Just one time I’d like to go on a boys trip where we catch up on sleep and relax as much as possible instead of pushing our bodies to the absolute limit

— max homa (@Maxhoma) October 15, 2023

“Just one time I’d like to go on a boys trip where we catch up on sleep and relax as much as possible instead of pushing our bodies to the absolute limit,” Homa tweeted to a mixed response from the social media mob.

“That’s just not how this works,” responded Reddit co-founder (and Serena Williams’ husband) Alexis Ohanian. Kevin Kisnerm was intrigued by the idea, stating: “Second.” Former NFL broadcaster Mike Golic Jr may have put it best when he posted: “That will be hell’s coldest day on record.”

The crowd was truly mixed, including bucket-hat extraordinaire and Netflix star Joel Dahmen, who had a bone to pick with his fellow funny man.

I don’t want to be on that trip

— Joel Dahmen (@Joel_Dahmen) October 16, 2023

“I don’t want to be on that trip,” Dahmen said, prompting this Homa counter-punch.

Win-win

— max homa (@Maxhoma) October 16, 2023

“Win-win” is quite the zinger and now we need a docuseries of the two taking a trip together. Give us an Anthony Bourdain-style travel show with Dahmen and Homa shooting the breeze, travelling from course to course and getting some golf in.

With the Ryder Cup over and major season done until 2024, this is the content we need as winter approaches.

Main image: Jed Jacobsohn

The post Max Homa and Joel Dahmen spar over the ideal guys golf trip appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

What did Joel Dahmen do to deserve this?

The PGA Tour winner, Full Swing legend and one of the funnier guys in golf received a taste of his own medicine upon entering Los Angeles Country Club this week. There’s nothing more cherished than the Player Valet Parking, but it looks like Dahmen — who has been struggling lately, missing the cut at four of his last six events — may have to take a shuttle to get to the first tee.

The USGA’s got jokes this week. @Joel_Dahmen pic.twitter.com/Od5KaY42Rp

— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) June 13, 2023

Lot A to Lot F is a major downgrade, but this appears to be good, clean fun … or perhaps the beginning of a feud for the ages.

LACC is going to feature a tough set-up for all pros this week, but if this sign is any indication, it’s going to be even more difficult for Dahmen.

The post US Open 2023: USGA pokes fun at Joel Dahmen with cold-blooded parking sign after recent struggles appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

We were told we’d get exactly that at Oak Hill this week, and the frigid morning temperatures in Rochester, New York, which caused a frost delay, would only make the course that much firmer and faster when players eventually got on the course.

That said, the bounce Joel Dahmen’s opening tee shot took on Thursday is simply TOO big of a bounce to not make you wonder if it hit a sprinkler head, or a plaque of some sort. The thing is, as far as we know, there is no plaque in the first fairway on Oak Hill’s East Course. So the two options are sprinkler head, or Oak Hill post-frost delay has the firmest fairways on planet earth. See for yourself:

Look at that bounce?, we like that. pic.twitter.com/9JsBkXuqBH

— The Fried Egg (@the_fried_egg) May 18, 2023

I mean … it’s just a preposterous bounce! Did that hit concrete? Dahmen himself will tell you he’s not a long hitter, just ask him. He averages just a shade over 290 yards, ranking him 165th on tour. This tee shot traveled 329 yards on a chilly Rochester morning, and that bounce alone seemed to account for at least 29 of them. That ball took a trip to the moon after it hit the turf.

After watching this, suddenly the shorter, more accurate hitters off-the-tee might be very live this week. If they’re getting those kinds of bounces and a ton of roll-out, why can’t they hang?

The post PGA Championship 2023: This Joel Dahmen tee shot either hit a sprinkler head or Oak Hill has the firmest fairways on the planet appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
It stayed left. It looked like it wanted to go right, felt like it should have went right. As the ball made its way to the hole, the massive crowd around the 18th green did its best to will it to the right. However, a fan sitting behind the green, seconds before Will Zalatoris’ pulled his putter back in an attempt to send this US Open past 72 holes, whispered, “I’m afraid he’s going to miss left.” Zalatoris’ ball stayed left. Hands on his head, elbows on his knees, Zalatoris was both in disbelief and indignant the ball did not disappear and the crowd’s “ooooooohhhhh” signalled it was hoping for the same fate. He glanced one more time at the cup, double-checking what he knew didn’t need to be checked, and when it was confirmed Zalatoris’ head went down again as Matt Fitzpatrick’s arms went up.

The claps came, eventually. Begrudgingly. It’s not that the crowd was anti-Fitzpatrick. It simply wanted more of this week and didn’t want it to end. Though the crowd didn’t get its wish that’s about the only thing that didn’t work out in this aesthetically pleasing, delightfully cruel, charming, chaotic, instant-classic US Open.

