“There might have been a couple curse words” – Joel Dahmen details his initial reaction to finding the controversial extra 4-iron in his bag

Joel Dahmen opened up about his initial reaction after learning about an unfortunate four-stroke penalty during the opening round of the 2024 Shriners Children's Open. The American golfer joined the stellar field of this week's PGA Tour event but had an unlucky start to the game as he was penalized four strokes for carrying an extra club in his bag.

Joel Dahmen had 15 clubs in his bag, including two 4-irons. He didn't realize this until he reached the fourth hole. By then, it was too late, and he received a four-stroke penalty for violating Rule 4.1b of golf. According to the rule, players are only allowed to carry 14 clubs in their bag.

Following the first round, Joel Dahmen discussed his reaction to the incident and said (via ASAP Sports):

"I think there might have been a couple curse words, but I had a lot of people out supporting me today, helping our family foundation. It was one of those moments where you like want to lose it and you want to get mad, be mad at yourself, be mad at Geno, be mad at the world," Dahmen said.

"But you look around and people are donating a bunch of money to our foundation and life is not that bad. It's a mistake. It's going to happen. Unfortunately happened at this moment in time," he added.

Notably, USGA Rule 4.1b states that a player can only carry 14 clubs in their bag during a tournament. If they have more, they incur a penalty of two strokes for each hole played before the extra club is removed.

However, the maximum penalty is four strokes. Since Dahmen played three holes with an extra club, he received penalties on the first two holes and none on the third, as the maximum penalty is limited to four strokes.

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A look into Joel Dahmen's performance at the 2024 Shriners Children's Open

Joel Dahmen started fairly smoothly at the Shriners Children's Open with pars on the first four holes. However, the four-stroke penalty resulted in double bogeys on the first and second holes.

He then bogeyed the fifth hole and birdied the seventh. Later, he bogeyed the eighth and added a birdie and bogey on the back nine for a round of 5-over 76. He settled in 131st position on the leaderboard after completing the first 18 holes of the tournament. Despite a rough start, the PGA Tour player looked forward to the second round.

"We'll tee it up tomorrow morning and try to make a bunch of birdies," Dahmen said (via ASAP Sports).

Taylor Pendrith took the lead in the game after Thursday's round at 10-under. However, some players are yet to complete their rounds as play was suspended on Thursday due to darkness.

The first round will resume at 11:10 a.m. ET, with players teeing off for the second round at 9:55 a.m. ET. It's a four-day event concluding with the finale on Sunday, October 20.