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CRIMSON OU AND GREEN
DAILY
Since age 12, golfer’s course charted for OU
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DILLON HOLLINGSWORTH @DILLONJAMES94
tanding at 5-foot-11, Brad Dalke’s physical presence drew attention early on in his life. His stature is more akin to a football player than a golfer. But it’s not Dalke’s build that makes him one of the most interesting people at OU. As a freshman on Oklahoma’s men’s golf team, he could easily be mistaken for a senior, and that’s not a new thing for the young man who saw his name scroll across ESPN as a 12-year-old when he committed to play for coach Ryan Hybl at OU. The early commitment — which came the summer before he started seventh grade — is what you might find with a quick Google search, but it may not even be the most interesting part of Dalke’s story. He took down one of the best golfers in the world (in arm wrestling). He’s the son of OU athletics trailblazers and the grandson of a Sooner legend. And now he’s on campus trying to carve his own name into Oklahoma lore. Sooner Born and Sooner Bred Ken Pryor, Dalke’s grandfather, became an Oklahoma hoops hero while Har r y Truman was president. It was 1947 — Bud Wilkinson’s first year in Norman and three years before OU football would record its first football national championship — when Pryor banked a shot off the glass with less than 10 seconds on the clock to defeat Texas in the national semifinals and send the Sooners to their first national title game. Twenty-seven years later, Pryor’s daughter, Kay, joined OU’s inaugural intercollegiate women’s golf team as a junior and was the team’s top finisher at the Texas Woman’s University Invitational. That same year, a young man named Bill Dalke was a redshirt linebacker on coach Barry Switzer’s first national championship football team. The next year, Bill Dalke would earn a starting spot and help lead his squad in a successful title defense, making him a two-time champion. Eventually the two paths intertwined, and Kay Pryor became Kay Dalke, then became the mother of seven children — all of whom would be OU fans and one of whom, the youngest, would live out his dream and comprise the family’s third generation of
contribution to Oklahoma athletics. “I think they’re all kind of secretly jealous of me getting to go here; they all love OU,” Brad said of his six older siblings, the closest of whom is seven years older. “But it is cool to kind of carry on the tradition and be the only one.” It’s no accident that Brad ended up a Sooner. From the pillows on his bed to the outfits in his baby pictures, his childhood was all OU, all the time, and once he knew he wanted to play college golf, he knew where he wanted to do so. At that point, it was up to him to perform. That was never an issue. Making His Case The first time Hybl got to watch his future golfer, Brad was 11 years old and competing in the 18-and-under division at the Texas Cup Invitational in Dallas. The strapping sixth grader had already seen some success on the junior circuit thanks in large part to his advanced maturity, both physically and mentally. “(Brad’s) very mature for his age and just, he’s played golf at a high level ever since a very early age,” Joey Wuertemberger, Brad’s swing coach since 2007, said. “I think he (had) just kind of that Godgiven ability to act responsibly as an adult very early in his career.” It showed that day when Brad was able to turn a potentially rough first impression into one the new coach couldn’t ignore. Hybl followed the young golfer’s group to open the second round and witnessed Brad, who didn’t recognize the coach at first, three-putt the first hole. Immediately Brad realized who was watching, and, although worried about his initial impression on the man he hoped would be his future coach, put on a show over the next two holes. He saved par after a rough drive on the 11th hole and then hit a 5-wood dead into the wind on the par three 12th hole to place the ball five feet from the pin before converting his birdie attempt. Hybl left soon after, but Brad eventually had somebody tell him the coach’s reaction. “I heard a story later that he was talking to someone,” Brad see GOLF page 2
Freshman golfer Brad Dalke practices putting at the Charlie Coe Golf Learning Center on Tuesday. Out of his six siblings, Dalke is the only one who came to OU.
SIANDHARA BONNET/THE DAILY
Pae making progress with planned pantry Project would provide food for OU community TANNER OSBORNE @tannerosbear
The executive branch of the OU Student Government Association has made some headway with a project that would result in the formation of a food pantry based out of the university. SGA President Daniel Pae said that when he took office, he was approached by OU Housing and Food about the project. Pae said Housing and Food had
already been working on the project before he even accepted his position and that it was eager to work with him. Housing and Food has already worked out a number of obstacles, including some funding issues and providing a physical location for the pantry in Stubbeman Place next to Papa John’s, Pae said. Pae said he could see that hunger was a prominent issue on campus once he did his research. “Students shouldn’t have to pick between paying for tuition and paying for groceries,” Pae said. As of now, the plan is to have
the pantry up and running by August during move-in time.
“Students shouldn’t have to pick between paying for tuition and paying for groceries.” DANIEL PAE, SGA PRESIDENT
“In the short term, we want to serve 100 or 200 people,” Pae said. However, he said eventually he hopes to see that number
increased to somewhere in the 500 to 1,000 range. Pae said it is important to help in “tangible ways,” and that as SGA leaders, they have “an obligation to positively help the student body and make a lasting impact.” As a part of his research, Pae made a visit to the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. Pae said UCO has been successfully running a similar pantry on its campus for a few years, and that the pantry there serves an average of 500 students see PANTRY page 8
OU FOOD BANK What: The food bank would provide free food to OU students, faculty and staff when they swipe in with an OU ID. When: The pantry is set to open at the start of fall 2016. Where: The bank would be located south of the residence halls in Stubbeman Place, next to Papa John’s.