RELATED: Matt Fitzpatrick became a major champion by turning his shortcomings into strengths

Early in the week, before most players reached The Country Club grounds, there was hope this tournament would serve as a palette cleanser after the threats and sniping between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

When play started, the focus went where it belonged, and the US Open did not let the spotlight go to waste.

There was the run of everyman Joel Dahmen. No sport so nakedly illustrates the conflict between self-doubt and self-belief like golf, and no golfer epitomises that struggle like the 34-year-old from Clarkston, Washington, so much so that he considered not trying to qualify believing he did not have what it takes to compete at this event. Dahmen ultimately did, which is how he ended up here and he made the most of his visit. He led the tournament after 36 holes and entered the final 18 in shouting distance, and while he could not muster a Sunday surge he managed to finish in the top 10, proving to his colleagues — and more importantly, to himself — he does not just brush shoulders with golf’s best but that he has the capacity to be one of them.

“I’m happy with where — I kind of impressed myself, I guess, in this situation,” the ever-modest Dahmen admitted Sunday night. “I hung in there.”

Matt Fitzpatrick with caddie Billy Forster. David Cannon

After years of existential angst of what this tournament is supposed to be and how it’s supposed to achieve an increasingly challenging aspiration, there was a Saturday that turned this US Open into a real US Open, mucking up scorecards and breaking psyches and doing so in a way that was not nefarious or artificial. Speaking of which, there was worry The Country Club could fall prey to modern technology and strategy; instead this Golden Age gem stood tall and played mean through all four days, winning over fans and players alike for its endless beauty and nuanced difficulty. Throw in a spirited and surprisingly respectful Boston crowd, it would be a shame if another three decades pass for the national championship to return.

Rory McIlroy again flirted with contention, and when he dropped a birdie and reserved fist pump at the first on Sunday afternoon — turning the volume of an already amped gallery to 10 — it sure felt like this might be the day. It was not — a handful of unforced errors saw to that — errors that will keep the questions that follow McIlroy endlessly at major championships there until he provides a proper response. Nevertheless, this week also proved the magnetism he possesses and the excitement he conjures are the fulcrum this sport needs to revolve around in a world absent a certain 15-time major winner.

There was Collin Morikawa, who shot a Saturday 77 yet still managed to finish in a tie for fifth for an eye-popping sixth finish of T-8 or better at a major in the past three years. There was Jon Rahm, who put forth a formidable and meritable title defence. There were the antics of Grayson Murray, who hurled a putter into fescue and snapped a club over his knee, and though it sounds mean to make fun of others misfortunes let’s be honest, the US Open is partially fuelled by the schadenfreude that comes with seeing pros look like us. There was New England’s own Keegan Bradley, giving the crowd a local favorite to holler and cheer and see themselves in. He ultimately finished seventh, though the hero’s welcome he received coming up the 18th on Sunday sure made it seem like he’s leaving here the winner and served as a reminder there are things far more important than numbers on a card.

“Man, I’ll remember that the rest of my life,” Bradley said, searching for the right words but knowing none would quite do. “It was really special. I’m happy that my family was here to see that, and it was just amazing.”

But what gave this US Open its juice was its final hours. The World No. 1 was looking for major No. 2, and when Scottie Scheffler took the lead on the front nine everything we’ve learned about Scheffler over the past five months foretold he would be the last man standing. The US Open, though, does not care about the past and certainly doesn’t have an appetite for narratives, and as bad of a man as Scheffler is this tournament showed it was just a bit badder. Bogeys on the 10th and 11th put him in a two-shot deficit, and though his birdie attempt was true at the 17th he could not finish with consecutive red numbers, falling short by one.

Which brings us to the final pairing of Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris, who turned this golf tournament into a prize fight. After exchanging blows for four hours, that fight seemed called at the 15th, where a Fitzpatrick birdie gave him a two-shot lead with three to play.

Now, anyone can look tough when things go well, when the crowd and momentum is on your side and the issue is not in doubt. The trust test of a competitor, of a man, is how he responds when he is down and the world has counted him out. As he stood at the 16th, when anything less than good would not do, Zalatoris showed that while he was down he sure as hell wasn’t out, hitting the shot of his life to six feet and cleaning up what remained to cut his deficit to one.

Will Zalatoris reacts on the 18th. Patrick Smith

Pars on the 17th brought us to the 18th, where security briefly lost control, forcing the remaining two to wade themselves through a frothy crowd. They were literally and figuratively the men in the arena, and as surreal as the scene was Fitzpatrick’s approach from a seemingly-dead spot in the sand topped it. There were still putts to be had, and we suppose, technically, it was those putts that ended the tournament. But that approach from Fitzpatrick proved to be the closer and proved the Englishman’s ball-striking is only bettered by the vigour required to attempt it. In a game increasingly dominated by cookie-cutter prototypes, Fitzpatrick is an old-school, ball-striking bulldog, and the game should be lucky it still has the space for such throwbacks to exist and thrive.

