While Garrick Higgo may have claimed the Corales Puntacana Championship title, it’s Joel Dahmen who’s grabbing the headlines—but not for the reasons he’d hoped. After going bogey-free in the first two rounds, Dahmen’s game unraveled in the final stretch, with bogeys on the 16th, 17th, and 18th holes. He ended up with six bogeys in the final round, letting the win slip through his fingers, and finished T2. Despite the late-round collapse, Dahmen is owning up to the result, and fans are still standing by him.

After the conclusion of the tournament, the 37-year-old was honest about his game and didn’t hold back, and accepted everything. He said, “I think I’m in a little bit of shock, honestly. It’s not how you win a golf tournament, I’ll tell you that. I don’t deserve to win it.” Not only that, he also talked about his bogeys in the last three holes and considered it an offence. To this, he added, “You know, bogeying the last three is inexcusable. Middle of the fairway with an 8-iron on 16 to hit it where I hit it, you can’t get up and down over there. I don’t know what happened on the short one on 17. I mean, I’m obviously nervous, but unfortunately, I’m prone to that at times.” 

The last time Dahmen won on the PGA Tour was back in 2021 at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Being on a winless streak for four years, he was an inch away from claiming the title this time. Although his T2 finish at the Corales Puntacana Championship remains his best finish in the season so far, the way it happened was heartbreaking.

Shooting a 62 and 66 in the first two rounds, then closing with a 76 in the final round, tells the full story of Joel Dahmen’s collapse. The turning point came on the 18th hole of the last day, where he needed to sink an 8-foot putt for par, but missed, resulting in a bogey and ultimately costing him the win to Garrick Higgo. Despite all this, fans are still standing with the 37-year-old for his honesty.

Joel Dahmen gets praise for his accountability

Joel Dahmen has played in 11 events this season, missing the cut in six of them. Despite the setbacks, he showed promise with a T9 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and a T6 at the Mexico Open. But it was his T2 finish at the Corales Puntacana Championship that remains his best performance of the season so far. One fan cheered him on, saying, “You a good man Joel, your time is coming!“ If Dahmen can maintain this form, a second PGA Tour win might be closer than it appears.

One fan praised Joel Dahmen’s courage, saying, “Respect for the honesty. Didn’t make excuses, faced the media and just owned it.” After such an incredible start, falling apart in the final rounds was undoubtedly heartbreaking. But unlike many, Dahmen stepped up, faced the media, and took full responsibility for his performance, which not many golfers do. Take Brooks Koepka, for example. After missing the cut at the Masters this year, he chose not to speak to the media, likely overwhelmed by the disappointment.

This fan expressed similar sentiments and added, “Good for him for speaking to the media. Rory and Collin would’ve flown out of town immediately.” They also took a jab at Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa, noting that, after losing to Bryson DeChambeau at the 2024 US Open, the Irishman didn’t talk to anybody and immediately left the greens in his car. Expressing a similar kind of admiration for Joel Dahmen, another added, “Hard not to have a f–k ton of respect for him after watching that. Count me as a fan.”

This fan talked about the golfer’s honesty and added, “Joel’s going to beat himself up, but he is about as introspective as can be.” The introspection part seems true, as Dahmen directly said that he didn’t deserve to win after shooting three consecutive bogeys on the 16th, 17th, and 18th. While talking about it, he also admitted that it could be due to a lack of focus and said, “You can call it a lapse in concentration. It’s not like a yippee thing, it’s not like one of those things, but bad time to do it.” 

What do you think about Joel Dahmen’s loss? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!