Brad Dalke, 17, has verbally committed to OU at age 12
FRIDAY NOTE: Today's third round play has been
cancelled due to heavy rain. The tournament will be
played at 54-holes, with the final round starting
Saturday at 12:00 noon and the leaders playing at
2:30.
ATLANTA, Georgia (July 2, 2015) -- At Druid
Hills, there was a changing of the guard as the early
leaders struggled to break par.
Sometimes it's hard to back up a low round, especially
the 8-under 64s that both Chad Tuten and Ashton Van
Horne fired on Weds.
While Tuten struggled today and posted 76, to fall
out of the top 10, Van Horne managed to stay within
close range of new leader Dawson Armstrong, despite
faltering to a 4-over 40 on his back nine. That's
because he was tearing Druid Hills apart prior to that.
Starting on the 10th hole, Van Horne birdied,
then
holed out for eagle on the 352-yard par 4 12th, and
made three more birdies and a bogey to get to 13-
under after just 27 holes of play. Alas, that back nine
eliminated the prospect of a 36-hole tournament
record, but did not ruin Van Horne's chances for the
weekend.
The new leader, a former top ranked junior golfer
from Tennessee who now plays for Lipscomb
University, is Dawson Armstrong. He played bogey
free golf today, adding a 6-under 66 to his first round
67 to stand at 11-under at the tournament's halfway
point. That positions him directly in front of future
Oklahoma player Brad Dalke, who made 9 birdies
today and posted the low round of 65.
Brad Dalke Arm Wrestling
with
Rory McIlroy |
Dalke, from Edmond, Oklahoma, has quite a
backstory. At 12 years old, he verbally committed to
attend Oklahoma, where his dad was a linebacker. His
game has steadily improved and he's finishing the tail
end of his junior career and head for OU this fall. In
April, those linebacker genes were put into good use
in an arm wrestling match against Rory McIlroy at the
Sage Valley Junior Invitational, which he won.
“His bicep balled up so I think he was trying,”
Dalke told Golfweek at the time. “I took all my anger
out from my 85"
“Working out and having good linebacker genetics
is the secret… But he was a great guy. Pretty cool
way to end my career at Sage Valley.”
As for a coach recruiting a 12 year old player
back in 2010? At the time, Dalke was ranked below
500th in the Golfweek/Sagarin junior rankings. Now,
he's in the top 5. And apparently ready to compete at
the college level.
ABOUT THE
Dogwood Invitational
Tournament week is June 6-11 at Druid Hills
Golf
Club
in
Atlanta, Georgia. The entry fee includes
breakfast
and lunch
tournament days as
well
as special events.
The history of this prestigious event extends
back to
1941, when legendary amateur Tommy Barnes
captured his first of five Dogwood titles.
Evolving
with
the times, the modern Dogwood has produced
fine
champions like Webb Simpson (’07), Brian
Harman
(’09), Dawson Armstrong (’15), and in 2019
Brandon
Mancheno. This
evolution can
be
seen also in our course renovations and set-up,
our
relaxed tournament atmosphere, and our spirit
of
social
responsibility.
Players are required to walk during tournament
play
and may carry their golf bag themselves (push
carts are
allowed) or take a caddie. Caddies may be
requested
in advance during registration, or players may
select
one on their own.
Player housing is provided on an as available
basis to
players only, caddies and traveling
companions are not
provided housing.
View Complete Tournament Information