“Unbelievable,” Fitzpatrick said afterwards. “Yeah, it’s just — the feeling’s out of this world. It is so cliche, but it’s stuff you dream of as a kid. Yeah, to achieve it, I can retire a happy man tomorrow.”

Now, four days do not erase the past four months, or ease the months and years of uneasiness ahead. Even Sunday was not totally immune to the aforementioned threat, as word of Abraham Ancer’s departure made the rounds with more names expected to follow suit in the coming days. The sport and its constituents have some very difficult problems to address and how they counter will be far from comfortable.

However, in a time when the sport has never felt more divided, the US Open gave us a show that doubled as a respite and asserted itself as a vehicle with the capacity to unite. Golf, after all, is supposed to help us forget about life’s problems, not remind us of them. This week lived up to that promise, allowing golf to be just that, golf. That unity may be fleeting, but as the saying goes, any port in a storm.

As this show’s hero, Fitzpatrick, was engulfed by friends and family at the 18th, Zalatoris headed in the other direction. The tall, lanky Texan combed his hands through his blonde, wispy hair. He looked pained. He looked betrayed. He looked spent.

“I think this one — I’m just fresh coming off of 18 because I thought I had it, and it just happened to stay out there,” Zalatoris said afterwards. “This one hasn’t sunk in.”

But as he made his way up the stone steps to the brick building that houses the pro shop, Zalatoris looked back at the green, ever so briefly. It wasn’t the ending he had hoped for, but Zalatoris knew he helped deliver the show that was needed.

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The post This US Open is what golf desperately needed appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Day 2 at the US Open has come to an end, and there were plenty of things that left us scratching our heads. Here are eight surprises from the second round at The Country Club:

Matt Fitzpatrick’s bombs

The tales of Fitzpatrick’s increased pop off the tee have not been exaggerated. And on Friday, Dustin Johnson found that out in person. We’re pretty sure DJ knew who Fitzpatrick was before this week — unlike his (lack of) knowledge of MJ Daffue — but we’re guessing he was surprised to be hitting his approach shots before the Brit all day. Even Fitzpatrick, who has made huge gains in distance in the past year-plus thanks to a new fitness routine and speed-training sessions, was even surprised that he was out-driving one of the longest hitters in pro golf.

Ball speed on 15, both with driver:

Matt Fitzpatrick: 176 MPH
Dustin Johnson: 174 MPH

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) June 17, 2022

“Yeah, hitting the drives I hit this week so far and seeing where he’s hit his has been quite eye-opening for me,” Fitzpatrick said after.

“For me, I’ve just got to try and hopefully just take advantage more of it,” he added. “If now on paper I’m hitting it past DJ, you look at the success he’s had, if I can emulate that, then I’ll be a very happy man.”

He’s also got to be pretty happy to be two-under through 36 holes and in contention at a second consecutive major.

Rory’s running birdie

Wanna see a golfer move fast? Watch when their golf ball settles precariously close to a false front. Such was the case of Rory McIlroy’s approach shot on No. 17 that came close to spinning off the front. As fans yelled variations of, “You better mark that quick!” that’s exactly what Rory did, sprinting up to the green to put a coin on his ball.

Rory McIlroy runs at US Open. Ross Kinnaird

What an athlete. Seriously, the dude was moving. Turns out, he also did it in part because he didn’t want playing partner Xander Schauffele to hit it with his approach on the short par 4. Either way, Rory was proud of his wheels after and said he’s capable of running a 100-yard dash even faster.

“I’ve got more than that in the tank,” McIlroy said with a smile.

I don’t doubt it. The best part? McIlroy wound up draining the birdie to move to within one of the lead heading into the weekend. The lesson? Stay in shape, folks.

Viktor Hovland’s bogey party

The Norwegian star’s name was near the top of the leaderboard early Friday morning, but a stunning turn of events had him leaving Brookline before the weekend. His mode of transportation? The bogey train. A long, long bogey train.

After birdieing two of his first seven holes, Hovland looked like he was going to put himself in great position heading into the weekend. Heck, the guy known for struggling with his short game even chipped in for birdie on No. 2. But then he turned into an 18-handicapper, making six consecutive bogeys on holes 8-13. Pretty crazy for the eighth-ranked player on the planet. And he wasn’t done! Bogeys on 6, 8 and 9 gave him a crazy nine blemishes over his final 11 holes, resulting in a 77. Of course, it doesn’t help when you end up in spots like this:

Viktor Hovland. David Cannon

Last year Hovland had a disappointing early finish to this tournament when he withdrew due to a fluke eye injury suffered in a bunker at Torrey Pines. Incredibly, this may have been a more painful exit.

