CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Battling cancer provided perspective. Playing with Tiger Woods proved he can handle pressure. It’s easy to assume that the winless Joel Dahmen will be overcome with anxiety at 2 p.m. Saturday, when he steps onto Quail Hollow’s first tee alongside a major winner. Dahmen disagrees. “I’ve been through life and death,â€� Dahmen said. “This is not it.â€� Dahmen trails Jason Dufner by one stroke at the halfway mark of the Wells Fargo Championship. Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed Justin Rose and Jason Day are lurking in the top 10, as well. Winning on the PGA TOUR is life-changing. Cancer, all too often, takes lives. Dahmen hasn’t experienced the former. But is all too familiar with the latter. His mother died of cancer when he was a junior in high school. He battled testicular cancer in 2011. Dahmen, 31, is in his third year on the PGA TOUR. He’s been appearing on leaderboards more often as he continues his steady ascent through pro golf. His 66 on Thursday gave him his third first-round lead in his last five individual starts. He shot the same score Friday. Related: Tee times | McIlroy ‘right there’ heading into weekend | Dufner, Homa prove there’s light at the end of the tunnel | Day makes dream come true for young fan | Harsh lessons can pay big dividends on the PGA TOUR Starring on Thursday can only gain a player so much notoriety. Playing with Woods is a different story. That happened at last year’s Quicken Loans National, where Dahmen and his wide-brimmed bucket hat shot 69 to Woods’ 68 in the third round. It was an impressive result considering how he felt on the first tee. “I wasn’t sure I was going to get the ball in the air,â€� he said. Dahmen again showed his steely reserve on the final two holes of this year’s PLAYERS Championship. He’d just birdied 16 and was hanging around the top 10. He still had to face the Stadium Course’s water-lined finishing holes, though. “If you can finish par-par on those two holes under the gun when it doubles my net worth, that’s some pressure,â€� Dahmen said. “It doesn’t get much more than that.â€� He managed to make those two last pars on Pete Dye’s penal design and earned $253,125. Coming from a small town in eastern Washington, surviving cancer and toiling for five years on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada has given Dahmen a unique perspective. He admits that he doesn’t practice as much as his peers. He knows that the world’s best play at a different level than him, but he’s not dying to trade places with them, either. He’s content with his lot. He enjoys traveling the TOUR with his wife, Lona, who documents their meals on Instagram. “I love this game. It gives me a great career, a great life,â€� he said. “I don’t really care about trophies, to be honest. I love competing, but I love money too. “I’m a kid from Clarkston, Washington, who’s on the PGA TOUR. … They give you free food inside. You can hit Pro V1s on the range. That just doesn’t happen where I grew up. You dream of that stuff, but to actually be doing it, … I think I’m probably more appreciative than other people.â€� Quail Hollow is playing firm and fast this week, which suits him perfectly. Hitting fairways and greens is his specialty. He’s missed just four fairways and five greens through two rounds. Dahmen, 31, last won five years ago, on PGA TOUR Canada. That two-win season came after another failed attempt at Q-School that left him despondent. He didn’t pick up a club for a six weeks, and tried to ease the pain by buying a dog. Quitting was never an option, though. “I didn’t have anything else to do,â€� said Dahmen, who turned pro in 2010. “I don’t have a degree. I always knew I was good enough. You have to put a lot of time into this. It doesn’t just happen.â€� His success in Canada earned him Web.com Tour status. He played there for two years before graduating to the PGA TOUR. He finished 176th in the FedExCup as a rookie. He was 80th the next season, following his foray with Woods with four consecutive top-15 finishes, including a runner-up at the John Deere Classic. He’s 65th in the standings this season. “I’m getting better every year,â€� he said. “I’m getting better weekly.â€� And now he has a chance to win on the PGA TOUR for the first time. But he’ll be OK even if he doesn’t.
