Sean Walsh has played golf in South America, China, Canada, Switzerland and the Dominican Republic.

The former Gonzaga Bulldog has toured famous golf courses across the United States, from Kapalua to Whistling Straits to Pinehurst No. 2. He has tackled majestic links tracks in Europe and faced the Olympic venue in Paris just before Scottie Scheffler won gold.

When the golf world’s attention turns to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta later this week, Walsh will be there, but not quite in the role he dreamed of as a professional golfer.

Walsh and 15 other people well-known on golf-related social media platforms will play in the Creator Classic at East Lake on Wednesday, one day before the first round of the FedEx Cup final tournament.

“My priority is definitely still to get to East Lake by finishing in the top 30 (of the FedEx Cup standings),” Walsh said. “It’s something I never thought I would be able to do, but I’m so happy I did it.”

Walsh and some of his colleagues from Good Good Golf (1.6 million YouTube subscribers) will tee off in the nine-hole event alongside the likes of Paige Spiranac (former Arizona and San Diego State golfer with 4 million Instagram followers) and Tyler Toney of Dude Perfect (60.4 million YouTube subscribers).

Also in the field is Luke Kwon, Walsh’s longtime friend who helped him learn about golf’s growing social media presence. The two are friends from junior golf in Texas and have played countless rounds in the Dallas area during the COVID pandemic.

Walsh was invited to play in a Good Good pro event last year – who hasn’t said that to a buddy when facing 4-foot putts? – and finished second. “For some reason the guys liked me,” Walsh said, “and told me I could be good on camera.”

Walsh quickly realized that those in charge knew what they were doing and understood how to build a huge online audience with their entertaining golf videos.

“Basically, it’s a bunch of buddies going out and playing golf,” he said. “Literally all the comments are, ‘That’s our group being followed by a camera.'”

Walsh is sponsored by Good Good and wears its clothing at events. He recently took a Good Good trip to Whistling Straits, which has hosted four majors and a Ryder Cup.

“I go on a lot of trips with them,” Walsh said. “I love hanging out with the (Good Good) guys. They can play golf.”

And attract some attention. A Good Good video featuring Steph Curry, posted a month ago, discussing basketball and golf has been viewed 1.5 million times. Another recent video of a $10,000 charity match has been viewed 469,000 times and garnered nearly 1,000 comments. Numbers like that are why the Creator Classic was created. It’s the PGA Tour’s nod to the relevance and influence of golf’s biggest social media outlets.

PGA stars Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Max Homa, as well as LIV’s Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia have appeared on several Creators video channels.

A few months ago, Walsh teamed up with Kwon, who left Good Good to go solo on YouTube, to compete in an 18-hole match against Garcia and his teammate on the LIV Fireballs, Abraham Ancer. Kwon and Ancer were teammates at Oklahoma.

Walsh and Kwon lost by a wide margin, but as far as witty commentary goes, the foursome was pretty evenly matched. The video quality was top-notch despite the rain, with bullet holes from nearly every shot and cart-mounted cameras.

At one hole, the guys talked about their favorite foods, Ancer’s first win, and Garcia’s attitude when putts go anything but in the hole. The whole thing is highly entertaining, with the right mix of witty banter, competitive spirit, and camaraderie. More than 310,000 viewers watched two videos on Kwon’s YouTube channel, running for nearly two hours.

“Do you guys know why you’re two strokes behind?” Garcia asked after the first hole.

“Because we suck because we made five and you made three,” came the reply.

“Because we only played one hole,” joked Garcia.

After the game, the players went to the bar to get something to eat. “And a couple of guys turned around and said, ‘Oh my God, that’s Luke.’ They recognized Luke,” Walsh recalled. “It’s a crazy world.”

Even for Walsh, who is increasingly recognized at his local driving range in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“I’m still in touch with (Gonzaga coach Robert) Gray and a lot of other guys,” said Walsh, 30. “I got a text from (former teammate) James Fahy: ‘So my sister’s boyfriend came to the house wearing a Good Good shirt.'”

Walsh was close to deleting his Instagram account, but after a strong finish at a good tournament, his wife told him, “You can’t do that now.”

In addition to playing on unforgettable golf courses, working with Good Good and Kwon Walsh provides an income that allows him to continue playing golf professionally.

He has competed in 48 events on the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tours in China, Latin America and Canada.

“It’s hard to make money on the mini-tours,” Walsh said. “We got married in 2022 and had a daughter in February. Professional golf can be a bit of a burden on your partner. This has given me the chance to make an important contribution to the family.”

In addition, it has given him a new perspective on the court when participating in professional tournaments.

“It’s almost refreshing,” Walsh said. “It makes me just play golf and not think about my swing. I’m still incredibly confident in my ability, even after playing as a professional for seven years. It gives me the freedom to play and do what I love about golf: play with my buddies and enjoy it like everyone else. And it’s still competitive because you’re playing against good players.”

That will be the case again on Wednesday at East Lake. His invitation came via a casual email from Good Good’s executive producer, outlining the upcoming schedule and asking Walsh if there were any time conflicts. Fittingly, Walsh learned it was a nine-hole event when he was tagged in an Instagram story.

He has a few golf trips planned for September to keep his game in shape for the qualifying school in October.

“I’ve basically done everything in professional golf except the cool stuff that makes a lot of money,” Walsh said.

He is well aware that he has done a lot of cool things to pay his bills.

“I chose to miss a cut in Illinois and not meet Steph. So clearly I’m not making good decisions in life,” Walsh joked. “That’s a side of golf that I didn’t know existed, something I never thought about in a million years.”

“It’s been fun. I’m very blessed. It’s taken me to incredible places.”

Jim Meehan can be reached at 509-459-5585 or [email protected].