Joel Dahmen is your leader

Dahmen took in a Ben Rector concert on Thursday night. On Friday evening, he took the lead at the US Open. Well, a share of the lead, that is.

Dahmen missed birdie putts of inside 10 feet on his final two holes, but that didn’t keep him from grabbing a spot in Saturday’s final pairing with Collin Morikawa. Not bad for someone who had failed to make the cut in two previous US Open starts.

Joel Dahmen. Andrew Redington

So more golf history can be made at Brookline this weekend. Because we’re pretty sure Dahmen would be the first US Open champ to rock a bucket hat.

Justin Thomas goes in reverse

It wasn’t nearly as bad as Hovland backing up, but we didn’t expect the reigning PGA champ to start his second round with a double-bogey — especially after he piped his opening tee shot 320 yards down the middle on No. 10. But after airmailing the green, Thomas left his first chip in the rough and was unable to get up and down from there.

Justin Thomas. Patrick Smith

He then missed a four-footer for par on the next hole to tumble farther down the leader board. On the bright side, JT clawed his way to shoot one under the rest of the way, and at one over through two days, he’s certainly not out of it.

The cut line at The Country Club

Let’s just say they’re not going to call this US Open “The Massacre in Massachusetts.” As expected, the cut line wound up being over par, but not as over as most predicted.

In the end, you needed to be three-over or better to be one of the 60 and ties to make it to the weekend. See, this place isn’t so tough, after all! Of course, if players are thinking that, they should probably keep it to themselves. The USGA has two more days to wreak havoc.

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The post US Open 2022 Day 2 wrap: Rory McIlroy’s running birdie, Matt Fitzpatrick’s long drive conquest, and four other surprises at The Country Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The video clip, which took over Golf Twitter immediately, features a testy exchange between Berger and his playing partners, who didn’t agree with a particular drop Berger was going to take at the par 5. Berger, who found the right side of the fairway off the tee, struck his approach shot from 233 yards out and knew it was dead right after impact. “Water ball,” Berger yelled.

That’s when things got interesting. In the clip below, you’ll hear Berger say “it’s a bad drop, that’s all I’m saying.” Berger believed his ball had started left of the pin and crossed land up near the green, where he was hoping to drop and attempt to get up and down for par. Hovland and Dahmen disagreed, believing it had started over the water and therefore crossed land much farther back then where Berger had thought.

“To be honest with you, I’m not really OK with [the drop] being up there,” Hovland says. “That’s not really what I saw.” Because Dahmen agreed with Hovland, Berger didn’t have any other choice. It’s up to the group to come to a group decision in matters like this one. Berger did not take it well, as you’ll see in the clip below:

The discussion surrounding Daniel Berger’s drop on 16 between Berger, Viktor Hovland and Joel Dahmen.
pic.twitter.com/OtkoaeXYrb

— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) March 14, 2022

“You know what, I’m going to drop here for the sake of you guys, but you’re wrong,” Berger says. Wow, spicy stuff.

As you can hear chief referee Gary Young say, Berger had to just agree on it and play on. He went on to make bogey on the hole, then went par-par to finish at six-under instead of seven-under, the difference between T-7 and T-15. To put it in a more painful way, a potential difference of $300,000 in prize money.

After the round, both Berger and Dahmen declined to speak with the media. Hovland obliged, shedding some light on the controversy.

“So obviously I was in kind of more of the left side of the fairway, Berger hitting from the right side,” Hovland said. “And Joel was kind of in the middle. But as soon as Daniel hit it in the air, he said, ‘oh, water ball’, and then I was watching the whole flight, and it was just short right of the green in the water on 16.

“From my perspective, obviously I was a little further left than Daniel, in my opinion I did not think the ball started very far left of the pin. It looked like it kind of started at the pin and then cut towards the end because the wind was also a little bit off the left.

“He obviously thought that he started it way left of the pin and then he kind of cut hard at the end, but that’s not what Joel and I saw. I’m not going to put words in Joel’s mouth, but he was closer to Daniel’s line, and we both saw the same thing, that it kind of started pretty close to the pin and then cut to the right at the end, therefore not really crossing all the way up there close to the green. We thought it was closer to the grass bunker there, just past it, and yeah, we had a little discussion about it.”

Despite Berger pushing back, Hovland wouldn’t budge.

“It’s not a fun conversation,” he added. “Daniel’s game is great, and I have massive respect for him as a player. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to protect the field and protect all the other guys. It’s not a fun conversation, but when you strongly believe in something, you kind of have to stand your ground.”

