Joel Dahmen’s teary-eyed moment sets up do-or-die final round

Mark Hubbard was “stress-drinking” in the clubhouse. Why? Because his buddy Joel Dahmen was on the brink. In moments like these, the often-used ‘fraternity’ moniker sure seems to fit on the PGA Tour. These guys compete against each other all the time, but they really care for each other too. 

Dahmen needed to two-putt on Friday afternoon from 55 feet to make the cut on the number. Obviously this wasn’t just any cut, but the final cut of his season. A season that hasn’t been up to his typically solid standard. Dahmen entered the week no. 124 on the FedEx Cup Fall standings — the top 125 earn full status for next year — which means he entered the week safe, by just a sliver. Unfortunately for him, a bunch of people wanted to unseat him.

The RSM Classic field was filled by guys sitting in the 120-140 range, all of them anxious to stamp their ticket for next season. Dahmen played alongside a pair of them on Thursday and Friday — Zac Blair and Wesley Bryan, who both missed the cut on the number, likely both left without full playing privileges next year. 

Dahmen made his two-putt — the latter of which was a nervy five-footer — to make the cut, pump his fist and enjoy a hearty embrace with his caddie, Geno Bonnalie. They had survived and advanced, but only for two extra days.

“It was a great putt,” Dahmen said afterward. “I was very nervous. But there’s still work to do. It wasn’t the game-winner, it was like the half court shot to get us like at halftime.” That was a good analogy for it, because Dahmen actually lost ground the first two days in the hunt for that 2025 Tour card. 

Such is life at the RSM. Someone from off the map will play great and leap-frog the bubble boys from out of nowhere. That someone, this week, is multiple. Michael Thorbjornsen and Daniel Berger. Add in a couple guys on the outside — Henrik Norlander and Hayden Springer — playing their way in, and Dahmen still had plenty more to stress about. So did Dahmen’s loved ones. 

It was a question about his support team that got Dahmen choked up following that brief high of making the cut. What’s it feel like to know all these people are now living and dying with every shot? 

“Yeah, I’m sorry for them,” Dahmen said. “I’m sorry that they’re feeling the way I’m feeling. I know my wife has been stressed. I have a lot of great people around me and so it’s …

He trailed off for a second there and started to get choked up. 

“It’s hard on them,” he began, a crack in his voice. “But it’s just because they love me and they care about me.”

Dahmen took a deep breath and continued: “Yeah, I mean, job’s not done. I know that it feels — kind of felt like it was there a minute — to get it done, but that was step two of. We have two more steps to go.”

It’s the kind of awareness that comes with life on the bubble. Dahmen has been there before. He’s talked about it at length and broke it down plenty on Netflix’s Full Swing. The stress a player feels is matched in full by his family, his caddie, his contemporaries, his friends. Joel likened it to sleeping on the lead of a major, admitting that the only breaks he’s getting from the stress come in moments he spends with his young son. But those are temporary and fleeting this week. The stress ramped up again Saturday afternoon.

Dahmen started his third round with 10-straight pars, the ultimate exercise in patience. He added a birdie on his 11th hole of the day, squeezed in a few more pars and then added another birdie on his 15th. At two under for the third round, Dahmen was setting himself up for a solid Sunday sprint. Then his 16th hole happened. 

Playing 582 yards, the par-5 7th at Sea Island, Dahmen found the fairway and played a wood up to a waste area, about 40 yards short of the hole. What isn’t clear is the lie he faced or the swing he had to make, but with water long of the green, Dahmen left his third shot short of the green, still in the native area. He had to take an unplayable lie with his 4 stroke, play onto the green and two-putt for a soul-crushing double bogey. He dropped about 15 places on the leaderboard, and unfortunately an extra spot on the FedEx Cup rankings. 

Dahmen finished out with two pars for a 70 that had to feel like a 67. The only good news remaining for his 2024 season is that he has one more round to carve something extra out of it. Given the players who have leap-frogged him, there’s mostly one route forward for him guaranteeing full status next season: earn as many FedEx Cup points as you can and leap over Sam Ryder. Ryder missed the cut, so he can only sit at home and hope. Dahmen trails him by exactly 13 FedEx Cup points, which means he needs just 13.1 to lock himself in as Mr. 125.

How does he get to 13.1? Finishing in the neighborhood of 40th will do the trick. Tying for 42nd could get it done, depending on how many players you tie with. Tying for 40th should be enough. The sleep won’t be any easier tonight, but Dahmen will wake up with a number like 67 or 66 on his mind. That and a whole lot more.