In October 2008, I (NW Golf Report’s Sean Packer) earned a spot in the Pacific Northwest PGA’s Hudson Cup. The long-standing event is styled after the Ryder Cup pitting Oregon and Washington’s top 10 amateurs versus the top 10 Pacific Northwest Section PGA professionals. Oregon and Washington both use year-long points lists to determine the team’s 10 amateurs with 5 players from Oregon and 5 players from Washington making up the roster (college players are not eligible to compete in the Hudson Cup due to collegiate rules barring players from competing on team’s outside of their NCAA squads). I graduated from Western Washington University in June 2008 and was thrilled to earn a spot in the Hudson Cup the first time I was eligible.
I didn’t know a lot about Joel Dahmen other than his success on the course. Dahmen was from Clarkston, Washington and was also named to the Hudson Cup team for the first time. When I saw Dahmen’s name on the amateur roster, I knew his time competing at the University of Washington had come to an earlier-than-expected end.
In 2007, Joel Dahmen skyrocketed to the forefront of Washington golf with a dominant performance in the Washington Men’s Amateur played at Gold Mountain – Olympic Course. Dahmen posted a -9, 72-hole total of 279 for a six-stroke victory. As for me, I played in that state amateur as well. I made the cut and *checks WA Golf record books* finished at +23, a mere 32-strokes behind Dahmen. In 2008, at a windy Links at Moses Pointe, Dahmen rallied in the final two rounds with back-to-back scores of 67 to come up just short in his title defense finishing in t2. Dahmen’s 72-hole total of -8, 280 was *checks WA Golf record books* only 23-strokes ahead of my total of +15. Finishing just ahead of me on the leaderboard that year was Dahmen’s caddy and best friend Geno Bonnalie at +13.
Now how does a player losing by 32-strokes and 23-strokes in consecutive state amateurs to Dahmen even qualify for the Hudson Cup? I always found a way to shine in a handful of events per year. I was a successful two-year team captain for the Western Washington University Vikings. For a long time, I also likely logged more tournaments than any Washington amateur in the season-long points race.
The 2008 Hudson Cup was the 60th playing of the event and staged at Sammamish, Washington’s Aldarra Golf Club in October. The Tom Fazio design was set to play long and temperatures were cold. Day one of the Hudson Cup featured a morning session of foursomes (alternate shot), followed by an afternoon session of four-ball (best ball).
During the players-only banquet held the night before the matches begin players are introduced and matchups revealed. In the morning alternate shot format, Dahmen and I were announced as amateur partners! We had never played together before. We were facing Pacific Northwest PGA professionals Adrian Burtner and Scott Leritz in the first match of the 60th Hudson Cup.
Dahmen teed off on the odd-numbered holes and I had the even-numbered holes. The cold temperatures especially early in the match meant I had a long approach into the green on Aldarra’s pond-fronted par-four first hole. I convinced Dahmen I could get an iron there to a left pin location. I vaguely recall he wasn’t so sure and hinted at hitting a club with a head cover. My long iron approach (likely a two-iron, remember those?) wasn’t enough club and splashed into the pond short. An early 1-down deficit for Dahmen and Packer.
If there was one part of my game on point that day it was my chipping and pitching. I remember on Aldarra’s 14th hole, when I softly pitched another 60-degree wedge to gimme distance, Dahmen chuckled because of how many times I had gotten us out of a jam. Together we battled and standing on the 16th tee we felt momentum was finally on our side. I preceded to hit a low, left drive into the hazard. Hole lost. Lead lost (alternate shot is famously frustrating). On 18, both teams made pars and the match ended in a hard-fought tie. Half a point for the professional team of Burtner and Leritz and half a point for the amateur team of Dahmen and Packer.
For the afternoon four-ball format, captains can shuffle their pairings. Our team captain paired Dahmen and me together again! This match was against the professional duo of Jeff Coston and Rob Gibbons. Coston and Gibbons were already two Hudson Cup professional stalwarts and Coston the most winning player in PNW PGA section history. This was my first time playing with either of the storied PNW pros. The afternoon match started on Aldarra’s 10th hole. The match was close throughout. On the final nine, I snuck out a par on my ball on Aldarra’s narrow approach par 3, second hole, and when Coston and Gibbons missed putts from closer than my make we had won the hole. On the par 4, fifth hole, I hit an impressive mid-iron approach to gimme distance to win the hole! Then on the par 5, seventh after making a slight mess of the hole, I buried an up-a-tier 35-footer for birdie which won us another hole! I can recall another Dahmen chuckle and groans from the professionals as my long putt found the bottom of the cup. On the next hole, Dahmen secured us the win. A 2&1 victory over Coston and Gibbons! I remember being ecstatic about the win and throwing a big hug Dahmen’s way. He was a cool customer and acted like he had been there before with his always likable attitude.
The main takeaways from the day with a 20-year-old Dahmen were his significant extra gear on tee shots when he wanted to let a drive loose. He also was extremely impressive from even the deepest of wet, October rough producing high, soft landing approach shots. He switched putters between the morning and afternoon sessions which I found probably pretty common for such a respected ball striker. So many junior golfers and very young accomplished amateurs will tell you how good they are, I don’t recall Dahmen talking about himself once all day. Dahmen converted putts when needed that day and sank the clinching putt in our win over Coston and Gibbons.
The next day in the singles matches, I missed having Dahmen by my side for his golf skills and his calm demeanor. Much like his likeability in his episode of Netflix’s Full Swing, it was easier with Dahmen on your side. Without him, Aldarra felt considerably harder and I couldn’t muster up the shots needed to win our amateur team another point. The professional team won the 2008 Hudson Cup by a score of 11.5 points to 8.5 points.
I only played one more time with Dahmen, on the back nine of a practice round for U.S. Open Local Qualifying in 2010 at Overlake Golf and Country Club in Medina, Washington. Geno Bonnalie was playing in the group practicing for the qualifier as well. Dahmen was a lot more chatty with Bonnalie around. I always tried to keep an eye on Dahmen’s mini-tour results from a distance, learning later of his success on PGA TOUR Canada with multiple wins in 2014 (hey…there wasn’t NW Golf Report at the time to track mini-tour wins).
In 2014, the same year Dahmen heated up on PGA TOUR Canada, I went undefeated 3-0 and earned MVP honors at the Hudson Cup. I went on to play in the Hudson Cup six times (turning down a 7th because I was out of vacation time at work, ugh) and also played in the PNGA Cup six times which utilizes the same format.
So where does Dahmen rank on the list of amateur partners I had throughout all those matches? Dahmen’s ability puts him at number 1. His clubhead speed, iron shots from the rough and ability to control the height and spin of his shots stood out. We teamed in an era with poorly fitting shirts two sizes too big, on a cold October day with players in thick rain pants, with no gallery in attendance and no picture or video evidence the rounds ever existed. It was a treat to partner with Dahmen for not one but two big matches on the same day. The golf world sees Dahmen as a PGA TOUR winner, cancer survivor, bucket-hat-wearing fan favorite, Phoenix Open reveler, White Claw drinker and star of the most-liked episode of Netflix’s Full Swing. How do I see Joel Dahmen? As my undefeated partner in the Pacific Northwest’s version of the Ryder Cup!
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