As for the post-round pleasantries, the young Norwegian said they kept it professional. 

“It’s not like we’re trying to dog on Daniel and trying to screw him over,” Hovland said. “It’s just, that’s what we believe, and he obviously felt strongly the other way. It’s just what it is. I’m not accusing him of anything. The golf ball is in the air for a couple seconds, so it’s tough to exactly pinpoint where it crossed and not. But Joel and I saw it in one way and he saw it differently.”

The post ‘You’re wrong’: Daniel Berger has testy rules exchange with Viktor Hovland and Joel Dahmen appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Geno Bonnalie—never shy about whipping out his phone to film funny moments—captured a shuttle driver at Kapalua giving his boss, Joel Dahmen, some funny advice during a ride to the course. We’re sure the advice itself is pretty solid, but “get to the 18th hole early” isn’t exactly useful for a PGA Tour winner who is competing in the event.

Have a look and listen as Bonnalie and Dahmen do nothing to stop the guy from doling out his golf fan pearls of wisdom:

“Try to get to hole 18 an hour early to get a good seat”@Sentry_TOC #SentryTOC pic.twitter.com/ei77IZQ1iJ

— Geno Bonnalie (@GenoBonnalie) January 5, 2022

That’s good stuff. And you can’t blame the guy for not recognising Dahmen. After all, this will be his first time playing in the Sentry Tournament of Champions after picking up his maiden PGA Tour win last year.

Plus, as fellow tour pro J.T. Poston said a few years back after being mistaken for a valet at the Honda Classic, there’s a simple way to avoid these kinds of mix-ups: play better. Maybe by the end of this week, the friendly people at Kapalua will recognise Joel. Until then, though, we hope Geno keeps filming.

The post Caddie captures unsuspecting shuttle driver giving advice on watching the PGA Tour—to a PGA Tour pro appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By GolfDigest.com
Joel Dahmen, cancer survivor, once said, “I have seen life and death, and golf is not it – as much as we can portray it that way at times.”

Joel Dahmen, pro golf survivor, said on Sunday in the Dominican Republic after winning the Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, “That’s what we dream of, right?”

From the nightmare of testicular cancer and all that goes into that battle – the fear, the chemotherapy, the doubts about your future – to a dream of being a winner on the PGA Tour after an 11-year grind of mini-tours and the stepladder advances on the lower tour levels, is genuine fairy tale stuff. It’s easily in the feel-good category of outcomes. It reverberates through the chambers of destiny.

“I don’t know how I’m here. It’s crazy,” Dahmen said with genuine wonder after negotiating a wind-swept golf course, out-duelled a determined opponent, and won his first tour title in his 111th try. With clutch pars on the final three holes, Dahmen carded a final-round 70 and posted 12-under 276, good enough to eke out a one-stroke victory over Rafael Campos.

The triumph – a word that has several meanings for the 33-year-old native of Clarkson, Wash. – was worth so much more than the $540,000 and the two-year tour exemption. The man who once intimated that a steady income was an acceptable trade for being a career also ran executed a giddy hop when his two-foot par putt on the 18th hole on the Corales Course found its way into the cup.

He then hugged his caddie, Geno Bonnalie, as tightly as a toddler hugs a teddy bear. Dahmen’s wife, Lona, then jumped in and the three of them soaked in the sensation of success. Then Lona, who worked two jobs while Joel was grinding out his game on the mini-tours, hugged her husband some more and kissed his cheek and shrieked joyous shrieks that can only come from knowing all the obstacles, some distant and some immediate, he had overcome to reach that moment.

RELATED: Geno Bonnalie’s twitter thread will make you think twice about becoming a PGA Tour caddie

“Yeah, this is just a lot of validation … this is just really special,” Dahmen said, getting to the crux of what his breakthrough truly represented. “There’s a whole part of that, you just kind of have to kind of put it all on the line, put yourself out there. And if you’re not good enough, you’re not good enough, but if you put yourself out there, at least you’re going to find out.”

Dahmen, who held a share of the first-round lead, and was tied with Campos after 54 holes, found out he was good enough. He’s known for a much longer time how tough he was, beating testicular cancer in 2011, the year after he turned pro. His brother also beat the disease in 2009. Meanwhile, they lost their mom to pancreatic cancer in 2005 when Joel was in high school. He tried college, but it wasn’t for him.

“I was a pretty lost kid there for a couple years. Even when I turned pro, I didn’t know what I was doing, so the first couple years were bad.”

The bucket hat he wears bears the MD Anderson logo and is adorned on the front with the word “cancer” crossed out. It is both a message of support to those battling the affliction and a symbol of his much bigger triumph.

