Joel Damen during the third round of the 2025 Players Championship. (Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union) Joel Dahmen will be bringing back close friend Geno Bonnalie to The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass this week.
The two quickly became fan favorites after appearing in the Netflix series ‘Full Swing’. But they split last July, with Damen missing six straight cuts and ultimately losing full playing eligibility on the PGA Tour, saying the pair “no longer make each other better.”
They remain close friends, and Damen said they talk and text regularly.
Dahmen, meanwhile, took a caddy-by-caddie committee approach that included longtime swing coach Rob Rashell and Oregon State men’s golf coach Joe Reehoorn and is off to a strong start to the 2026 season. Dahmen missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but qualified for the signature event with a tie for ninth at the Cognizant Classic and a tie for seventh at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Dahmen is ranked 51st in the FedEx Cup standings. That puts them in the top 70 to qualify for the playoffs this year. The 38-year-old also competed in the 120-man field at TPC Sawgrass this week.
Bonaly has been on the bag since October for 28-year-old Isaiah Salinda, who did not qualify for the Players. He told Dahmen he would be available this week if he got the position.
“He asked me first and I said, ‘Okay, you can do it,’” Dahmen recalled, according to Golfweek. “I like committee caddies. Chris Kirk has been at it for a long time. Basically, I know what I’m doing, so I don’t skimp on strokes, and I can utilize people who are fun to play with. Hopefully, I’ll have someone stable soon.”
Dahmen has made the cut in five of his previous six appearances with The Players, including T-11 in 2024. Can he imagine a more permanent reunion with Bonnalie in the bag?
“He had a week of vacation. It’s good for his wallet and we’re renting a house,” Dahmen said. “I miss him all the time. We still spend a lot of time together. I decided to stay with him in Puerto Rico last week (until he gets a spot at Arnold Palmer). We are still best friends.
“The door between us will never close. We still dream of playing on the Champions Tour together and walking off into the sunset together, but we still have a long way to go.”
–Field level media
