JOEL DAHMEN, FIGHTING to make the season-ending playoffs, fired a nine-under par 61 on Thursday to seize a one-shot lead in the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.
Dahmen arrived at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro ranked 101st in the tour’s FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 advance to the playoffs that start next week with the St. Jude Championship. Dahmen attacked the challenge with 10 birdies, including three in a row to cap his round at the seventh, eighth and ninth.
Séamus Power, who is also chasing the playoffs, opened his tournament with a one-under 69 to leave him eight off the lead and in a tie for 89th place. Power was four-under after a blistering front nine which included back-to-back birdies on eight and nine. But his round unravelled with two bogeys in a row over the next two holes before dropping another shot on the 14th.
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Power is 130th in the FedEx Cup standings and must win the tournament to reach the playoffs. To climb up to the top 100 and gain full status for next year, he must earn a top-10 finish this weekend. He needs a top-25 finish to secure conditional status for next year.
A victory would move Dahmen into 48th place in the FedEx Cup standings, although the 37-year-old — who has one win on his resume — was quick to note there was a lot of golf left to be played.
“The playoffs are a bonus for me,” he said. “I’m just going to go out and try to play good golf and I guess if I play really well then I get to play another week.”
Dahmen had a one-stroke lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren, whose eight-under round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-five fifth hole.
England’s Aaron Rai, Colombian Nico Echavarria and Americans Mark Hubbard and Cameron Young were tied for third on seven-under.
Meanwhile at the AIG Women’s Open, Ireland’s Anna Foster carded a four-over 76 in the opening round at Royal Porthcawl, Wales. Foster started with a birdie on the first but slipped back with a double-bogey on the third and got back to even par with a birdie on the next hole.
However, she endured a difficult back nine which included three bogeys and another double-bogey. Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh opened with even-par rounds.
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Dahmen leads at Wyndham Championship as Power faces FedEx Cup playoff battle
JOEL DAHMEN, FIGHTING to make the season-ending playoffs, fired a nine-under par 61 on Thursday to seize a one-shot lead in the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.
Dahmen arrived at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro ranked 101st in the tour’s FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 advance to the playoffs that start next week with the St. Jude Championship. Dahmen attacked the challenge with 10 birdies, including three in a row to cap his round at the seventh, eighth and ninth.
Séamus Power, who is also chasing the playoffs, opened his tournament with a one-under 69 to leave him eight off the lead and in a tie for 89th place. Power was four-under after a blistering front nine which included back-to-back birdies on eight and nine. But his round unravelled with two bogeys in a row over the next two holes before dropping another shot on the 14th.
Power is 130th in the FedEx Cup standings and must win the tournament to reach the playoffs. To climb up to the top 100 and gain full status for next year, he must earn a top-10 finish this weekend. He needs a top-25 finish to secure conditional status for next year.
A victory would move Dahmen into 48th place in the FedEx Cup standings, although the 37-year-old — who has one win on his resume — was quick to note there was a lot of golf left to be played.
“The playoffs are a bonus for me,” he said. “I’m just going to go out and try to play good golf and I guess if I play really well then I get to play another week.”
Dahmen had a one-stroke lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren, whose eight-under round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-five fifth hole.
England’s Aaron Rai, Colombian Nico Echavarria and Americans Mark Hubbard and Cameron Young were tied for third on seven-under.
Meanwhile at the AIG Women’s Open, Ireland’s Anna Foster carded a four-over 76 in the opening round at Royal Porthcawl, Wales. Foster started with a birdie on the first but slipped back with a double-bogey on the third and got back to even par with a birdie on the next hole.
However, she endured a difficult back nine which included three bogeys and another double-bogey. Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh opened with even-par rounds.
Additional reporting by Sinéad Farrell
– © AFP 2025
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