Perhaps nobody playing on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall faces more pressure than Joel Dahmen.
Dahmen, whose popularity has skyrocketed thanks to his Netflix stardom, entered this week’s World Wide Technologies Championship ranked 124th in the FedEx Cup standings. At year’s end, only the top 125 receive PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season, meaning he must play well down the stretch to keep his job. And with only two events left after this week’s event in Mexico, it’s either now or never.
Luckily for the former Washington Husky, Dahmen made a much-needed move up the leaderboard on Friday. He carded a 5-under 67, which included six birdies and only one bogey. He now sits in a tie for 14th at 7-under par, only four strokes back of the lead at the midway point of the championship.
Even more importantly, should Dahmen finish no worse than 14th, he will move up two spots in the FedEx Cup Fall rankings from 124th to 122nd. That minor uptick may not appear to be big, but in reality, it’s massive. Any slight advantage will help in the long run, as the top 125 for next year will be finalized at the end of the RSM Classic, which is scheduled for Nov. 21-24 in Sea Island, Georgia.
That said, Dahmen will still have to play well over the weekend to maintain his spot among the top 125. But at least he did not carry an extra club in his bag this week, which forced him to withdraw from last month’s Shriners Children’s Open. That, of course, did not help his cause related to the FedEx Cup Fall. Yet, Dahmen rallied somewhat at the ZOZO Championship the following week, moving from 129th in the standings to 124th. Still, he has to feel a bit of uneasiness as the season winds down. But making more birdies will cure that anxiety, and hopefully, for the golf world’s sake, he will do just that over the next 36 holes.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.