Joel Dahmen Melts Down Late At Corales Puntacana Championship, Loses By One Shot

While all eyes were on the PGA Tour signature event in Hilton Head, people may not have known that the Tour had an alternate event for players not invited to the RBC Heritage. That tournament, Corales Puntacana Championship, featured an incredible ending – but one that Joel Dahmen would like to forget. 

Golf fans got to know Dahmen well after his appearance on the Netflix docu-series, "Full Swing," with his episode being one of the best the first season had to offer. Dahmen is a man who understands himself, admitting that he could be a lot better at golf if he tried harder, but doesn't want to spend all his time practicing, content with being just a very good player. 

But he probably wishes he had spent a little more time working on his putting, especially after what happened on the penultimate hole of the Corales Puntacana Championship. 

PGA Tour player Joel Dahmen, perhaps best known for his appearance on the Netflix docu-series "Full Swing," lost the Corales Puntacana Championship in heartbreaking fashion.

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Dahmen entered the final round of the tournament with a three-shot lead over several chasers. He opened with rounds of 62 and 66 to break the tournament 36-hole record.

Coming down the stretch, Dahmen remained in position to win the tournament. Through 12 holes, he was at even-par for the day, still leading by a shot. He maintained that advantage even after a bogey on 13 because his two closest competitors – Garrick Higgo and Michael Thorbjornsen – also bogeyed the difficult hole. 

But everything really came undone for Dahmen down the final three-hole stretch. First, he made bogey on 16. That dropped him into a tie with Higgo. But Higgo bogeyed 17 just ahead of Dahmen to fall one shot back. Dahmen should have no trouble saving par on 17, but this happened. 

Higgo made par on the final hole, which meant Dahmen needed to make par to force a playoff, or birdie to win the tournament outright. Unfortunately, he did neither. Dahmen left himself just to the right of the green before pitching to about 12 feet. He failed to make the putt, giving Higgo the victory. 

Dahmen led for 71 holes. The only time he wasn't leading was after the 72nd hole. Unfortunately, that's the only one that matters. 

For the victory, Higgo earned $720K. Dahmen fell into a five-way tie for second place, for which he won just over $240K. Certainly, not a small chunk of change. But he left nearly half-a-million dollars on the table with three bogeys in the final three holes. Tough way to end what was an otherwise tremendous week.