An ex-professional golfer is accused of sending explicit messages to an undercover cop he thought was a 15-year-old girl, police say

• Former professional golfer Daniel Bowling has been arrested in Florida.
• Police said Bowling sent explicit messages to an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl.
• Police said Bowling was arrested when he tried to meet up with the undercover officer he believed was a 15-year-old.

A 26-year-old former professional golfer was arrested on Thursday after sending explicit messages and trying to meet up with an undercover officer posing as 15-year-old girl in Florida, police said.

Daniel Bowling is facing charges of obscene communication, traveling to meet with a minor, and attempted lewd and lascivious molestation, according to ClickOrlando.com.

Orlando Police said on Twitter that Bowling was arrested when he tried to see the supposed 15-year-old, but instead met up with the officer who had pretended to be the teen.

Bowling had contacted the undercover officer on a messaging platform called AdChat last month, and police told NBC News that the conversations "turned sexual in nature within the first 24 hours."

From there, police said, the conversations "intensified quickly."

Police called Bowling "a dangerous online predator," in a statement to NBC News.

Bowling last competed professionally in golf in 2016. He said in an Instagram post last week that he was competing in pre-qualifying rounds of the US Open; he did not qualify.