“I’m a massive fan” - Joel Dahmen lauds teammate Lilia Vu for an ‘impressive’ year ahead of the 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational

Joel Dahmen has teamed up with Lilia Vu for the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational this week. The first co-sanctioned mixed-team PGA Tour-LPGA event in over two decades has put the two together for the three-day event.

Ahead of the tournament, Dahmen has come out to laud his teammate. The 36-year-old dubbed the ladies World No. 1 and LPGA Tour Race to CME Globe winner “the best” and added that he’s a “massive fan.” He addressed the 26-year-old golfer’s impressive season and said it's “awesome” to play with the best.

Commenting on his teammate Lilia Vu, Joel Dahmen said at the Grant Thornton Invitational press conference on Wednesday:

“It's awesome. Anytime on Tour I get to play with, you know, you can name one of those top-10 players, Rory (McIlroy) or (Jon) Rahm or Scottie (Scheffler) or (Viktor) Hovland, it's a big deal for me and it's really cool… But now I get to play with the best, you know, she's the best, I think she's the hottest player in the world right now, doesn't matter what tour it is.”

Furthermore, Dahmen added that he was “excited” to share the greens with Vu. The golfer, who gained big popularity from Netflix’s Full Swing docu-series, revealed that he followed the LPGA star’s game this season. He said that Vu’s Women's Open win sparked interest in him, even before the Grant Thornton Invitational field was announced.

He added:

“I remember with the British Open (Women's AIG Open) this summer watching her finish that one off and run away with it, it was very impressive. To watch her win three weeks ago here in Florida at the Annika. So, she hasn't cooled off one bit. When I heard I was playing with her I was very excited… We'll try to pick it up a little bit this week for you. I was just super excited.”

According to Dahmen, Vu’s caddy and his are good friends. They’ve known each other for a while and it has helped the duo gel with each other easier. The players even revealed that they were in a group chat for about a month, despite not meeting each other before the event.

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Lilia Vu and Joel Dahmen's season ahead of the Grant Thornton Invitational

Vu won four times on the LPGA Tour this season. The 26-year-old also claimed two majors, The Chevron Championship and AIG Women's Open, and earned her first Race to the CME Globe title. As Dahmen mentioned, Vu is in hot form.

Meanwhile, Dahmen has had a mixed season. The golfer had a T13 finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship and a T7 at the Shriners Children's Open, where LPGA’s Lexi Thompson also teed up on the PGA Tour. However, he hasn’t played since the ZOZO Championship due to injuries and other commitments.

It’ll be interesting to see how the duo perform with each other at the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational. Much like Vu, Dahmen will be eyeing a strong finish ahead of the 2024 season start.