Brad Dalke’s ‘exciting’ DP World Tour week ends with hope and a message

Brad Dalke is used to playing on a different pitch. This past weekend in Germany, the YouTube golf creator, who recently left Good Good Golf, returned to the competitive field for the first time in six years. The four-day experience at the BMW International Open, which Dalke played while soliciting sponsors, left him with a different sense of pressure than his rivals.

“It’s strange that there is no stress because I don’t go out fighting for points and I don’t grind every week [DP World Tour] Season, but I also represent YouTube golf in a way,” Dalke said after Friday’s second round. “There are a lot of people who like YouTube and like to watch me, and they validate me, so I’m trying to prove that to them as well.”

But he left the Golfclub München Eichenried on Sunday after completing the T30, hoping that more opportunities like those offered by BMW will arise – an invitation from sponsors who want to draw attention to their event, the kind of small eyes that YouTube loves.

“I would love it,” Dalke said after the final round. “I mean, it’s not my call, but if there are sponsors who want to give me a chance, I’d love to, it’s been a great week. However, once I got in, I felt at home, and it’s great.”

“It’s a constant battle trying to get that swing under pressure, it’s frustrating at times but very rewarding when you’re good at it. I mean what a week, and I’d love to play more.”

Dalke came into contention on Friday with a 6-under 66 that saw him sit two out of the lead. Dalke ended the weekend early as he posted five bogeys in a 5-over 75 on Saturday. He followed that up with a 73 on Sunday to finish tied for 30th.

Despite topping the leaderboard at the weekend, Dalke, a former golfer in his youth, found something different in Germany – something his 64 million viewers on YouTube don’t: proof of how good he is. it’s good for him it’s still time to fire on all cylinders.

“It was also good to see how I held up against these guys this week, I haven’t really had a chance to test that in a while, and I always tell people, if I play my best golf, I think I can compete with anyone,” said Dalke on Sunday. “I have to be a lot better on the days I play average and not very well, that’s when these guys beat me.

“So, I need to get better, but I know that despite having my best stuff this week I’m still cut, I still have a good finish, which is good to see and gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Long ago, Brad Dalke was seen as a meteor in golf. He won the 2015 Junior PGA Championship and finished second in the US Amateur the following summer. That earned him spots at the 2017 Masters and the US Open. He helped Oklahoma win the national championship and then turned pro in 2019. Big things were to come, but Dalke battled with the driver and ended up standing out on the short journey.

His opportunity to play golf on YouTube, which included joining Good Good, helped rekindle his love for the game, which had waned as he tried to enjoy himself on the mini-tour. He became famous on YouTube and was on the team that won the Internet Invitational.

“Making it all over YouTube was unbelievable,” Dalke said while traveling in Germany. “Before I joined YouTube, I wasn’t very happy with golf, I didn’t like golf very much. I was going through a lot of problems. YouTube helped me learn to enjoy golf again.”

Dalke had fun in Germany this past week. At times, he looked on the brighter side of his golfing self as he climbed the leaderboard early. What he has found is that he would like to play at the highest level possible, but on his own terms.

“YouTube has been great over the last few years,” Dalke said. “And I’m at a point now where I’m doing well enough on YouTube; I don’t need to go through the PGA Tour Americas. Korn Ferry, like, that’s not something I want to do because there’s not a lot of money in that, and there’s a lot of pressure and a lot of travel, so it’s a point where I’m not in good shape with YouTube.”

“But if I could come to an event like this and play well and somehow improve that or play in the Rocket Classic in a month, if I do well there and improve that, if I get a tour card, that would be great. That would be sick. I’m going to play 100 percent. That’s been a dream of mine since I was little to play competitive golf and finally feel like I’m playing golf. So yeah, I can play if I have a travel card, I will do that 100 percent.”

He will get two opportunities on the upcoming PGA Tour, as he is expected to play in the Sponsors’ Invitational at the Rocket Classic and the Good Good Championship. After that, Brad Dalke will hope that more sponsors will give him a shot at the field he thought his path would take him to. And he’ll tackle any head start he gets with the lesson he gets when YouTube rekindles his love of golf.

“That’s one thing I’ve learned a lot from YouTube is that when I’m out having fun, that’s usually when I play my best,” Dalke said on Friday. “So no expectations. Go have a good time. If I have a good day, amazing. If I have a bad day, that’s what it is. Golf. It’s a tough game. So just go out there and have a good time. No expectations and see what we can do.”