Popular PGA Tour pro Joel Dahmen is hoping to mount a career comeback in 2026. And so far, so good. The one-time winner has back-to-back made cuts to start the year, including a T7 at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open.
The next stop for Dahmen is this week’s 2026 WM Phoenix Open, but his solid finish at Torrey Pines didn’t get him in the field. Instead, Dahmen called upon a controversial shirtless moment from his Phoenix Open past to earn his spot.
As he confirmed on Instagram, Dahmen hand-delivered a letter written on a polo shirt to the tournament sponsor, and he walked away with a tee time.
Joel Dahmen avoids fine for shirtless antics at WM Phoenix Open
Dahmen, 38, became a popular figure years ago on Twitter, but his profile was raised again with his appearance on Netflix’s “Full Swing” in 2023. It was the year before that Dahmen had his shirtless moment in Phoenix.
Dahmen played the final round of the 2022 WM Phoenix Open with friend Harry Higgs. The night before Dahmen joked on Twitter that if he got enough retweets, the two pros would take their shirts off on the famously rowdy par-3 16th hole TPC Scottsdale.
When Higgs rolled in a long par putt on 16, the joke became reality. Higgs removed his shirt, then Dahmen followed suit, and the two celebrated around the green as fans showered them with beer.
It turns out both players received a stern call from the Tour following the incident, letting them know they could be fined for their actions. Fortunately for them, the fines reportedly never came about.
Which brings us to this year’s WM Phoenix Open, and Dahmen’s gambit to get a spot in the field.
Dahmen writes letter on polo, earns Phoenix Open exemption
The last few years have been a struggle for Dahmen on the course. In 2024, he earned one top-10 and only narrowly kept his Tour card for 2025.
Despite getting a runner-up amid three top-10s last season, Dahmen finished 93rd in the Fedex Cup standings and 122rd in the FedEx Fall.
As a result, he didn’t have an automatic spot in the WM Phoenix Open. He would need a sponsor’s exemption to play at TPC Scottsdale this year.
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Typically when not qualified for an event, pros write letters to the tournament sponsor requesting one of the small number of exemptions they are permitted to dish out.
But Dahmen took it one step further to try and stand out from the other pros hoping for a tee time.
In a nod to his shirtless moment in 2022, Dahmen stuck his sponsor exemption letter onto one of his golf polo shirts and then hand-delivered it to WM along with one of his trademark bucket hats.
The unique strategy was first reported by Colt Knost on CBS’ Farmers Insurance Open broadcast on Sunday and later confirmed by Dahmen on Instagram.
In a story on Sunday, Dahmen posted a photo of his letter to WM attached to his polo shirt, writing, “Yes, @coltknost was right. I put the letter on a polo and took to their office. Let’s have some fun next week!!!”
Now Dahmen and more than 120 other PGA Tour pros are on their way to TPC Scottsdale. The 2026 WM Phoenix Open gets underway this Thursday, February 5.
