The American Express

Thursday, January 16, 2025

La Quinta, California, USA

PGA WEST Pete Dye Stadium Course

Joel Dahmen

Quick Quotes


Q. Really solid first day, what was working out there for you?

JOEL DAHMEN: Fairways and greens. You have to put it in the fairway to make birdies out here, and I hit a ton of 'em. From there I made some putts, you have to make putts as well. Made putts early and just kept it going throughout the day. It doesn't feel, these courses are very gettable, so it doesn't feel like you're doing anything crazy, but I haven't shot 8-under on the PGA TOUR in a long time, so it feels great.

Q. Being that you live in Arizona, coming out west, is there a level of comfort that you have coming out here and familiarity with the climate and with the multiple courses that you are playing?

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, certainly. It's an easy drive over. Picked up the family after Hawaii and drove over here. The same grasses, same everything. Ball travels roughly the same distance. It's what I play on every time I'm at home. Certainly feel comfortable with it. I like these golf courses a lot. It's nice to feel like you're basically, it's a second home.

Q. What did you learn about yourself after the weekend at RSM and securing status for this year and stepping up to the plate and making it happen when it mattered most?

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, took a while to kind of process that weekend for me probably at RSM, but I definitely tapped into something that I've been trying to tap into for a while. Working with a performance coach, and you're doing all of these things to get better golf, and sometimes it takes a long time for it to click. For it to click especially that Sunday for me was really special. Just trying to tap into that more often. It's really hard to kind of go into that head space where you just have to get it done and you're super focused on what you're doing at hand. It's always been a struggle of mine to maybe stay on task for all 18 holes, and I'm trying to do that more because obviously when I do that I'm pretty good at golf.

Q. Looking back at that week, what sticks out to you most about that final day and that final round?

JOEL DAHMEN: I think the level of comfort that I had. I was really not comfortable on Friday, trying to make the cut. That was not -- I was really struggling on Friday to stay in it, stay mentally there. I was just so nervous. Then I woke up Sunday and was okay with everything. I don't know, I was just at peace with myself, my golf game, whatever it was, like I wasn't result oriented that day, I just got into it and played great golf that day. Yeah, I just was very peaceful through the whole thing. I was still nervous and had butterflies, but I was just okay with everything. That's a great spot to play golf from.

Q. Were there any memorable phone calls or text messages that you sent or received after you found out that you had secured status for this year?

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, I always call my dad, it's super special, no matter what it is. Then I got a lot of great texts from players that I normally, I wouldn't say I'm closest with, but some top guys out here, and those were really cool. Guys know how hard it is, and to get the appreciation from that was really cool.

Q. How did that experience on that final day, the aftermath, after your round, how did that compare to winning a TOUR title or getting your TOUR card from the Korn Ferry Tour?

JOEL DAHMEN: Honestly, it felt a lot like the win. In some parts it's almost better because you get 25 more, 30 more starts or whatever it is in that situation. Certainly felt like a win. I certainly celebrated like it was a win. For a while there was a few weeks of enjoyment, holidays were that much better, didn't have to worry about my status for the upcoming year. It was a really fun ride. Then kind of new years hit it's like, Okay, I got to get back to business because I don't want to be in that position again. As well as I handled that, I do not want any part of that again. I would rather have that putt on 18 to win a golf tournament, so that's what I'm looking for.

Q. What other ways did you carry that positive momentum into, how have you carried that into the start of this year and today?

JOEL DAHMEN: Certainly I have a lot more self confidence I would say, just like in who I am as a golfer, and I can get it done when I need to. I have to do all the little things correct to make sure I can implement that on a late Sunday. I showed -- I mean, I can't be more nervous, and I can't be in a bigger situation for me than -- that's the same thing as trying to win a golf tournament. I just need to do the little things well week-to-week, day-to-day to give myself a chance on Sunday.

Q. I think you've been out here four previous times at the AmEx, you say you like the courses, historically not always the kindest tournament for you, but today was awesome. What was different today?

JOEL DAHMEN: Correct. Yeah, a lot of times I started the year here in Palm Springs instead of going to Sony. So I'm always knocking off a little bit of rust here. I'm not a huge range rat at home, I'm enjoying my time at home. A lot of times I knock a little rust off. I think going to Sony this previous week helped me a lot just get some tournament rounds in. But did some really good work yesterday, felt like the game was in a pretty good spot, and nice to make a few putts early today.

Q. Nice gallery for you, I think you've probably become used to that. Your fan base, you know, talking about Netflix and Full Swing, I think a lot of the relatability with fans and some your self deprecation, I mean, ultimately, looking back on that, has that been a blessing or a curse for you?

JOEL DAHMEN: I mean, 99 percent a blessing, I would say. Yeah, Netflix was a great opportunity for me and it did amazing things for me, including growing my fan base. Which, it's great, I mean, if you're going to have people cheer for you or not you want to have people cheer for you, in its simplest form. It's better when you give them something to cheer about as well. Instead of cheering for pars they get to cheer for birdies. There's times where you just kind of want to crawl back in your hole and kind of go back to being a nobody, but at the same time a lot of great opportunities, and I met a lot of great people and there's a large world of support out there for me and Geno and it's been great.

Q. Lastly, you referenced a performance coach, looking lean and mean, I don't know if you're doing something different.

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, I lost some weight. Just a little more -- when you get older you start chasing a kid around you have to be a little more disciplined in certain aspects of your life. I've done a pretty good job of that. I mean, there's so many young kids who want my job, and they're so darn good, a few years ago I could get away with a little more, but, yeah, it's a job and I'm taking it a little more seriously now.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
152167-1-1044 2025-01-16 22:09:00 GMT

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