MEMPHIS — Seven months have elapsed since Nick Dunlap pulled off a surprising victory at The American Express as an amateur. A lot has happened since then, a lot of tournaments he wasn’t expected to play, a lot of experiences, and another validating victory in the Barracuda Championship that enabled him to extend his rookie season into the FedEx Cup Playoffs. For all of that, his brain is very much locked in “pinch-me” mode.

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“It’s definitely pinch-me almost every week,” Dunlap said Saturday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. “I mean, I should be playing the U.S. Am this week, and I just got done playing a round of golf with Scottie [Scheffler]. It was pretty cool.”

Not only was he paired with the World No. 1 Scheffler, Dunlap beat him by three shots after firing a four-under 66 at TPC Southwind. And if that isn’t cool enough, the youngster from Alabama, who still isn’t old enough to buy alcohol legally, might get to toast himself to yet another win. It’s a long shot, but this guy obviously doesn’t understand the concept of odds.

Dunlap will play in Sunday’s final pairing with former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. At 12-under 198, Dunlap trails the Japanese star by five strokes after Matsuyama shot his second straight 64. If he should somehow pull off an epic rally, Dunlap would be the first rookie to win a playoff event since Xander Schauffele won the 2017 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Recall that Matsuyama was a victim of a robbery earlier this week in London. He lost his wallet and his caddie, the latter who had to return to Japan because his travel documents were among the items stolen while the two men and Matsuyama’s swing coach were dining at a downtown restaurant. Doubtful Matsuyama is in a mood to let anyone steal first prize from him in this $20 million event, especially not some 20-year-old rookie.

Heck, Dunlap wasn’t expecting to be here. He began the year thinking about defending his U.S. Amateur title and then playing another season of college golf at the University of Alabama. This year’s Amateur happens to be reaching its conclusion on Sunday at Hazeltine National in Minnesota. Dunlap has checked in on the results every day and has watched a fair bit—more than this event, he confessed.

Until Saturday, that is. He was playing in the penultimate group with Scheffler and Justin Rose, so he was tied up and getting worn down in 100-degree heat.

“I absolutely thought I’d be playing in the U.S. Amateur this week,” he said. “If I don’t win the AmEx, I’m not going to be out here. I wouldn’t have status. So, it’s all still a pretty big surprise, even now. This year has been unbelievable. I’ve learned a ton.”

Trying to chase down Matsuyama is a big ask, but Dunlap is the closest pursuer, and he obviously has proven comfortable when he gets into the hunt. His play this week all but ensures that he advance to the BMW Championship after he arrived well outside the top 50 that qualify. Dunlap was 67th and currently is projected to move up to 12th. The top 30 after the BMW Championship will compete in the Tour Championship, the season finale. He’s looking good.

What a year. And encores are still possible.

“I’m honestly looking forward to a little bit of a break and to kind of recap the year and sit back and celebrate and look back on some of the things that have happened this year,” Dunlap said. “It’s honestly incredible, and I never would have thought I’d be standing here. But I’m very fortunate, and yeah, hopefully I can look back in a few more weeks.”

As for the U.S. Amateur, he had to give it a nod, saying, “I’m honestly looking forward to it changing somebody else’s life, as well.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com