Joel Dahmen holed a par putt of five feet, six inches on the 18th hole at the RSM Classic to make the 36-hole cut and it could be the most important putt he has ever made.
It could be the difference between Dahmen having a PGA Tour card next year, or not.
As the ball trickled its way into the cup, Dahmen let out a fist pump as he polished off a second round of 68 to make it through to the weekend as he battles to maintain his playing rights.
The 37-year-old tour winner has become something of a cult figure in golf for his top off celebration at the Waste Management Phoenix Open but hasn’t lived up to the billing since appearing on the ‘Full Swing’ Netflix series.
The American has been struggling all season with just one top ten finish and ten missed cuts including last week at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Dahmen opened his account this week with a 73 and had to battle right to the end just to make the cut when he lashed his 40-foot birdie putt five feet by on the 18th but his response was gutsy and testament to a player who has had to battle his entire life.
He still has a mountain to climb. Despite making the cut, Dahmen has fallen from 124th in the FedEx Cup Standings to 126th heading into the weekend meaning he needs to climb the leaderboard if he is to sneak back into the top-125 and guarantee his status for 2025.
“I still got more to write this weekend, for sure, but without having the opportunity to play this weekend, my story would be a lot shorter this year,” an emotional Dahmen said. “I have a lot left in me and I’m going to give my all, but this weekend’s big, for sure.”
“Yeah, it was a great putt. I was very nervous. But there’s still work to do,” said Dahmen, who blew his 40-foot birdie attempt on the 18th five feet by the hole. “It wasn’t the game winner, it was like the half-court shot to get us like at halftime. But without that and the way I played today, I wouldn’t have anything this weekend. I’m hoping I play great this weekend and I hit 36 greens and I just kind of plod my way around and it’s super easy, but that’s not the way golf is.”
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