Played opposite a World Golf Championship event, the Puntacana Resort & Club Championship is the sort of event that offers an opportunity for a breakthrough. That doesn’t mean Dahmen, one of the higher-ranked players in the field at No. 81 in the world, didn’t have to contend with stiff competition. Masters champion Danny Willett was in the mix. Graeme McDowell, a U.S. Open winner and past champion in the Dominican, clawed within a stroke of Dahmen at one point. Presidents Cup player Emiliano Grillo also was on the board.

That it came down to Campos, who entered the week 156th in the FedEx Cup standings, and Dahmen didn’t make it any less challenging, particularly with gusting winds strafing the Corales layout. But at least Campos had some recent mojo fueling his bid, having finished third in his native Puerto Rico two weeks earlier.

Dahmen, meanwhile, who last season ended up a career-high 38th in the FedEx Cup, was mired in a mystifying funk in which he had missed the cut in six of his last seven starts. He was flummoxed, but not stressed. Not life and death.

“The start of this year was pretty bleak for me, for a guy who prides himself on making a bunch of cuts,” he said. “I never had a spurt where I’ve missed this many cuts before. So I was not panicking, but thankfully I have a great team around me … [swing] coach Rob Rashell, Jon Reehoorn [golf coach at Oregon State] helps me out a ton. We didn’t change anything; we didn’t go looking for solutions. We just kind of stuck to the plan, and they told me to be patient and it worked out.”

Bonnalie has been a huge part of the equation, too, though Dahmen almost lost the services of his friend for the final hole when he threw his wedge in the air after nearly chipping in on the 17th hole. The club missed his caddie by inches. Good thing, because Dahmen would have missed Bonnalie’s tears of joy pouring forth.

“I mean, two dudes growing up together who were golf dorks like somehow winning on the PGA Tour,” Dahmen said with genuine wonder. “I planned the celebration so many times in my head, it didn’t quite go as I expected. I couldn’t believe he was crying, I thought he’d be the tough guy, but he’s put in a lot of time and effort and he’s believed in me when no one else did.”

Well, no one else but Lona, who sacrificed plenty along the way, Dahmen said. “She gave up her dreams to fulfill my dreams. There were some lean times, for sure, but she believed in me. I don’t know if our dreams were ever this big, per se. Making it five years on tour, getting a first win … just, it’s pretty special.”

Special indeed. A first victory on the PGA Tour can be life-changing, too. This was more like life-affirming.

The post Joel Dahmen’s nightmare, dream and a first PGA Tour victory appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
When Justin Thomas won the Players Championship two weeks ago, he cashed the biggest single-tournament payday on the PGA Tour, a whopping $2.7 million. By extension, his longtime caddie, Jimmy Johnson, was also well-compensated.

Typically, the going rate for a caddie on tour is a base salary of roughly $2,000 a week, plus 5 percent of the player’s earnings for a finish outside the top 25, 7 percent for a top-10 and 10 percent for a win.

If the math sounds appealing, it should. Total prize money on tour last season topped more than $400 million.

But most caddies don’t start out at the highest and most lucrative level of the game, far from it. How far?

Geno Bonnalie first landed on the bag of Joel Dahmen after Dahmen earned Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2015 season—the two have been friends since they won a two-man best-ball tournament as teens in Lewiston, Idaho, where Bonnalie’s mom called Dahmen’s mom to help arrange the pairing. With Dahmen’s playing status secure, Bonnalie pecked out an email to his friend officially applying for the job as “Joel Dahmen’s caddie” and the rest was history.

That’s not to suggest the road has been easy or profitable. Quite the contrary, particularly early on.

“The #1 question I get asked when people find out I caddie for a job: ‘How much money do you make?’” Bonnalie tweeted on Sunday.

The #1 question I get asked when people find out I caddie for a job:
“How much money do you make?”

A thread…

— Geno Bonnalie (@GenoBonnalie) March 21, 2021

And thus began the insightful if not entertaining thread.

“I was working a desk job making just over 50k a year, when Joel won the money list on the Mackenzie Tour and got KFT status,” Bonnalie said.

That job, by the way? An “export coordinator” for a company called Vista Outdoor, Bonnalie explained via text. “I shipped ammo to foreign countries,” he said.

More daunting was the money he was about to make, or not make.

Bonnalie’s starting salary that first year on Dahmen’s bag: $850 a week and 7 percent of Dahmen’s earnings, he explained. Their first event together was in Leon, Mexico. Bonnalie said the flight cost a little more than $800, then there was accommodation and food. Dahmen shot 77-74 to miss the cut.

“The first few events were one week on, one week off, which meant flights back to Idaho after each event (very cheap),” Bonnalie continued. “Our first made cut came at our 3rd event in South Carolina. Not sure what place we finished in [T-64], but my additional income was $118. I remember being SO happy. It was the first time in 3 weeks that I didn’t order the cheapest thing on the menu at dinner (cause I was so rich).

