Hybl signs three talented prep golfers to bolster Sooners
Above, Andrew Ramos of Blaine, Minn.
NORMAN – Oklahoma men’s golf coach Ryan Hybl announced the official signing of three top junior golfers in the 2024 class on Wednesday.
Andrew Ramos, Clark van Gaalen and Asher Whitaker all signed national letters of intent today, officially making them Sooners starting in the 2024-25 season.
“Overall, we’re thrilled to welcome these three guys to Norman as our 2024 signees,” head coach Ryan Hybl said. “They’re all incredibly talented and their ceilings are so high that they’ll be a group that helps elevate our program. Most importantly, they’re amazing people that will fit in with our culture at Oklahoma. We can’t wait for them to get to Norman so we can get to work.”
Ramos, a product of Blaine, Minn., will come to Norman as one of the top players in the country. He rose as high as the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class after a string of strong finishes in the summer of 2022. Graded as the top golfer in the state of Minnesota by Golfweek, Ramos was a member of the 2022 East Team at the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Wyndham Cup. The wire-to-wire winner of the AJGA GreatLife Junior Challenge, Ramos is well-known on the junior circuit, amassing eight top-10 AJGA finishes. Ramos is a two-time (2021, 2018) Drive, Chip and Putt national finalist at Augusta National and was a two-time PGA Junior League National Team finalist.
“Andrew is a guy that’s got a lot of big-time golf under his belt with more to come,” Hybl added. “He was the top player in the class at one point and has been one of the best junior players over the last couple of years. We’re excited for him to get down to Oklahoma where he can attack his game all year round and really see what he can do.”
Clark van Gaalen has produced one of the best calendar years in the class of 2024, rattling off four top-eight finishes, including a win, in WAGR-counting events in 2023. The champion of the Brandon Wu Championship, van Gaalen will come to Norman from Turlock, Calif., and is ranked as the No. 21 golfer in the class by Golfweek. He finished as the runner-up at the 2023 Billy Horschel Junior Championship presented by Zurich and grabbed bronze at the SERI PAK Desert Junior in June. The incoming Sooner is ranked 38th in the overall Rolex AJGA Ranking, and in his 11 WAGR-counting events, he has posted a top-10 finish at nine of them.
“Clark has all of the tools to be one of the best golfers in the country,” Hybl continued. “We really think that he is just scratching the surface of what his game can be. He’s super long off the tee but then has a great putter and is solid around the greens. We’re thankful he took a chance on us and is ready to move across the country to be part of something special here in Norman.”
Whitaker will arrive in Norman as the Sooners’ highest-ranked prospect in the class by Golfweek as the Wichita, Kan., product is the No. 14 golfer in the 2024 class. A 2022 Rolex AJGA Junior All-America honoree, Whitaker was the 2022 Kansas State Amateur champion and finished fifth at the Rolex Tournament of Champions. He posted 10 top-10 finishes in 19 counting events as a junior player, including a T9 finish at the Junior Players Championship and a T8 placement at the 2023 Junior PGA Championship. A two-time Kansas 5A state champion at Mount Caramel Catholic HS, Whitaker is a three-time All-State and All-Metro selection.
“Asher is one of the hardest workers I’ve been around,” Hybl closed. “The way he approaches his game and how to improve it is next level, and that’ll pay dividends as he gets going for us. His game is strong and for him to choose to stay in this part of the country and be a Sooner when he could’ve gone anywhere is big for our program. We’re excited to get him around our guys and program to really dial it up and see what he can do as a Sooner.”
The three will arrive in Norman next summer and be eligible to play in the 2024-25 season.