Sunday afternoon, separated by 1,200 miles of Atlantic Ocean but tied together by both the best and worst of competitive golf, Justin Thomas and Joel Dahmen wrote different endings to stories they will never forget.
The Thomas story is familiar by now, how he holed a 21-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to beat Andrew Novak and win the RBC Heritage, letting out a thunderous roar as he ended a winless spell that was nearing its third anniversary.
Thomas’ victory was a triumph on several levels, not the least of which was how he handled himself on the final day, understanding the difference in letting something happen rather than trying to force something to happen.
It’s a thin line but it’s what often decides who wins golf tournaments and who doesn’t.
On the eastern edge of the Dominican Republic, Dahmen was three holes from winning the Corales Puntacana Championship for the second time, leading by two strokes as he stepped to the 16th tee.
Three bogeys later, Dahmen was trying to make sense of what had happened, dropping a trophy into Garrick Higgo’s lap, which is how it happens sometimes.
Dahmen became a star of sorts during the first two seasons of Netflix’s “Full Swing” series in which his honesty about his struggles to stay competitive endeared him to viewers and created an army of Dahmen admirers. Vulnerability and humor can go a long way with fans.
Coping with a collapse like the one he had Sunday is a brutal twist to Dahmen’s story. To his credit, he didn’t run from it. Dahmen took a few moments to talk about what happened even if he wasn’t entirely sure.
“It’s not how you win a golf tournament, I’ll tell you that. I don’t deserve to win it. You know, bogeying the last three is inexcusable,” Dahmen said initially before going deeper into what happened and why.
It started on 16 when Dahmen missed the green by hitting a pull-hook with an 8-iron approach shot on the par-4 hole, moments after seeing for the first time that he had the lead.
“That’s just a nervy shot is what it is,” Dahmen said.
Still one ahead at the par-3 17th, Dahmen missed a 1-foot par putt to fall into a tie with Higgo and head to the 18th hole with his head spinning.
“I don’t know what happened on the short one on 17. I mean I’m obviously nervous, but unfortunately I’m prone to that at times,” Dahmen said.
“You can call it lapse in concentration. It’s not like a yippy thing, it’s not like one of those things, but bad time to do it.”
A bogey at the windblown and difficult finishing hole and the damage was done.
“All of a sudden I wake up and I lost the golf tournament,” Dahmen said.
“This one could take a while to get over. It’s one of those things, you learn more in defeat unfortunately.” – Joel Dahmen
Most of us will never truly know what it’s like to play golf with a championship on the line. Maybe in a club event or trying to win a few bucks off your buddies but rarely with our career path hanging in the balance.
Unlike most other sports which require an immediate reaction to whatever the opponent is doing, no one is hitting a topspin forehand at you or changing defenses in the final minute of a game. In golf, the battle is largely within.
“This one could take a while to get over. It’s one of those things, you learn more in defeat unfortunately,” Dahmen said.
“Certainly was nervous. I think in the past I’ve tried to fight against it and recently I’ve tried to take it more head on. Like when you’re nervous, embracing – have the adrenaline, like attack that and embrace and run with that.
“Obviously you have to control your breathing a little bit and try to control your heart rate, but at the same time you’re attacking and playing offense. I try to stay aggressive with my golf swings. I did, but just didn’t work out. Sucks.”
In the shadow of the Harbour Town lighthouse, Andrew Novak felt a different kind of nerves having the chance to win his first PGA Tour event while Thomas, who had won 15 times previously, was trying to own the moment rather than let the moment own him.
It’s at that point that players have to trust in the mechanics they have built into their swings and appreciate the nerves that come with being in contention.
“Honestly, I felt a lot better, a lot more level in the playoff than I did on 18 in regulation,” Novak said.
“I felt like maybe getting in scoring [area], settling down, realizing, at this point you can’t make a mess of it. It’s either first or second, time to go for it. I kind of settled down and I was in a pretty good head space in the playoff.”
For Thomas, the feeling was similar.
“I was nervous, but it was way different kind of nerves today. I felt very calm. I didn’t feel like I was going to win. I didn’t feel like I was going to lose. I was just playing,” Thomas said.
“It’s just … unfortunately so hard to get into that place mentally of just trusting and believing it and just kind of letting it happen.”
Joel Dahmen knows all about it.