Joel Dahmen proving he can handle the pressure on TOUR
Do you want to bet on sports AND play your favorite casino games? Be sure to visit this list with the best online casinos that offer sports betting! |
Final Round Match-Ups – D. Burmester vs H. English | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Dean Burmester | -115 |
Harris English | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – A. Eckroat vs J. Rose | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Austin Eckroat | -115 |
Justin Rose | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – T. Finau vs S. Theegala | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Sahith Theegala | -120 |
Tony Finau | +100 |
Final Round Match-Ups – L. Herbert vs T. Detry | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Thomas Detry | -115 |
Lucas Herbert | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – B. Horschel vs T. Hoge | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Billy Horschel | -110 |
Tom Hoge | -110 |
Final Round Match-Ups – V. Hovland vs J. Thomas | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Justin Thomas | -115 |
Viktor Hovland | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – M.W. Lee vs W. Zalatoris | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Will Zalatoris | -115 |
Min Woo Lee | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – S. Lowry vs K. Bradley | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Keegan Bradley | -115 |
Shane Lowry | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – R. McIntyre vs T. Moore | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Taylor Moore | -125 |
Robert MacIntyre | +105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – H. Matsuyama vs J. Day | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Jason Day | -115 |
Hideki Matsuyama | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – C. Morikawa vs B. DeChambeau | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Bryson DeChambeau | -125 |
Collin Morikawa | +105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – A. Noren vs T. Kim | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Tom Kim | -115 |
Alex Noren | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – A. Rai vs M. Wallace | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Aaron Rai | -115 |
Matt Wallace | -105 |
Final Round Match-Ups – X. Schauffele vs S. Scheffler | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | -140 |
Xander Schauffele | +120 |
Final Round Match-Ups – C. Smith vs M. Homa | |
Type: Final Round Match-Ups – Status: OPEN | |
Max Homa | -120 |
Cameron Smith | +100 |
Final Round 2-Balls – J. Wells / A. Tosti | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Alejandro Tosti | -200 |
Jeremy Wells | +165 |
Final Round 2-Balls – S. Soderberg / B. Todd | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Sebastian Soderberg | -115 |
Brendon Todd | -105 |
Final Round 2-Balls – R. Hojgaard / J. Smith | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Rasmus Hojgaard | -115 |
Jordan Smith | -105 |
Final Round 2-Balls – S.H. Kim / D. Johnson | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Dustin Johnson | -125 |
S H Kim | -105 |
Mizuho Americas Open | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Nelly Korda | -220 |
Hannah Green | +700 |
Ayaka Furue | +1400 |
Gabriela Ruffels | +1600 |
Jennifer Kupcho | +3500 |
Sei Young Kim | +5500 |
Xiyu Lin | +5500 |
Pajaree Anannarukarn | +6000 |
Ariya Jutanugarn | +9000 |
Atthaya Thitikul | +10000 |
Click here for more… | |
Final Round 2-Balls – A. Putnam / R. Fox | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Ryan Fox | -125 |
Andrew Putnam | +105 |
Final Round 2-Balls – T. Gooch / S. Jaeger | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Talor Gooch | -115 |
Stephan Jaeger | -105 |
Final Round 2-Balls – A. Hadwin / E. Van Royen | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Adam Hadwin | -115 |
Erik Van Rooyen | -105 |
Final Round 2-Balls – G. Woodland / G. Murray | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Gary Woodland | -110 |
Grayson Murray | -110 |
Final Round 2-Balls – P. Cantlay / L. Donald | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Patrick Cantlay | -245 |
Luke Donald | +200 |
Final Round 2-Balls – T. Fleetwood / J. Svensson | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Tommy Fleetwood | -205 |
Jesper Svensson | +165 |
Final Round 2-Balls – J. Niemann / R. Fowler | |
Type: Final Round 2-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Joaquin Niemann | -160 |
Rickie Fowler | +135 |
US Open 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | +350 |
Rory McIlroy | +1100 |
Jon Rahm | +1200 |
Ludvig Aberg | +1600 |
Xander Schauffele | +1600 |
Collin Morikawa | +2000 |
Viktor Hovland | +2000 |
Brooks Koepka | +2500 |
Cameron Smith | +2500 |
Patrick Cantlay | +2500 |
Click here for more… | |
The Open Championship 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | +500 |
Jon Rahm | +1000 |
Rory McIlroy | +1000 |
Viktor Hovland | +1100 |
Brooks Koepka | +2000 |
Cameron Smith | +2000 |
Cameron Young | +2000 |
Collin Morikawa | +2000 |
Ludvig Aberg | +2000 |
Jordan Spieth | +2500 |
Click here for more… | |
Requests | |
Type: Requests – Status: OPEN | |
The Open Championship – Alex Noren – Top 20 Finish | +175 |
Solheim Cup 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
USA | -140 |
Europe | +135 |
Tie | +1200 |
Ryder Cup 2025 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
USA | -135 |
Europe | +135 |
Tie | +1000 |