Golf fans following the Corales Puntacana Championship were left speechless as Joel Dahmen — the gritty everyman, who owned the lead for three electric rounds, imploded in jaw-dropping fashion, bogeying the final three holes to hand South Africa’s Garrick Higgo a stunning PGA Tour victory on Sunday.
In a finish that felt more like a Hollywood thriller than a golf tournament, Dahmen’s collapse at Corales Golf Course turned a coronation into a catastrophe, leaving the 37-year-old fan favorite gutted and social media ablaze.
Dahmen, the 2021 champion of this event, began the week in scintillating form, shattering the course record with a 10-under 62 on Thursday and setting a 36-hole tournament record of 16-under 128.
Dahmen’s bogey-free play through the first two rounds and a gritty 1-under 71 on Saturday positioned him at 17-under, three shots clear of a chasing pack that included Higgo, Michael Thorbjornsen, and Chan Kim. With a two-year PGA Tour exemption and a PGA Championship berth on the line, Dahmen appeared poised to secure his second career victory at the site of his lone triumph.
“I get good feelings when I come back to this place, good vibes,” said Dahmen after Thurday’s opening round.
However, Sunday’s final round turned into a nightmare for the 37-year-old fan favorite. Despite relatively calm winds earlier in the week, a breezy Dominican afternoon tested the field, and Dahmen’s game faltered under pressure. Holding a comfortable lead through 15 holes, his unraveling began at the par-4 16th, where a bogey trimmed his advantage.
The real shock came at the par-3 17th, where Dahmen missed a par putt from just under two feet — a miss he later attributed to nerves rather than a technical flaw.
“I don’t know what happened on the short one on 17,” Dahmen said in a candid post-round interview. “I’m obviously nervous, but unfortunately I’m prone to that at times. You can call it a lapse in concentration.”
Needing a par at the par-4 18th to force a playoff, Dahmen’s approach left him an 8-foot par putt, but the ball slid by, sealing his fate with a third consecutive bogey. His final-round 4-over 76 was the highest score among the top 37 finishers, dropping him to a tie for second at 13-under with Alejandro Tosti, Keith Mitchell, Jeremy Paul, and Thorbjornsen.
Higgo, playing in the group ahead, made par on the 18th for an even-par 72, finishing at 14-under 274 to claim his second PGA Tour title.
“I think I’m in a little bit of shock, honestly,” Dahmen told reporters, his voice heavy with disappointment. “It’s not how you win a golf tournament, I’ll tell you that. I don’t deserve to win it. Bogeying the last three is inexcusable.”
For Higgo, the victory was a career-defining moment. The 25-year-old, who had been splitting time between the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour with limited status, earned a two-year exemption through 2027 and a spot in next month’s PGA Championship.
“I didn’t expect it to come down like that,” Higgo said. “Joel played unbelievable golf all week, and I just tried to hang in there.”
Dahmen’s collapse adds to the narrative of golf’s unrelenting difficulty, a sentiment he famously captured after his 2021 win: “It’s so hard to win a golf tournament.” This time, those words carried a bitter edge.
Despite the setback, Dahmen’s performance vaulted him to No. 69 in the FedExCup standings, and he remains optimistic about his next start alongside Harry Higgs at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “I’ll learn from this,” he said. “It stings, but I’ll be back.”