“Joel and I both were very conscientious of our spending throughout the year (because you had to be), but I never remember thinking that we were absolutely destitute.”

Still, along the way Bonnalie mowed lawns and did other odd jobs on his off weeks. He also did what he could to save as much as possible on the road, whether it was travelling with a frying pan and hot plate and buying a rotisserie chicken, pack of tortillas and cheese at Walmart, or crashing at seedy hotels.

“Any Knights Inn or Red Roof Inn are all pretty bad,” he told Golf Digest when asked about the worst of his accommodations. “I never really minded, though. As long as there was a shower and a spot to sleep, I didn’t really care what it was like. I never felt unsafe, though I probably should have.”

By year’s end, Bonnalie had worked 19 events for Dahmen, whose best finish was a tie for 10th at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. Dahmen’s payday: $14,962, which equated to a little more than $1,000, plus the weekly base rate, for Bonnalie. For the year, Bonnalie earned $20,635.53, though he said he’s sure that he ended up in the red.

“I’m positive I lost money for the year, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made,” the now 37-year-old said on Twitter. “I’m thankful to have a boss who is really freaking talented, and a wife who is the most patient person I know.”

MORE: Caddie Confidential: Helen Storey takes us inside the ropes with Lee Westwood

Things also have improved significantly since.

In 2017, Dahmen made it to the PGA Tour and earned a little more than $300,000. The years since have been even better. In each of the last four seasons, Dahmen has racked up at least $1.4 million in earnings, including a career-best $2.1 million in 2020 when he tallied five top-10s and missed the cut just four times in 22 starts.

And with that, Bonnalie had one, final parting thought: “Now please stop asking me how much I make, unless you tell me what you make first.”

The post This Twitter thread from a PGA Tour caddie will make you think twice about becoming a PGA Tour caddie appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind where we’ve learned a lot during our eighth(!) year of doing this. You can go from not being able to break 80 to winning the Masters. You can drink as many proteins shakes as you want without risking harm to your organs (Actually, we’re not sure about that one yet). And you can’t touch Tiger Woods’ coffee:

Who's stealing a cup of this coffee? ?

Stay tuned for more with @TigerWoods coming soon. pic.twitter.com/ergZwHz6v5

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 3, 2020

Oh yeah, we also found out global pandemics are no joke. But hopefully, we were able to at least share a few laughs through all the weird and tough times. So thanks as always for reading, and grab a cup of joe as we take one final spin in 2020. Just not Tiger’s cup of Joe.

WE’RE BUYING

Viktor Hovland: Not only did the 23-year-old win his second PGA Tour title, he broke the “Curse of Coco Beach” by becoming the first golfer to win another tournament after winning the Puerto Rico Open. And, of course, this engaging young star was well aware of that fact.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Viktor Hovland (@viktor_hovland)

Hang in there, Tony Finau. There’s still hope for you! Plus, when Hovland wins, we get to hear these Norwegian announcers go nuts!

The Norwegian call of Viktor Hovland's winning putt @MayakobaGolf is EVERYTHING. ??? pic.twitter.com/CObVto6YYk

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 7, 2020

“YES! He makes it—again! Our boy! Look how ice cold he is!” Absolutely electric stuff, just like when Viktor won for the first time in February. Apparently in Norway they don’t abide by the whole “there’s no cheering from the pressbox” motto. Hey, we’re not complaining.

The Class of 2019: About 18 months ago all three (Hovland, Collin Morikawa, and Matthew Wolff) were still in college and now they all find themselves in the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking. And it’s not just the six PGA Tour wins between the bunch that have gotten them there. Morikawa already has a major, Wolff finished top five at his first two majors, and Hovland holds the tour record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s. These (young) guys are good.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout: But don’t forget about the Class of 2015! BEZ! Two weeks in a row! Man, this South African is absolutely cooking right now after some serious home cooking the past two weeks on the European Tour, claiming the South African Open after the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native land.

Richard Heathcote

Our new favourite player—if you didn’t see the giant wine glass he was drinking from last week, check it out—showed he can rally after a big celebration too. Impressive stuff. He’s got an even bigger event on tap this week as the Race to Dubai wraps up:

Probably a smart move to stick to normal-sized glasses with so much at stake.

WE’RE SELLING

Peter Alliss passing away: Sadly, 2020 has claimed another. Since as far back as I can remember, my favourite part of waking up early and watching the Open Championship was when Alliss would join the American telecast for a bit. Man, was he cheeky in the booth. Like Johnny Miller, Alliss is a Hall-of-Famer on two fronts, with a lot of younger fans not realizing how great of a player he was with 31 professional wins and eight Ryder Cup appearances. I encourage you to read the fantastic pieces by our own John Huggan and John Feinstein. And here’s a touching tribute from the European Tour:

Peter Alliss – A Tribute ?

