Joel Dahmen inadvertently keeps 17 players inside cut line at Sony Open in Hawaii

HONOLULU – Inadvertently, Joel Dahmen opened weekend tee times for 17 players at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

He’d prefer to not have more weekend competition at the TOUR’s first Full-Field Event of 2024, of course, and he has one more stroke to make up this weekend. But he won’t mind accepting some goodwill – if the beneficiaries insist.

With the top 65 and ties making the cut, Dahmen was tied for 65th (2 under) as he faced a 5-footer for birdie on his final hole Friday, the par-5 ninth at Waialae Country Club. He was the last player on the course at 2 under, as dusk descended on the Hawaiian shores. If Dahmen made the birdie, 2 under would move into a tie for 66th, outside the cut line.

Dahmen pushed the putt just right, the ball grazing the hole’s right edge before sliding by. He tapped in for a frustrating par on the reachable par 5, finalizing the cut line at 2-under 138 as one of 18 players at that number.

"(Caddie) Geno (Bonnalie) misread it," Dahmen quipped of the birdie miss. "Unbelievable misread from Geno there. It definitely broke more right than I thought it was going to, but maybe I started it more right ... I think the real problem is I drove it in the bunker off the tee; four bogeys in five holes on Thursday, there are a lot of things. I hit the ball 138 times. It looks like it comes down to that last putt, but it comes down to all the other 137.

"It's just a good thing I made my tap-in."

He wishes he could have had that birdie putt back – it left him seven strokes off the 36-hole lead, rather than six – but some complimentary meals might be in his future.

“I deserve 17 dinners,” Dahmen laughed Saturday morning. “I have 17 dinners coming my way; I’m probably going to play 25 events this year … We can probably start with one tonight. Low round today pays for our dinner tonight, of the 2 unders.”

The Washington native will have no shortage of contenders for that low round. Those who benefitted from Dahmen’s closing par include Presidents Cup International Team stalwarts Hideki Matsuyama and Corey Conners, reigning TOUR Rookie of the Year Eric Cole, and steady veterans like Denny McCarthy and Michael Kim. With the 36-hole lead at a modest 9-under 131, those at 2 under will have a genuine chance at the Sony Open title this weekend. They’re just seven off the pace, a nature of comeback that is not unprecedented on Sundays – let alone with two rounds yet to play.

Kim was among those following the cut line closely, and he publicly expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you @Joel_Dahmen. Par on the last hole to keep the cut at -2… I owe you beers next time I see you. I take back every bad thing I said about you,” Kim quipped on X, formerly Twitter.

Dahmen won’t mind obliging that offer.

PGA TOUR's Sam Davis contributed to this report.