How did Joel Dahmen respond to a crushing come-from-ahead loss Sunday at the Corales Puntacana Championship?
Dahmen graciously sought out winner Garrick Higgo and Higgo’s wife Chandre to offer congratulations and a hug.
Dahmen then answered media questions with brutal honesty about what went wrong down the stretch, often in painstaking detail, and trying to move forward from a setback that’s “going to sting for a while.”
It will, especially after Dahmen’s bogey-bogey-bogey finish cost him a shot at his second PGA Tour victory and opened the door for Higgo’s one-shot win in the Dominican Republic.
“I think I’m in a little bit of shock, honestly,” Dahmen said. “It’s not how you win a golf tournament, I can tell you that. I don’t deserve to win it. Bogeying the last 3 is inexcusable. Middle of the fairway with an 8-iron on 16, to hit it where I hit it (over the green), again it’s a tough up and down over there.
“I don’t know what happened on the short one on 17. I’m obviously nervous, unfortunately I’m prone to that (missing a short putt) at times. You can call it a lapse of concentration. It’s not like a yippy thing, but a bad time to do it. And then 18 is just a really hard hole, man. We had 220 in, wind surfed on it (pushing his approach right of the green) and I hit a very average chip. I hit a good putt. I actually thought it was a straight putt and it broke left on me. All of a sudden, I wake up and I lost a golf tournament.”
Dahmen repeated the same message he had following his one-shot victory at the 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship: “It’s hard to win a tournament.” He fired four under-par rounds and closed with a 70 for his only PGA win in his 111th tour start. He came up just short Sunday in his 221st start.
Dahmen’s journey – navigating mini tours, losing his mom to cancer, overcoming his own bout with cancer – resonated with fans. It soared to another level following his appearances on Netflix’s Full Swing, which showcased everything from his fun-loving personality to heart-to-heart chats with caddie Geno Bonnalie.
Collin Morikawa was criticized last month for declining interview requests after losing a late lead and finishing second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A few days later, Morikawa talked at length about his decision at a press conference.
Dahmen’s fan base figures to grow after his frank responses in Sunday’s media session following a disappointing result.
“He showed us why it’s important to talk after a round,” Golf Digest’s Joel Beall said Monday on Golf Channel. “He’s already a fan favorite. Trust me, I know. Sometimes I’ll follow him just to hear, ‘You’re the man Joel’ cheers and act like they’re actually for me.
“What we saw yesterday facing the music afterward, it would have been very easy and understandable to run and hide. It only engenders more empathy. It also reminds us these guys are people, not robots, that we’re watching. Afterward he mentioned he learns more from defeat than victory. I think we learned more about Dahmen in that moment than we would have if he ended up holding on and winning that tournament.”
Dahmen went through a list of his missteps, not only his shaky finish but a couple of earlier three-putts as well as missed opportunities during Saturday’s 71.
“When you’re trying to win a golf tournament it does weird things to you and I didn’t handle it well,” he said.
Dahmen made $243,000 for finishing in a five-way tie for second and picked up 95 FedEx Cup points, moving him to No. 69 in the standings. The top 100 at season’s end in November retain their tour card. The emotion poured out of Dahmen after he retained his tour card last November with a clutch 64 in the last round of the RSM Classic, the season’s final event.
Dahmen’s ability to turn the page will be tested this week when he partners with Harry Higgs at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Dahmen teamed with Keith Mitchell last year to finish tied for 28th. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry won the tournament in a playoff.
“Probably the best week for me is to have fun and have somebody to rely on and have somebody else’s ball in play,” Dahmen said. “It’s going to be a great trip. My wife (Lona) is coming into town without our kid (son Riggs) so we’re going to have a great four days of just enjoying each other.”
Dahmen paused for a second and added wistfully, “I mean, yes, this one is going to sting for a while.”
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