PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 22, 2021

Joel Dahmen

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Joel Dahmen, who posted a 2-under 70 today. He's 1-over for the championship. Joel, you really had it humming there for your front nine. Things got more difficult on the back. Did something change in your game or did the conditions kick in a little bit?

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, I don't know. I guess I'm trying to figure that out a little bit. You start climbing the board on Saturday of a major and you know they're going to have to hopefully a little tougher in the afternoon and try to post a number and maybe you can be there around on Sunday.

10 wasn't that bad, but we had a different wind today and it was a lot softer. The lines changed a ton on the tee. On 10 probably took a little bit too aggressive line, didn't hit a great shot so went to a terrible spot and from there screwed up the next three. Easy to make doubles out here. I didn't make a couple putts coming in.

It was maybe a little anxious out there maybe, trying to get myself in a good spot. The finishing stretch is hard. I don't care if it's windy or not or downwind, it's just going to be hard out there.

Q. It feels like to me this is the first tournament since COVID that has that energy and that feeling. Have you felt that between the ropes?

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, well, I got to play with Rickie today, and he played well. I think -- he bogeyed the last, I think he shot 3-under. But when Rickie is there, there's going to be more people.

I just think there's more people here on Saturday, as well, probably, so that was definitely energy. Rickie made 2 on 17 and that was loud in there. It's an amphitheater anyways, but that was fun.

I think we all didn't mind the fans for a couple weeks and then it was like, okay, we need some energy out here, we need the extra boost, and I know a lot of guys talked about it. Rory has mentioned he was kind of a golf zombie for a while, and to me it doesn't change on Thursday and Friday because no one ever watching me anyway really, but when you get to the weekend and you're in contention, you definitely want that environment. You want that around.

Wells Fargo was great. That was really fun on the weekend. I was just far enough out of it, but on that last stretch there was plenty of people around. Even if you're not playing well, it still kind of gets the blood flowing for sure.

Q. Does it feel like this is a major because that energy was lacking in the previous three?

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, I've only played a couple majors as a whole, so I played Bethpage my first one and that's crazy there, right. I don't care what position you're in, that's pretty wild. To go -- they all felt the same. Winged Foot just didn't have Winged Foot. You don't have that New York crowd there, and same with Harding Park. There just wasn't much -- so the buildout is bigger and there's more hoops to jump through. There's more media, there's more trucks, there's more of that stuff, but once you get on the golf course it's just like another event. It's hard to separate that.

Yeah, this is fun. There are plenty of people out there on the back nine, especially that finishing stretch.

I guess we all didn't realize how much we needed the fans.

Q. Seemed like especially yesterday afternoon there were some overserved fans and it was getting noisy. Have you heard anything funny or unique this week?

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, you hear a lot of it. I kind of laughed, there was some lady wanted -- Rickie, it's my birthday, come over here and take a picture, and he's 50 yards away in the middle of the fairway, and it's just not going to happen. Those guys are used to it. I'm kind of on the fringe of it. I don't get a whole lot of that.

I played with Phil at Wells Fargo, and the stuff he has to hear is just ridiculous, and he's had to do it for 30 years, so I admire those guys who do it every single day.

Q. Winning the PGA Championship at Harding Park was a great accomplishment, but to have the intensity and adrenaline of the fans and the noise, does it make it a tougher test to prevail?

JOEL DAHMEN: Absolutely, I think so. Just the whole energy of everything, just completely changes. If you're coming down the stretch and there's no one there, it's just you and kind of the golf course and your competitors, but now the ropes are pretty tight in between 16 and 17 here, and 17 to 18, so just feeling that today was like -- and I was kind of laughing, these guys late in the day, people are going to be overserved, it's going to be really fun energy, and yeah, I think it's great to have them back for sure.

Q. Stewart was saying it was kind of more good cheer from the crowd, that sometimes it can be obnoxious, but do you think there's something to, okay, COVID is over, we can come back --

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, I think everyone is happy that sporting events are back, and I think they are appreciating it more and they're happy that they get to come out and watch because for a year they were sidelined.

I think people are happier and they love being outdoors and they love being together. People missed that I think as much as anything, just being around other people and having a good time. I would say overall the happiness of the fans are for sure better and more. You can just kind of see everyone out there enjoying themselves.

Q. Have you ever been overserved at a sporting event?

JOEL DAHMEN: Is this a loaded question? Do you know the answer to this?

Q. No, absolutely not. Should I?

JOEL DAHMEN: I mean, yeah, I have been. But is it their fault or is it my fault I guess is the question.

Q. I'm not assigning blame to anyone. I'm just curious if you've ever -- what's the strangest thing you've ever yelled at anyone at a sporting event?

JOEL DAHMEN: Well, because I've kind of been on this side of it for long enough -- even when I was younger I was always playing, I was in the arena per se. It was enjoyable to go to a small college game where like an off -- like a non-conference UW basketball game and there's 200 people in there and you can chirp at the ref. That's fun. But when you're with 30,000 people, no one is going to hear you anyways.

I think I respect the players and what they do, and you realize how hard it is, so I try not to do that anymore. I yell plenty of stuff from my couch now, but no one else is hearing that.

Q. I know this is probably not a very good example given the last three days because it was going to be a slow golf course, but did you find that range finders were able to pick up the pace at all?

JOEL DAHMEN: No. It doesn't -- if you're waiting it doesn't matter. Like on 18 today Gino was -- I hit it in the bunker and kind of had to lay up, so he's running up and he just shoots a number real quick, but then all of a sudden, he's like, well, it looks further than that, so he double checks the number anyway.

I think we're so engrained in that stuff, we need so much more than the pin, especially out here. There's so many slopes, so many bunkers, so much stuff to cover, we need more than just the -- people like you can laser the number and then do the backwards math, but it only takes a couple -- there's so many heads out here and the books are so good, it's not really going to help anything.

Yeah, it's fine. I think it's good if you're way off line. If you're in the jungle and you're just trying to get a pitch-out number or you're just trying to get a quick number, I think that's great to have and I don't think there's any reason we shouldn't always have them for that, but I don't think the books are ever going to go away for pacing off yardages.

Q. You mentioned the thing about Phil in Charlotte. Is there any part of you that's surprised, given what he's doing here?

JOEL DAHMEN: Yeah, so the way he played the first round in Charlotte was rather impressive. The 2-wood he was hitting and it was always in play and his iron game has always been his strength.

Out here you can get up-and-down from a lot of places. It's not friendly, but if you're good at pitching at ball or chipping or getting the ball in the hole around the greens you can do it. There's not a lot of times where you're just completely screwed.

I mean, 36 holes is a lot of golf. I'm rooting for him. It would be an incredible story. The wind down today is going to help him a lot, I think.

I guess like for anybody, he's got as good a shot as anybody on the leaderboard. But given his last three or four years, whatever it's been, should I poke the bear and be like, he can read this? I would be surprised if he can keep it together for 36 holes out here. I think today he'll hang around with the wind being down and he can score and the way his iron game is, but if the wind gets blowing -- I think it's supposed to blow again tomorrow. But everyone has to do it coming down that stretch. It's going to be tough. But I'm rooting for him, but I'd be impressed if it did.

THE MODERATOR: Joel, thank you. Have a good day.