Dalke Clinches Match to Advance at U.S. Amateur

NORMAN – University of Oklahoma golfer Brad Dalke advanced to the round of 32 in match play at the 116th U.S. Amateur on Wednesday. The prestigious tournament is taking place at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Dalke, a rising sophomore at OU, defeated Wake Forest rising junior Will Zalatoris 1-up in the round of 64. After the first eight holes, Dalke held a 3-up lead over his opponent. However, Zalatoris won three of the next five holes to make the match all-square through 13.

After the 13th hole, play was suspended for almost two hours due to inclement weather. When competition resumed, Zalatoris won the 14th hole to take the lead, but Dalke bounced back with a win of his own on hole No. 16 to tie the match.

On the 18th hole, Dalke fired a birdie in order to take the match and advance to the next round.

“It was a tough round,” Dalke said. “Neither of us played very well, and I just had to grind out every shot. It feels good to be able to hit three clutch shots on 18 to win the match, something I can definitely build off of for the rest of the week.”

Dalke will face recent Houston graduate Blair Hamilton in the round of 32 Thursday at 9 a.m. CT. The winner of the match will continue to the round of 16, which will take place that afternoon.

The round of 32 will be available on a live stream on USGA.org Thursday from 10 a.m.-noon CT. FS1 will broadcast the end of the round of 32 and the round of 16 from 2-5 p.m. CT. More information about the U.S. Amateur can be found on the USGA's website.