Joel Dahmen’s PGA Tour card saving round will live on in PGA Tour lore.
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Joel Dahmen says it was “the deal of all ghosts.”
It arrived, of course, at 3 o’clock in the morning the day before (one day etechnically) a career-defining round. Not quite “cold sweats”, but you get the idea.
But the most impressive part is what happened AFTER Dahmen’s “freakout”: The golf’s greatest comeback of his professional life.
Perhaps you have already heard the story of Dahmen’s gathering at the RSM Classic last month, in which a six-under 64 on Sunday wrapped up his PGA Tour status for 2025 in the no. Dahmen’s round that day – four birdies, an eagle, no bogeys – was rightly celebrated, including the testing six-footer on the 72nd hole that fell to the bottom of the cup, pushing him inside the top-125 very important on the PGA Tour and granting full status for the upcoming season.
But what you he didn’t know about that round – the questionable research session two nights before feeding it – makes it all the more impressive.
Dahmen told the story in this week’s episode GOLF Subviewwhich he says starts with a 2-over opening round at RSM, and the knowledge to go to bed Thursday night that his PGA Tour career may officially be in jeopardy.
“So I went to bed, probably fell asleep around 10, and woke up at 2 or 3 in the morning, and, I wouldn’t say like night sweats, but fear of all fears,” he said. “I wasn’t going back to sleep at that point. There was no chance.”
With sleep not in his future, Dahmen decided to do something to combat his terror: He pulled up the PGA Tour Players website and started scrolling. Before long, he had figured out what he needed to shoot over the last three days at RSM in order to keep his PGA Tour card.
“For the first time in my career, I went to Tour Links, clicked on the synthetics and started scrolling to figure out how many points I needed and what I needed to pass,” says Dahmen. “I feel like I need (six under). Five would be close. Seven is definitely a lock. So I knew going out that morning that I needed the birds.”
Dahmen gathered that day to make the cut. But he was only one under par for the tournament when he woke up on Sunday morning, which meant he needed at least five birdies during his final round to feel good about his future on tour. As Subpar host Drew Stoltz pointed out, Dahmen’s decision to arm himself with concrete expectations went against almost every piece of sports psychology advice.
“It was like, I knew what I had to do“, said Dahmen.
And then, with his career on the line Sunday afternoon, that’s exactly what Dahmen did, shooting the round of his life to preserve his PGA Tour life.
“The last thing I did was punch (swing coach Rob Rashell). i golet’s go make the birds. And he goes, just be you“, Dahmen said laughing. “I was like, Well, I’m 124 this year. Let’s meet Joel has had a good career and is successful. So I was much calmer on Sunday. I was like, Man, if I play good golf, I know I can hit a six out here. And luckily, I did.”
To hear the rest of Dahmen’s interview with the Subpar gang, including his hopes for life on the PGA Tour in 2025, you can check out the link below.
