Taking the Title for TJH

Golfers are prone to superstition, which explains why Oklahoma men's coach Ryan Hybl made the same travel plans as the previous season when his team ventured to Minnesota the second week in September.

The Sooners captured both the team and individual titles at the 2015 Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm Golf Club. Hoping for a repeat in the same tournament on the same course one year later, Hybl booked his team into the same hotel with plans to dine at the same restaurants off the same menus.

Sadly, there was something very different for OU the second time around. Hybl did not make the trip when his wife, Rebecca, suffered a miscarriage in her 18th week of pregnancy and lost their baby boy named Tucker Jackson Hybl.

Adorned with “TJH” ribbons attached to their hats and bags, an emotional OU squad once again swept the team and individual titles during the Sept. 10-11 tournament in Independence. Minn.

“This is one of the proudest days of my life,” Hybl declared.

Assistant coach Jim Garren stepped in to replace Hybl.

“It's hard to put into words how much our guys wanted to win this event,” Garren said shortly afterward. “There are lots of emotions right now, and even a few tears.”

Junior Grant Hirschman birdied the final hole of the 54-hole tournament to post a one-stroke victory for the first outright title of his collegiate career. The Sooners won the 14-team event by five strokes and team members admitted the Hybl family never strayed far from their thoughts.

“I remember when we first got the news, there was an immediate 'Come on, guys. Let's do this for Coach Hybl,' ” Hirschman explained. “He's always been there for us. If there was one thing we could do, it would be to win for him. We all just kind of came together and it was really, really cool to see.”

"I remember when we first got the news, there was an immediate 'Come on, guys. Let's do this for Coach Hybl.' "
— Grant Hirschman

Senior Max McGreevy, who was the 2015 Gopher Invitational medalist, said he was shaken when he initially learned the Hybl family had lost a child.

“It was shocking,” McGreevy said. “It kind of puts you in your own place in this world. Makes you think a little bit differently. I remember the guys who were traveling (to Minnesota) all got together and we were all behind each other. We were all trying to bring something back for coach. Even if we didn't, we were trying to make him as proud as we could. Coach Garren did a really good job of making it still feel like it was a normal event. I guess it's just a great golf course for us.”

The entire 11-man roster has embraced the affable Hybl, who has resurrected the OU program back to national prominence since his arrival in June 2009. The Gopher Invitational was the Sooners' 12th tournament victory overall under Hybl and the 10th since February of 2013.

“I definitely see coach Hybl as my second dad,” McGreevy said. “I don't think I could have ended up at a better program with a better coach, honestly. He is all-in all the time with us. It's such a cool thing to see that a guy would put so much time into making us a little bit better every single day.”

No OU player believed in Hybl sooner than sophomore Brad Dalke, this year's U.S. Amateur runner-up who gained nationwide attention when he orally committed to the Sooners at age 12.

“Coach Hybl is awesome,” Dalke said. “He's a great coach. I think he's the best coach in the country, by far. Obviously, he's a great player himself (once ranked the nation's No. 1 junior player). He truly is a great guy, a good man. He thinks of us as his sons. He has 11 sons on his team right now. He treats us like it.”

The Sooners return to competition Oct. 2-4 for the Nike Collegiate Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.