Long before Scottie Scheffler became the undisputed World No. 1, he was trading blows in junior tournaments with a rival who now walks a very different path in the golf world. Now an avid YouTuber, Brad Dalke, unlike other YouTube golfers, has had the opportunity to play against Scheffler in settings more intense than your average YouTube video.

“So we did our first tournament together was at the Texas-Oklahoma Junior Championship,” Dalke told Grant Horvat in a recent video. “They had like the rankings and stuff, and me and Scottie were always ranked number one for our ages growing up. He’s a little older than me. We had a lot of times we’re finishing first and second.”

Scheffler was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, but moved to Dallas, Texas, when he was six years old in 2002. His family joined the Royal Oaks Country Club and hired his longtime coach, Randy Smith.

That’s when his golf journey started taking shape. Brad Dalke, on the other hand, is from Hobart, Oklahoma. Since they were both juniors, their rivalry started at the Texas-Oklahoma Junior Championship events.

Just like on the PGA Tour, the 4x major winner dominated junior golf, too. He won nearly 60% of his starts on the Northern Texas PGA Junior Tour from 2004-2010. Thanks to his skills, he amassed 74 victories by age 14.

One of his biggest achievements came in 2013 when he captured the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Martis Camp Club. Scheffler defeated Davis Riley 3-and-2 in the 36-hole final after rallying with birdies on the last four holes.

Besides that, he also repeated as Texas Class AAAA state champion, led his high school to a team title, and earned Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors from the AJGA.

While Scheffler was a dominant force since he was in the juniors, Brad Dalke wasn’t too far behind. In fact, during their rivalry at the Texas-Oklahoma Junior Championship events, Dalke even defeated the 2022 Masters champion on occasion.

The now YouTuber won the AJGA Thunderbird Invitational when he was only 13. And with that win, he committed to the University of Oklahoma early. He also beat Scottie Scheffler in key events, one of them being the 2013 AJGA HP Boys State Championship via a clutch par putt on 18. At the time, Scheffler was No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings, while Brad Dalke was No. 2.

Although Brad Dalke and Scottie Scheffler played against each other at the junior golf level, their paths post-juniors have been completely different.

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Brad Dalke and Scottie Scheffler’s diverging journeys after junior golf

After juniors, Scottie Scheffler excelled at the Texas Longhorns from 2015-2018. He earned the 2018 Big 12 Tournament Team and Scholar-Athlete nods. To top that, he also earned Golfweek All-America honors, leading the 2017 Big 12 Championship after three rounds, tied with Brad Dalke.

He then turned pro in spring 2018. Within a single year, he got a Korn Ferry card via Q-School for the 2019 tour. But at the same time, Brad Dalke was struggling with the yips.

With no clear rivals, the 4x major winner dominated the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour playoffs for PGA Tour promotion. He made his debut on the PGA Tour in 2020, and the rest is history. Currently, he has won 19 events, including two Masters, the 2025 PGA Championship, and The Open Championship 2025.

Brad Dalke’s transition, however, was not as smooth as Scheffler’s. His collegiate golf was impressive, though, starring for the Sooners from 2015 to 2019, posting scoring averages that improved yearly. It started with 73.15 as a freshman, 72.13 sophomore, and 70.97 in junior year.

He was the runner-up at the 2016 U.S. Amateur, won the 2017 NCAA Stanford Regional, and received an invitation for the 2017 Masters and U.S. Open starts. Sadly, he missed the cuts in both major events. But from there, Dalke faced a number of challenges.

Dalke turned pro post-2019. While Scottie Scheffler dominated the Korn Ferry Tour, Dalke didn’t have a single win. He was battling yips, alcohol issues, and mini-tour finances that drained him.

With little progress as a professional golfer, Brad Dalke joined Good Good Golf’s YouTube circuit in 2025. He won the Creator Classic at East Lake ($100K) and the $1 million Internet Invitational. He even drew Phil Mickelson’s mentorship offer.

Dalke would still like to play on the PGA Tour, but only if it comes through sponsor exemptions, because he doesn’t want to go through the Q-School grind again.

Brad Dalke’s story adds a rare layer of perspective to Scottie Scheffler’s rise. Their shared past underlines how junior success can lead to very different outcomes, with Dalke carving out a new path in golf.