Shortly after tapping in his winning putt at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Joel Dahmen perfectly summed up the feeling every pro has when they finally lock up that first win. “It is so frickin’ hard to win a golf tournament,” Dahmen could be heard saying during his 72nd-green celebration.
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That was never more apparent than on the various pro tours this past weekend. Billy Horschel’s WGC–Dell Match Play victory, his first PGA Tour win in nearly three full years, was a war of attrition. Dahmen’s victory in the opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic was as well, as Dahmen needed his nearest opponent Rafael Campos to suffer this absolutely gut-wrenching lipout in order to close out the victory.
Over on the Korn Ferry Tour, 25-year-old Max McGreevy suffered a similar fate to Campos’ at the Club Car Championship. McGreevy’s two-under 70 earned him a spot in a two-man playoff with Canada’s Adam Svensson, who had shot 66. On the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, McGreevy had a five-footer for birdie to win, which would have put him on the verge of earning his PGA Tour card. Unfortunately, it lipped out, and Svensson won with a birdie on the second playoff hole.
Understandably, McGreevy was emotional afterwards, holding back tears in his post-tournament press conference. If you cry easily you should grab the tissues first before watching this:
"This is my life, this is my dream, and hopefully I get that chance one day."
An emotional @MaxMcGreevy meets the media after a runner-up @ClubCarChamp in a playoff.
A victory would have moved him to the verge of his first @PGATOUR card. pic.twitter.com/8v20ycjjo1
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) March 29, 2021
Sheesh, that was brutal. As optimistic as he still is about the future, you can tell this one still stings. A win would have been McGreevy’s second on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, which would have put him one win away from earning an automatic PGA Tour card. Of course, he’s still well on his way to doing that anyway, as he ranks 11th in the Korn Ferry Tour’s regular season points list (the top 25 earn their cards at season’s end). It’s just going to require a little more work. Like Dahmen said, it’s so frickin’ hard to win a golf tournament.
