YouTube golf personality Brad Dalke endured a difficult return to professional golf at the Rocket Classic in Detroit, shooting 16-over par and finishing in last place among competitors who completed the event.
Dalke, who gained a sponsor exemption for the tournament, posted a first-round score of 11-over par on Thursday. His scorecard included seven bogeys, one double bogey, and one triple bogey, offset by a single birdie. "That round was nightmare fuel my goodness," Dalke wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Goes without saying I played very very poorly… but everything that could’ve gone wrong seemed to go wrong."
He improved slightly on the second day with a five-over-par round, but his 36-hole total of 16-over par placed him at the bottom of the leaderboard. "Nothing I can do now except go play some more golf tomorrow," Dalke added on social media.
Dalke, once a highly touted prospect, was a five-time AJGA First-Team All-American before attending the University of Oklahoma. He was part of the Sooners' NCAA Championship-winning team in 2017 and qualified for the 2017 Masters and U.S. Open through his performance in the 2016 U.S. Amateur. However, he faced significant challenges with the driver yips after turning professional in 2019, leading to a period of frustration and withdrawal from the PGA Tour in 2023.
Following his struggles on tour, Dalke joined the popular YouTube golf group Good Good Golf, where he quickly became a fan favorite. He announced in June that he was leaving the group to focus on his family, citing his wife's recent health issues.
More recently, Dalke competed in the BMW International Open on the DP World Tour. He started strongly, at one point being tied for second place after the second round, before eventually finishing tied for 30th. Dalke sees his participation as a representation of "YouTube golf," aiming to prove himself to his large online following. "There’s a lot of YouTube fans and a lot of people love YouTube, and they love watching me, and they vouch for me, so I’m trying to prove for them as well."