Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

Joel Dahmen and Geno Bonnalie have separated as a player-caddie duo, Dahmen said in a statement Tuesday on X and Instagram. The popular player-caddie partnership had extended for more than a decade, dating to the 2015 Korn Ferry Tour. Dahmen earned his TOUR card via the 2016 Korn Ferry Tour and has kept his TOUR card ever since – including a dramatic finish to the 2024 season, where he closed The RSM Classic in 6-under 64 to keep his card with one stroke to spare.

Through the ups and downs, Bonnalie had always been by his longtime friend’s side – including a rise to notoriety through the Netflix “Full Swing” docuseries that explored the duo’s close relationship. This week’s Barracuda Championship will mark Dahmen’s 230th career TOUR start, but his first without Bonnalie as full-time caddie.

“We’re still the best of friends and that will never change,” Dahmen said in the statement. “But we both know that a fresh perspective is sometimes needed and it’s been a great run. I couldn’t be more proud of what we have achieved together as guys from a small town in the middle of nowhere.

“I am going to put a major focus on the task at hand to end the year and put myself in a position to make a run. We are grateful for so much this game has given us. Let’s finish strong!”

After Dahmen finished atop the 2014 PGA TOUR Canada season-long standings to earn full 2015 Korn Ferry Tour membership, his longtime friend Bonnalie made a pitch to carry the bag, utilizing the written word. They hailed from the same home region near the Washington/Idaho border, both avid junior players and first bonding during a two-player team event where Bonnalie, 15 or 16 at the time, needed a partner and asked Dahmen, 12 at the time. Dahmen accepted the written pitch, and the rest was history.

Dahmen enters this week's Barracuda Championship at No. 96 on the season-long FedExCup standings with three weeks remaining before the FedExCup Playoffs. The top 70 after the Wyndham Championship will qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs, and the top 100 after the FedExCup Fall will earn full PGA TOUR status for 2026. Dahmen will look to improve his season-long position with a new sidekick inside the ropes, but with full appreciation for the memories of the past decade that included a victory at the 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship.

"It's so hard to win a golf tournament!" an emotional Dahmen exclaimed to Bonnalie afterward.

Although Dahmen and Bonnalie are no longer colleagues, it’s safe to take Dahmen at his word: Their friendship will last forever.