Brad Dalke has issued his verdict on his performance at the BMW International Open this week, insisting that he needs to perform better on the days when he is not at his best.
Dalke would have surpassed the expectations of many on his DP World Tour debut. Plenty would have expected the 28-year-old to struggle up against those playing week-in and week-out on the European circuit.
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While the American has played in The Masters and the US Open previously, he is best known for playing on YouTube, most notably as part of Good Good.
However, he certainly proved that he belongs at a very high level.
Brad Dalke reacts to his DP World Tour debut at the BMW International Open
Dalke nearly made a hole in one on the second hole of his opening round. And he not only made the cut, but he also found himself just a couple of shots adrift of the lead heading into the weekend.
He struggled a lot more over Saturday and Sunday. Nevertheless, he can take a lot of pride from finishing tied for 30th in Munich.
And speaking after his final round, in comments reported by Bunkered, Dalke suggested that the next challenge is to raise his floor when he is not firing on all cylinders.
“This week has been awesome; it has been unbelievable,” he said. “I want to thank BMW for giving me this opportunity. This golf course has been amazing, the fans have been amazing here in Germany, it’s been a blast.
“It’s also been cool to see how I stack up against these guys this week, I hadn’t really gotten the chance to test that out in a long time, and I always tell people, when I’m playing my best golf, I think I can compete with anybody.
“I just have to get a lot better on the days I’m playing kind of average and not so great, that’s where these guys beat me. I putted well just didn’t have my best ball striking.
“So, I need to get better, but I know that without having my best stuff this week I still made the cut, still had a decent finish, which is cool to see and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.”
A masterstroke from the DP World Tour as Brad Dalke proves that he belongs
Anyone who has watched YouTube golf over the years will have known that Dalke was supremely talented. Collin Morikawa said Dalke was one of the best amateurs he had seen.
But taking that ability into a 72-hole tournament on the DP World Tour is another matter altogether. That cannot have been easy to prepare for.
It is a big win for the DP World Tour. They will be justified in inviting Dalke to any future events, particularly as he seemed to have some of the largest crowds of the week.
There was a time when LIV Golf was ahead of the PGA Tour when it came to capitalising on the popularity of YouTube golf, with The Duels arguably a much more entertaining concept than the Creator Classic.
But the DP World Tour seem to have now stolen a march on their rivals.
And Dalke showed that his involvement was so much more than a gimmick.
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