CARLSBAD, Calif. – During Oklahoma’s third-place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate, the Sooners’ fall opener last September, coaches Ryan Hybl and Jonathan Moore agreed that they had something special in freshman Clark van Gaalen.
“We’ve got one of the best freshmen in the country,” Hybl said, recalling that conversation. “It’s just going to be a process.”
Van Gaalen, uber-talented and ultra-fast but also super raw, tied for 28th that week, but he’d fail to make the starting lineup in each of Oklahoma’s next seven events. He did tee it up three times as an individual and capped his fall with a runner-up at the Ka’anapali Classic in Hawaii.