing in a series of posts on X how Payne had signed but his commitment was voided by his agency.

“This had nothing to do with On3’s reporting,” wrote Hole. “To clarify: Payne signed, it has been voided. On3 reported correctly.”

To clarify: Payne signed, it has been voided. On3 reported correctly.

— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) December 18, 2024

Payne’s agent, Steven Fantetti, did offer a vague clarification on the matter in a statement to On3 Sports, detailing just that Payne has not yet signed with any school and will release his commitment “under his own terms soon”.

“Damon Payne is not currently signed with any school, and he will be releasing his commitment under his own terms very soon,” Fantetti said in his statement.

As for where Payne could be headed once he does commit to a school for real, Michigan reportedly remains on his list of teams he is still considering, along with Notre Dame, Oregon, and even a potential return to Alabama.

[On3 Sports, Pete Nakos on X]