Joel Dahmen earns crucial start with top-10 finish at Farmers Insurance Open
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Joel Dahmen hits 96-yard approach to 3 feet, sets up birdie on 18 at Farmers
Written by Lisa Antonucci
Joel Dahmen made the most of his opportunity as an alternate in the field at the Farmers Insurance, pulling out a top-10 finish Sunday to earn a spot later this month at the TOUR’s next Full Field Event.
Just Friday, Dahmen was lamenting the instability of an uncertain schedule, noting that his conditional status after finishing No. 122 in the FedExCup Fall left him wondering if he’d see a dozen starts in the 2026 season. “There’s a part in mid-December where I wasn’t doing a lot and hanging out with the family, and at times you’d be like, ‘I wonder if I’m only gonna get into 12, 15 events,’” he told Golf Digest on Friday.
But he’s put at least one more piece of the puzzle in place before leaving Torrey Pines, where he finished T7, which makes him eligible for the Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches, Feb. 26-March 1 at PGA National Resort. Dahmen also put himself in position to crack the Aon Swing 5, with one more week to play his way into the coveted standings that give five players starts into the first two Signature Events of the season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational. Dahmen will play next week’s WM Phoenix Open on a sponsor exemption.
Joel Dahmen hits 224-yard approach to 56 feet, sets up birdie on No. 6 at Farmers
The 38-year-old Dahmen, who won the 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship for his lone TOUR title, opened with a 2-under 70 on the South Course at Torrey Pines before unleashing a 9-under 63 Friday on the North Course that featured three eagles. He followed up Saturday with 4-under 68 to reach 15-under and stand alone at solo second on the leaderboard, but a lackluster 73 on Sunday left him nine shots behind winner Justin Rose.
He was overheard Saturday saying he wasn’t surprised at how well he was playing, explaining to the media that the reason was simple: “Well, because I practiced a little bit. It sounds terrible. Yeah, Jan. 1 hit, and I started to play some golf and work a little bit with the coach and put some time in on my own and that was great.
“I played really well last week,” he continued, referring to his T38 finish at The American Express. “It clicked pretty quickly for me and, you know, when I make a few putts and the way I'm driving it right now, it all works out.”