The voice of The Open ? pic.twitter.com/wc1uc0hOeg

— The Open (@TheOpen) December 7, 2020

REWIND: Golf Digest Middle East’s 2014 conversation with the ‘voice of golf’

Also, anyone would get a kick out of Alliss calling Jean van de Velde’s 72nd hole collapse at the 1999 Open Championship. Even Jean himself:

RIP to a true legend.

Putting like Happy Gilmore: We’d love to hear Peter Alliss’ take on what Joel Dahmen began doing late in the third round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic:

2020 Mayakoba Rd. 3.
No quote today, but a story instead:
Before the round, Joel was messing around putting like Happy Gilmore. Split handed-right hand way down the grip. He was making EVERYTHING! He told me he was going to bust it out during the round. Did it on 17 and here: pic.twitter.com/ngWeiII3OE

— Geno Bonnalie (@GenoBonnalie) December 5, 2020

Then after continuing to use the unique method on Sunday, Dahmen felt confident to lobby U.S. captain Steve Stricker for a spot on the American Ryder Cup team.

Here's some more evidence @stevestricker! #RyderCupBound pic.twitter.com/uBgILAqMdS

— Joel Dahmen (@Joel_Dahmen) December 6, 2020

As always with Dahmen, who at another recent tournament channelled Russell Crowe’s “Gladiator” character, we are entertained. But good luck with that, Joel. We haven’t seen Adam Sandler tearing up the celebrity golf circuit.

Getting a job at MJ’s new course: If you’re looking for a gig driving around a beverage cart at Michael Jordan’s The Grove XXIII, don’t bother sending your resume. That’s because the new ultra-exclusive course is using drones instead:

Michael Jordan's new course, The Grove XXIII, delivers drinks by drone. ?

Learn more about the NBA superstar's exclusive club: https://t.co/iFXqdGGwtF
(?:Instagram/@Chadilac_FSU) pic.twitter.com/N6SPUhaXNk

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 7, 2020

What a world.

ON TAP

With the PGA Tour officially heading into the off-season, the LPGA and European Tour take centre stage. The U.S. Women’s Open is being held in Houston and the DP World Championship, the conclusion of the season-long Race to Dubai is in, you guessed it, Dubai.

Random tournament fact: Lexi Thompson will be using Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie, Tim Tucker, this week. If anyone needed an off-season, you’d think it would be Tim, but that’s a tough bag to turn down. And we’re pretty sure he’d make history by becoming the first person to win two U.S. Opens in the same year.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Tim Tucker will spend as much time as usual deliberating shots this week: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Joel Dahmen will make the 2021 U.S. Ryder Cup team: 10-to-1 odds
—If Joel were European, he’d not only make Team Europe but go 4-0-1 against Team USA: LOCK

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

This beach wedding stole the show during the second round of the Mayakoba:

nothing screams "final event of the year" like the PGA Tour broadcast repeatedly cutting to a half-dozen people setting up for a wedding, which will apparently be taking place on this beach volleyball court pic.twitter.com/sv912MUZFD

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) December 4, 2020

Genius move to save money on a photographer/videographer. I could have probably joined Michael Jordan’s golf club for the amount I spent on ours.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbTTb8peju/?utm_source=ig_embed

We’ve all been there, but that’s rough. Even Mike Davis thinks that’s an unfair pin position.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I don’t know if I could say that without getting fined.” —Brooks Koepka when asked to describe a disappointing year. And that was before he missed the cut in Mexico. Rough.

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to Angela Stanford for winning a seventh career LPGA title, but a first in front of her parents. Talk about coming through under pressure. . . . According to the National Golf Foundation, there will be an increase of 50 million rounds of golf played in this country compared to last year. The last time there was a bigger increase was 1997, when Tiger Woods won his landmark first Masters. . . . Speaking of Tiger Woods, his World Golf Hall of Fame induction has been postponed until 2022. The good news is he’ll have more time to work on his speech. . . . Jason Day said he kept his ATM receipt for a couple months the first time he made a withdrawal after his first PGA Tour win. Hope he saved some of that money because now he’s about to have a fourth kid. . . .And, finally, speaking of kids, I put together this bookshelf for my daughter all by myself:

If Rory McIlroy or any of the other new PGA Tour dads need help with this stuff, let me know. Kidding. I’m miserable at it and you’d have to pay me. A lot.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will I spend more on college tuition or Pottery Barn furniture?
Can 2020 please just be over already?

The post Viktor Hovland breaks a curse and a PGA Tour pro channels Happy Gilmore appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.