Dahmen gains much in a loss with his willingness to face the music

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Rarely has a player gained so much in losing as Joel Dahmen did in the Dominican Republic.

Dahmen had a following long before the Netflix “Full Swing” docuseries for being so relatable, honest and self-deprecating about such a hard sport. Five months ago, he had to make a 5-foot putt just to make the cut and then shoot 64 in the final round to keep his card.

So imagine the importance of Sunday at Punta Cana Resort, a three-shot lead with three holes to play. At stake was a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, a spot in the PGA Championship and so many other perks.

He missed the green with an 8-iron from the 16th fairway for a bogey. He missed an 18-inch par putt to fall into a tie. And then he hit a poor chip and missed an 8-foot par putt to lose.

And then he stood before a camera and bared his soul. His voice was unsteady, his eyes tried to hide the hurt and his words — as always — were very real.

“I think I’m in a little bit of shock, honestly,” he said. “It's not how you win a golf tournament, I'll tell you that. I don't deserve to win it.”

Mike Reid once had a three-shot lead in the 1989 PGA Championship and also missed a tap-in on the 17th hole, paving the way for Payne Stewart to win his first major.

“Sports is like life with the volume turned up,” Reid said that day.

The louder the better, for this is how fans connect.

Rory McIlroy held court in the locker room at Augusta National when he lost a four-shot lead with an 80 in the final round in 2011. Jordan Spieth met with media under the tree at the Masters after losing a five-shot lead in three holes on the back nine in 2016. “It was a really tough 30 minutes for me that hopefully I never experience again,” he said.

Those were majors. Kyle Stanley suffered an agonizing fate at Torrey Pines in 2012 when he lost a seven-shot lead in the final round, took triple bogey on the par-5 closing hole and lost in a playoff to Brandt Snedeker.

“I could probably play it a thousand times and never make an 8," Stanley said.

Dahmen speaks like fans think, another reason he's so popular. He started 62-66 — 16-under par — and the winning score was 14 under. He worked out the math himself, another reminder of letting one get away from him.

“When you're trying to win a golf tournament it does weird things to you," Dahmen said. “And I did not handle it well today.”

It’s raw. It’s honest. And it can be healing. Stanley won the next week. McIlroy won the next major. Reid never contended in another major. Golf doesn't owe anyone anything.

Dahmen is playing in New Orleans this week. However he fares, he won't lack for support. He earned that.

Quite the introduction

It was not unreasonable to wonder if Justin Thomas had even met Andrew Novak before their sudden-death playoff at Harbour Town. This is Novak's fourth year on the PGA Tour. He has yet to win and they had never been paired together.

Thomas, however, knew exactly who he was facing.

It was at the Travelers Championship a few years ago. Thomas wanted to play the back nine one afternoon in practice. Instead of trying to cut ahead of a group, he asked if he could join Novak and Ben Griffin.

“They were having some kind of match, and all of a sudden they’re talking, and Andrew shot 59 that day,” Thomas said.

So when caddie Joe Greiner asked Thomas when he had played with Novak, he had an answer Greiner probably didn't expect.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve played with him once and he shot 59 at TPC River Highlands,'” Thomas said. “That was my experience. And you could see in the shot he hit into 18, when he gets going, he's going.”

Novak hit into 8 feet on the 18th in regulation and missed the birdie putt. Thomas made birdie from 20 feet in the playoff to win.

Give me a rewrite!

Timothy Gay recently finished his fourth book, this one on Rory McIlroy titled, “Rory Land: The Up and Down World of Golf’s Global Icon.” It is due to be released on May 13, meaning it already has been edited, printed and bound with a hard cover.

And then McIlroy finally won the Masters, giving him the career Grand Slam.

Gay told GOLF.com, “As soon as Rory’s putt dropped and I could compose myself, I was texting my editorial team, volunteering to write a new epilogue.”

Three days later, Gay had his epilogue of McIlroy winning the Masters in his 17th try. That will be included in the U.K. and Ireland editions of the book, and in digital versions and U.S. reprints.

The book explores McIlroy’s life on and off the golf course, tracing his lineage through generations leading up to “the Troubles.” McIlroy did not grant Gay an interview for the book.

The putting tip

Justin Thomas holed five straight putts of 7 feet or longer on the front nine to stay in the game at the RBC Heritage, and he won it with that 20-foot birdie putt in a playoff. Putting carried him to his first win in nearly three years, all because of a little advice from Xander Schauffele.

Thomas called him late last year — they both live in South Florida — because he considers Schauffele to have among the best fundamentals with putting. It was more a conversation than a lesson, with Schauffele asking questions that got Thomas to thinking.

All the techniques he used during his best years with the putter he was no longer doing.

“It was more of the questions he asked me made me realize that I’m trying basically too hard,” Thomas said.

Schauffele thinks Thomas is giving him too much credit.

“Felt like all the answers were right in front of him,” Schauffele said. “J.T. is so good that he figured it out pretty quickly.”

Tour leadership

Maverick McNealy and Keith Mitchell were elected co-chairs of the Players Advisory Council, meaning they will become player directors on the PGA Tour board in 2026.

Rickie Fowler also was on the ballot.

McNealy won the most votes of players and will serve a four-year board term starting in 2026. Mitchell received the second-most votes and will serve a three-year term. They will be replacing Webb Simpson and Peter Malnati on the board next year.

Divots

Anna Nordqvist has selected Caroline Hedwall of Sweden and Mel Reid of England to be two of her assistant captains for Europe in the Solheim Cup next year in the Netherlands. ... Pinehurst Resort is adding yet another course — No. 11, to be designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and expected to open in the fall of 2027. Pinehurst No. 10, designed by Tom Doak, opened in April 2024. ... The Zurich Classic of New Orleans will have two sets of identical twins for the second straight year. Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard are playing again. Also playing are Jeremy and Yannik Paul, German twins who both played at Colorado. Yannik Paul is still on the European tour. ... Avid outdoorsman Brian Harman has played 12 of 16 weeks this year and is ready for a few weeks off. “Turkeys aren't going to be safe the next few days,” he said.

Stat of the week

LIV Golf goes to Chapultepec Golf Club in Mexico City this week. Every winner at Chapultepec when it was a World Golf Championships event is now with LIV — Dustin Johnson (2017, 2019), Phil Mickelson (2018) and Patrick Reed (2020).

Final word

“I'm the worst player in the top 10 right now, so I’ve got a long ways to go. I’ve got to play some really good golf to keep up with those guys. I also don’t have the 10th best resume on the PGA Tour. I still have a lot I want to do and accomplish in this game.” — Maverick McNealy.

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