Nick Saban’s putting coach is the newest winner on the PGA Tour. Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991 when he captured the American Express on Sunday.

During television coverage of the final round, the former Alabama football coach called in from Jupiter, Florida, and said Dunlap had been giving him putting pointers.

“He’s a great teacher,” Saban said. “I’m just not very coachable. I think I three-putted nine times the other day. We need work.”

Dunlap won the tournament with a 29-under 259 in La Quinta, California. When Saban joined the telecast, Dunlap was at 27 under through 10 holes and tied for the lead with Sam Burns.

Playing in his fourth PGA Tour event on a sponsor exemption, Dunlap had missed the cut in his first three. But Saban said, “It’s no surprise to me” the Crimson Tide sophomore was in the final group on the final day of a PGA Tour event.

“He’s got great work ethic, he’s a great person, pays attention to detail,” Saban said. “I sat and watched on one of those machines that tells you how your ball’s spinning and all that one day, and he was hitting drivers. He must have hit a hundred of them and just checking the spin on the ball, so he’s really a dedicated guy. He’s a hard worker.

“And he’s got the right disposition to play. He doesn’t seem to get flustered about anything, which golf’s kind a metaphor for life, so you got to be able to play the next shot whether you’re in the hazard, whether you hit a good one. You got to have the right disposition to play it, and I certainly think he has it.”

It turned out Dunlap won without it, but Saban was asked what his “pre-game” message would have been to the 20-year-old golfer.

“Regardless of what happened on the last shot, focus on the next shot,” Saban said. “Stay focused on, not the outcome, but what you have to do to get the outcome, which is process to me. I think that’s the best way to focus. We live in such an outcome-oriented world that’s sometimes hard to do, but I think that’s the key to being successful.”

Saban said Dunlap’s victory would be a feather in the cap of Alabama athletics.

“I think anytime somebody can do something that’s legendary, that certainly adds to the iconic brand that the athletic department has been able to accomplish for our school,” Saban said, “and I think it would be huge for the university and huge for him and his family, and also the golf program.”

Saban stepped down on Jan. 10 and seems to have become a Florida retiree already.

“It’s been difficult so far,” Saban said of his golf game. “There’s a lot of wind down here, but we’re trying to get used to it. …

“I’m watching the Golf Channel getting every tip I can get.”

Former Alabama All-American Justin Thomas played in the final group with Dunlap on Sunday. Thomas finished tied for third, two shots behind the winner.

A two-time major champion and two-time PGA Player of the Year, Thomas is coming off a disappointing season. But in his first tournament of 2024, Thomas exceeded his best finish of last season.

“He’s my partner when we play together,” Saban said, “so everybody always asks me, ‘How many shots does he give you?’ And I say, ‘He doesn’t give me any. He’s always my partner.’

“Justin is a great person. Great family. His dad, Mike, is a great guy and has been his teacher for a long time. He’s a hard worker, and I know he’s had to overcome some adversity last year, but he’s done it like a trooper, and I think he’s going to have a great year this year.”

Just about when Saban said “great year,” Thomas struck his shot from the fairway on the 11th hole on the Pete Dye Stadium Course, and it landed in the water. Thomas ended up taking his only bogey of the round on the par 5.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.