BROOKLINE, Massachusetts – Joel Dahmen understands the archetype of a professional golfer. Downward. One shot at a time. Follow the process. Keep aliens at bay to maintain optimal focus.
But that’s not Dahmen, no matter how successful he is at the PGA TOUR. He is normal. Relable. It has taken too long to act otherwise. His mother died of cancer when he was in high school. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 20, undergoing surgery and chemotherapy; she is now cancer free. He lost his scholarship to the University of Washington after admitting that “a party had been held to leave school.” He had setbacks at Q-School and struggled with motivation.
Yet, spurred on by the spirits of family and friends, the last decade of Dahmen has brought a steady upward arc. He earned PGA TOUR Canada status in 2014 and won the Order of Merit for Korn Ferry Tour status. She won her first TOUR card in 2016. She won her first TOUR title at last year’s Corales Puntacana Championship.
For the past two days, Dahmen has scored 67-68 rounds at the U.S. Open, and climbed to 5 below par over the weekend, tied for the lead with big double winner Collin Morikawa . Leading champions Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are in a group of five players at a time; Scottie Scheffler, number 1 in the world, is just two paces away. These guys are the best of the best.
Dahmen is just a normal guy, and he’s proud. He once told a reporter that he would never win a major. And while his results halfway through the U.S. Open, his ninth major appearance in his career, suggest he might be wrong, he has maintained his sense of humor.
“We won’t be leaving until 3:45 (pm ET Saturday),” Dahmen said. “I usually have to be home by 5:00 for dinner.”
Dahmen said that sometimes, during the second round on Friday in Brookline, he found himself trying to “almost be a professional golfer … those big guys just keep their heads down and move on.” He caught himself, knowing the possible pitfalls of trying to be someone he is not. He returned to his instincts, which meant greeting the fans and being fully present in his environment.
The 34-year-old Washington native has earned a cult following for being an open book alongside his faithful caddy Geno Bonnalie, an association dating back to the Korn Ferry tour. Fans delight in Dahmen’s simple, straightforward humanity.
He once wore a Waffle House hat during a competitive round of the Korn Ferry Tour in Nashville. There was a time when he took off his shirt after saving parity in the famous hole 16 of the WM Phoenix Open, as did his teammate Harry Higgs, to the delight of the audience. There was a time when he encouraged Bonnalie to take the One Chip Challenge, eating a chip made from what is considered the most spicy pepper in the world, during a round of training at THE PLAYERS Championship. The crowd ate it.
After Thursday’s opening round, Dahmen said he should curb his instincts at a Ben Rector concert in downtown Boston.
“It’s going to be hard to go to that one and not have 100 beers like we normally do at concerts,” he said.
Whatever he did, it certainly didn’t hurt him on Friday. Dahmen made four birdies and two bogeys for a 68. No one has played better at The Country Club. And he has done it his way, being true to himself until his sixth season of TOUR.