Joel Dahmen dishes out $100 bill after errant drive at PGA Championship hits spectator
By Matt Chivers
One spectator’s lucky, or unlucky, twist of fate at the PGA Championship bought him a round of beers at Oak Hill.
I’ll leave you to decide which it is.
During Wednesday’s practice round, PGA Tour winner and fan favourite Joel Dahmen struck an errant tee shot and hit an unsuspecting golf fan named Caleb McGuire on the grounds in Rochester, New York.
As you can see via the pictures tweeted below by Caleb, the ball made a bruise on his calf, but thankfully no lasting damage was sustained.
Dahmen went over to McGuire and apologised. Cue the signed golf glove/golf ball and on his way he went?
No – Dahmen wanted to offer Caleb something else in return.
“He seemed to be doing just fine,” Dahmen told 13WHAM News. “A lot of people sign gloves or whatever, but no one wants a signed glove, so you might as well buy them a beer for the day.
“I’m not Phil Mickelson who does carry hundreds of dollars of bills around, I was going to give him $20 to buy him a couple of beers, then he said they were $17 apiece.
“So I said there’s you and your buddy, quick math, you’re probably going to need more than $20, so luckily I had $100 laying around and gave it to him.”
If you needed any more evidence as to why Dahmen and his caddie Geno are so popular, here it is.
Caleb was able to grab a photo with Dahmen after being hit by his ball, so all’s well that ends well.
Unfortunately for Dahmen, this incident caused by a wayward drive proved to be a bad omen as he carded a 74 in the first round on Thursday.
Follow NCG on Twitter!
NOW READ: A mud-covered Tom Kim goes viral at the PGA Championship
Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
