Joel Dahmen ‘In Shock,’ Misses Tap-In to Lose PGA Tour Event

Joel Dahmen nearly led wire to wire at the Corales Puntacana Championship, but three consecutive bogeys to close the tournament cost him his second PGA Tour victory by one shot.

But it wasn’t just the fact that he bogeyed 16, 17, and 18. But it was how he did it, with the par putt on 17 likely to haunt to PGA Tour fan favorite.

Dahmen missed a putt from inside two feet, dropping him into a tie with eventual winner Garrick Higgo. He would then bogey the 72nd to lose the tournament.

After the heartbreaking finish, Dahmen summed up his feelings.

“I think I’m in a little bit of shock, honestly,” Dahmen said.

“It’s not how you win a golf tournament, I’ll tell you that,” he explained. “I don’t deserve to win it. Bogeying the last three is inexcusable.”

After such a gut-wrenching finish, many players would not speak with the media, but the Arizona resident did. He gave honest answers and kept it real, but anyone who knows Dahmen knows that is how he always is.

Dahmen opened the tournament with a course-record 62 and continued to play well through the second round—the 37-year-old led by four shots entering Moving Day.

The weekend for Dahmen, though, is where he struggled. He went 71-76 to close out the tournament and almost got away with the win regardless.

However, losing like he did has to be one of the hardest things for a professional athlete to accept.

“This one could take a while to get over,” Dahmen said. “It’s one of those things, you learn more in defeat, unfortunately. I still think I’m in a little bit of shock. Felt like I was in a good head space. I was in a good head space, but sometimes your body doesn’t cooperate.”

Dahmen and Harry Higgs are among the teams in the field for the Zurich Classic, and it seems like it will be a good tournament for him to reset.

“It’s probably best for me next week to have fun, have someone to rely on, have someone else’s ball in play,” he noted. “It’s going to be a great trip — my wife’s coming in town without our kid, so we’re going to have a great four days of enjoying each other. Yeah, yeah, this one’s going to sting for a while.”

Dahmen tied for second alongside Alejandro Tosti, Keith Mitchell, Jeremy Paul and Michael Thorbjornsen at 13-under overall.

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