PGA Tour pro Joel Dahmen explains split with Geno Bonnalie: "It wasn't an easy decision"

PGA Tour golfer Joel Dahmen says his split from long-time caddie Geno Bonnalie was about taking ownership of his own game. 

Dahmen confirmed during the week of The Open at Royal Portrush he had taken the tough decision to split from his looper after more than a decade together.

The 37-year-old, of Netflix fame, previously said he remains 'best friends' with Bonnalie but did not divulge the exact reason for the split. 

Several PGA Tour player/caddie partnerships have abruptly ended this season so it would been sad to hear if they had fallen out. 

Thankfully, that wasn't the case though and Dahmen approached the subject after he jumped into the early lead at the Wyndham Championship. 

Dahmen caught fire in round one at Sedgefield Country Club, hitting 10 birdies and one bogey in a scintillating 61.

"Man, I love Geno," he said. "We still text almost daily. He's doing well. 

"Yeah, I mean, I miss him but sometimes the hardest - you have to do something hard to - look, it wasn't an easy decision. I won't say I'm not happy about it but like it's hard. 

"He's my best friend, he's still my best friend. But I had to change something with me. It was more about me. It was my mentality, it was what I was doing and I need to take ownership of what I was doing. 

"I was not doing a good job of that. So a way for me to do it is as simple as just playing golf on my own a little bit. So yeah, I love him, I miss him. I think we'll see him out here again soon."

Which other player/caddie partnerships have ended in 2025?

Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa made the surprising decision to sack JJ Jakovac in April. 

Morikawa had only ever had Jakovac on the bag since turning professional. 

He decided to hire Max Homa's former looper, Joe Greiner, but that partnership only lasted six events. 

Morikawa hired Matthew Fitzpatrick's former caddie, Billy Foster, for the Scottish Open and The Open, but missed both cuts and is likely to hire someone else. 

Fitzpatrick sacked Foster in March after missing the cut at The Players Championship. 

Fitzpatrick is now working with Dan Parratt. 

Elsewhere, Tom Kim has parted ways with Paul Tesori. Tesori is best known for his stint with Webb Simpson.