Joel Dahmen needed something special to keep his PGA Tour card. It happened

On Saturday night, not long after a double-bogey 7 cost him his chance to remain a full-time PGA Tour member through 2025, Joel Dahmen said the situation was sour.

“The effect of a funeral,” he explained.

Dahmen — a funny, fun-loving, self-deprecating 37-year-old — has become one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour over the past few years, but on Sunday he was in serious danger of staying inside. top 125 in the season-ending RSM Classic, which is what he needed to do to hold full membership for 2025.

Dahmen entered the week No. 124 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, but after his double-double on Saturday, where he shot a 70, Dahmen is expected to finish 128th in the standings.

That means he had to do something special on Sunday – and his run started with a spectacular shot.

Dahmen shot a 6-under 64, a bogey-free round and an eagle from 110 yards on the par-4 13th, which was his fourth hole of the day. That ended a streak of three straight pars and led to three straight birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th.

After a rollercoaster week — and season — Dahmen tied for 35th at the RSM Classic and claimed that 124th spot in the FedEx Cup standings. His Visitor Card for next year is secured.

“When you’re behind the 8 ball like this, it almost gives you a little freedom that you have to go do something big, you can’t just participate,” said Dahmen. “It’s almost hard to hold on sometimes. Like it’s hard to hold a lead, a big lead, a big lead rather than being a runner. I think it somehow worked for me.”

Dahmen said the worst situation on Saturday came after his round, when he and his wife, Lona, were driving to pick up their son from kindergarten. Dahmen started thinking about what he likes about being on Tour. Not just the good salaries, but the competition and the people and the community they are part of. He talked about the friends he made on Tour, and how they love raising their kids together while doing this crazy job. He didn’t want any of this to come to an end just yet.

As Dahmen said, he birdies early and hangs late. He made par on his final seven holes, including a long par putt on the 72nd and a clutch 6-footer to move into 64. Sam Ryder finished 125th to secure the final spot, with Zac Blair finishing 126th to be the odd one out. – man out. Those who finished 126 to 150 have conditional terms for 2025.

After his cycle, Dahmen and his wife embrace.

“I’m glad it was a happy hug. Being a Tour wife isn’t all glitz and glamour,” said Dahmen. “It’s difficult. She takes care of our baby a ton when I’m on the road without them. It’s really hard for him, even for weeks when we’re gone all day, like a whole week at these tee times, he wakes up with the child, prepares himself, prepares the child, all those things.

“I felt bad for putting him under so much pressure. You reminded me last night, so I signed up. I’m like, no, you signed up to play as a then-broke mini-tourist, you didn’t sign up for this. Yeah, he’s like, ‘We’ll be fine.’ But that was it, I thought about it both ways. I thought about the tears of sadness and how they can change our life going forward and I have thought about it from the other side. So I’m very happy that it was tears of joy.”