Whatever you think of YouTube golf, it cannot be denied that the Internet Invitational showed just how much interest there is in the genre.
The Internet Invitational was an event put together by Barstool and Bob Does Sports, and involved 48 content creators playing for $1,000,000.
The winning team proved to be Brad Dalke, Francis Ellis and Cody Franke in a finale which boasts 2.4 million views on YouTube. The result proved to be particularly heartbreaking with Franke passing away shortly before the series was released.
There is little question that Dalke proved to be the star of the event.
The PGA Tour would be wise to invite Brad Dalke to compete in an event in 2026
The 28-year-old also won the Creator Classic at East Lake in August. With that, Dalke has won more than $450,000 across the two events.
In truth, it should come as little surprise that the Good Good member was the most impressive performer at Big Cedar Lodge. He has previously played in both The Masters and the US Open.
He also played in the Valero Texas Open in 2016.
And perhaps he should now get an invite to feature in another PGA Tour event early on in the 2026 season.
The Sony Open in Hawaii has received a blow with the decision to cancel The Sentry. It is not a signature event, and there will be some players who are a little more reluctant to play the Sony if it is the only event in the Aloha State this time around.
There have been some significant winners over the years. However, 2025 did not see the most star-studded field, with Nick Taylor edging out Nico Echavarria in a playoff.
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It is not something that the purists would like to admit, but someone like Dalke is probably a much bigger name in the eyes of some golf fans than some of those who will be teeing it up in January.
Good Good has two million subscribers and will sponsor a PGA Tour event later in the year. It has already been confirmed that Dalke will be one of the players vying for the chance to earn a spot in the field at that tournament.
The uncomfortable truth about YouTube golf as Brad Dalke steals the show at the Internet Invitational
Obviously, he should not get a spot at Sony at the expense of a PGA Tour member, particularly given how difficult it is going to be for players to keep their cards in 2026.
But YouTube golf is becoming more and more popular, as the Internet Invitational proved. And Dalke is one of the players with the talent to at least not look out of place against some of those playing at the highest level.
Michael Kim recently explained why someone like Dalke has not made it on the PGA Tour. He noted that the pressure of playing for a livelihood is completely different to the challenges of making entertaining content on YouTube.
But there is clearly an appetite to now see how he would actually fare against some of the best players in the world.
It would be a controversial move to invite him to feature in the Sony Open, but there is surely no doubt that there would be more interest in the event if he got the chance to tee it up while his stock is so high.
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