‘My story is not finished': Joel Dahmen takes step toward keeping job at World Wide Technology Championship

Although he didn’t factor near the top of the leaderboard, Joel Dahmen felt like he was in contention Sunday afternoon at the World Wide Technology Championship. That’s because he’s chasing another important distinction this month – fully exempt status on the 2025 PGA TOUR.

Dahmen tied for 14th at the World Wide Technology Championship, a solid showing and his third-best result in 28 starts this season. It moved him from No. 124 to No. 121 on the FedExCup Fall standings with two events remaining, which could loom large as just two events remain – the Butterfield Bermuda Championship and The RSM Classic in the next two weeks, respectively.

The top 125 on the FedExCup Fall standings after The RSM Classic will earn exempt PGA TOUR membership for 2025, which means access to all Full-Field Events – essentially, the ability to plan a schedule. Otherwise it’s the uncertain world of conditional status, alternate lists, writing letters for sponsor exemptions and perhaps returning to the Korn Ferry Tour.

It's a razor’s edge, and Dahmen intends to scrap and claw this month to finish on the right side of the fine line.

“I want to keep my job out here,” Dahmen said Sunday. “My story is not finished.”

As the FedExCup Fall nears its conclusion, the tension continues to build, and Dahmen doesn’t shy away from the reality. He’s grateful for his PGA TOUR card and has spoken through the years of how he doesn’t want to get a real job. Dahmen’s journey hasn’t been easy – he partied his way out of the University of Washington (as he put it), sometimes struggled with motivation to put in the work, spent a few years on mini-tours and overcome cancer, among other obstacles.

But the resilient Dahmen has carved out a steady PGA TOUR career; the World Wide Technology Championship marked his 208th career TOUR start. He has assumed a veteran presence on the circuit, and he’ll always be grateful for his time on TOUR. That being said, he doesn’t want to let it go – and his strong week at El Cardonal at Diamante could pay dividends when the final points are tallied later this month in coastal Georgia.

“It would mean the world,” Dahmen said of retaining exempt membership. “I think it would mean more this year, just the grind that it's been. Golf has been relatively easy for me for five years. Haven't really been in this position before … It's really hard to keep grinding when things aren't going your way.

“I knew I wasn't going to win the golf tournament today, but you feel like you're kind of in contention. It matters a lot. You can't hide from it, it's there. I know that (caddie) Geno (Bonnalie) is doing a great job about just going about our business. My wife is amazing about pretending everything is OK. And everything is OK. It's not like it's the end of the world, but I want to play good golf and I want to be out here on the PGA TOUR.”

Here's a look at notable movers around the top-125 bubble at the World Wide Technology Championship, where Austin Eckroat earned his second victory of the season at 24-under 264, one stroke clear of Justin Lower and Carson Young.

Moving in

Joe Highsmith (moved from No. 126 to No. 112): Entering the World Wide Technology Championship, Highsmith was the first man out at No. 126 on the FedExCup Fall standings. He took the reins of his destiny with a fifth-place finish at El Cardonal at Diamante, jumping 14 spots on the standings and marking a seminal moment in his rookie PGA TOUR season.

Highsmith, who earlier this year became the first player on record to make three aces in a PGA TOUR season, is no stranger to clutch finishes as the season winds down. Last year, he closed the Korn Ferry Tour season with back-to-back top-three finishes to move inside the top 30 and earn his first PGA TOUR card. The bucket hat-wearing Pepperdine alum has maximized the autumn stretch, now with four top-20 finishes in five starts after entering the FedExCup Fall at No. 160 on the standings. He has positioned himself to seal the deal in the next two weeks and earn exempt status for 2025.

Daniel Berger (moved from No. 129 to No. 124): The four-time PGA TOUR winner finished T20 at the World Wide Technology Championship, his fourth top-25 of the season, as he aims to complete a comeback from a roughly 18-month injury hiatus and retain exempt status for 2025.

After the 2022 U.S. Open, he stepped away from competitive golf to address debilitating back pain; he consulted multiple doctors, opted not to get surgery and spent more than a year rehabbing to let his body “heal itself.” He has steadily knocked off the rust as the season has progressed, setting the stage for a pressure-packed next two weeks with heightened eligibility implications.

Moving out

S.H. Kim (moved from No. 122 to No. 127): After missing the cut at the World Wide Technology Championship, the second-year PGA TOUR member fell five spots on the FedExCup Fall standings to set the stage for an anxious two-week stretch ahead. The South Korean finished No. 68 on the FedExCup Fall standings as a TOUR rookie last year.

Matt Wallace (moved from No. 125 to No. 130): The Englishman didn’t compete in Mexico and fell five spots on the FedExCup Fall standings, but he’s fully exempt through 2025 as winner of the 2023 Corales Puntacana Championship.

Bubble boy

Hayden Springer (moved from No. 123 to No. 125): Springer closed in 6-under 66 at the World Wide Technology Championship for a T45 finish, enough to fall just two spots on the FedExCup Fall standings and hang onto a top-125 position with two events remaining. The TCU alum earned his first TOUR card via PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry last fall and has notched four top-10s this season.

Notable movers

With a tie for 14th at El Cardonal at Diamante, Dylan Wu moved from No. 134 to No. 126 on the FedExCup Fall standings. The Northwestern alum trails No. 125 Hayden Springer by less than five points with two events remaining … Popular YouTube creator and former TOUR winner Wesley Bryan jumped 10 spots, from No. 138 to No. 128, with a tie for sixth at the World Wide Technology. It marked his third top-25 finish of the FedExCup Fall, which he began at No. 156 on the standings … Garrick Higgo moved from No. 150 to No. 138 on the FedExCup Fall standings with a tie for sixth in Mexico, punctuated by an 8-under 64 in Sunday’s final round.

PGA TOUR’s Alex Camerlengo contributed to this report.