Joel Dahmen came into the Wyndham Championship clinging to the edge of PGA Tour relevance — 101st in the FedEx Cup standings, one shot outside the magic number. But by Thursday afternoon, the journeyman-turned-fan-favorite lit up the scoreboard with a jaw-dropping 61, vaulting into the tournament lead and potentially saving his season.
Ten birdies. One bogey. A front-row seat atop the leaderboard at nine under par. “I don’t know if you ever see 61 coming, but I saw good golf coming,” Dahmen said afterward, clearly still catching his breath.
The 37-year-old has just one PGA Tour win — the 2021 Corales Puntacana — and he’s the first to remind you. “I’ve had like three top-twos in my career,” he said. “Maybe four. It’s not even a thing, right?”
Dahmen Eyeing Big Jump in FedEx Cup Standings
Well, this might be a thing. With a win, Dahmen would jump inside the top 50 in FedEx Cup points and lock in a coveted playoff spot — not to mention a shot at the BMW Championship. That would be a massive turnaround for a guy who’s missed 11 cuts this year and tumbled to No. 162 in the world.
And all this comes just two weeks after a headline-making split from his longtime caddie and best friend, Geno Bonnalie — a partnership that was as much friendship as business.
“Man, I love Geno,” Dahmen said. “We still text almost daily… But I had to change something with me.”
Call it guts. Call it timing. Or just a guy trying to own his game again.
He had Rob Rashell, his longtime coach, on the bag instead — and the result? A blistering back nine and a finish that included three straight birdies, capped with putts of 46, 4, and 3 feet.
Dahmen’s also got big reasons off the course: a baby on the way and a desire for some real downtime this fall. “The playoffs are a bonus for me,” he said. “If I play really well, then I get to play another week.”
