A missed birdie putt on Friday has made Joel Dahmen an unlikely hero at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
The 36-year-old American found himself dangerously close to the cut-line during his second round at Waialae Country Club, but would narrowly make the weekend thanks to a three-under 67.
And after missing a very makeable five-footer for birdie on his final hole of the day, so did 17 other players as Dahmen’s miss ended up moving the cut-line from three-under to two-under.
Video of Dahmen’s miss on the par-5 ninth was posted on X/Twitter, prompting the man himself to joke: “I should have a lot of dinners coming my way!”
I should have a lot of dinners coming my way! https://t.co/UdPaiNktWxJanuary 13, 2024
Dahmen received wide praise for his inadvertent act of generosity, with fans jokingly labeling the one-time PGA Tour winner a “hero” and a “man of the people”.
Michael Kim, who was one of the players who made the cut thanks to the miss, also got in on the action with a light-hearted tweet reading: “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.”
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 😂January 13, 2024
The other players who made the cut at two-under thanks to Dahmen included: Brandon Wu, Garrick Higgo, Nick Hardy, Eric Cole, Seamus Power, Corey Conners, Martin Trainer, Parker Coody, Denny McCarthy, Davis Thompson, Tyler Duncan, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Svensson, Matt NeSmith and Lanto Griffin.
At the other end of the leaderboard, Carl Yuan, Austin Eckroat and Byeong Hun An took a share of the lead into the weekend at nine under, with 10 players a shot back at eight under.
Defending champion Si Woo Kim is four shots behind the leaders at five under.
