Joel Dahmen almost took a wire-to-wire lead at the Corales Punta Cana Championship, but ended the tournament with three consecutive bogeys and lost his second PGA Tour win by one stroke.
But it’s not just the fact that he made bogeys on 16, 17 and 18. How he did it mattered on the par putt on No. 17 that is likely to haunt the PGA Tour fan favorite.
Dahmen missed a putt from two feet inside and ended up tied with eventual winner Garrick Higo. He then hit bogey on No. 72 and was eliminated from the tournament.
After the heartbreaking game, Damen expressed his feelings as follows.
“I think I’m a little shocked, to be honest,” Damen said.
“It doesn’t matter how you win a golf tournament, I’ll tell you that,” he explained. “I don’t deserve to win. Bogeys in the last three races are unforgivable.”
Many players wouldn’t talk to the media after such a heartbreaking finish, but the Arizona resident did. He answered honestly and kept it real, but anyone who knows Damen knows that’s how he always is.
Dahmen, 37, opened the tournament with a course record 62 and continued to play well until the second round, entering Moving Day with a four-stroke lead.
But the weekend was a tough spot for Damen. He closed out the tournament 71-76 and almost got the win.
But losing like he did has to be one of the hardest things for a professional athlete to accept.
“It may take some time to get through this,” Damen said. “That’s one of them. Unfortunately, you learn more when you lose. I think I’m still a little shocked. I felt like I had enough head space. I had enough head space, but sometimes your body just doesn’t cooperate.”
Damen and Harry Higgs are among the teams competing in the Zurich Classic, which could be a good tournament for him to reset.
“It’s probably best for me to have fun next week and have someone to rely on and let someone else play ball,” he said. “It’s going to be a great trip. My wife is coming to town without the kids, so we’re going to have a fun four days with each other. So, yeah, this is going to hurt for a while.”
Dahmen finished tied for second place with a total of 13 under par, along with Alejandro Tosti, Keith Mitchell, Jeremy Paul and Michael Thorbjornsen.
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