Nate Bibbey ends high school golfing career in historic fashion
CHICAGO (BVM) – Nate Bibbey, a senior at Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF) in Oak Park, Illinois, ended his high school golfing career placing seventh in the IHSA Class 3A boys golf state tournament.
He is only the third golfer in OPRF history to finish that high in a state tournament.
“I didn’t think top 10 was an option,” Bibbey said. “But it felt great to end up there.”
Bibbey endured a lot of success to reach that point. The Huskies won the Niles West Regional Tournament in Wilmette, Illinois on Sept. 29, and Bibbey was the tournament medalist. He shot a 32 on the back nine to finish with a 74. Bibbey won by just a single shot.
His success continued at the sectional tournament at Prairie Bluff Golf Course just five days later. On Oct. 4, Bibbey birdied the last hole of the course to make it to a playoff round and then birdied the first playoff hole to advance to the state tournament.
The IHSA Class 3A boys golf state tournament was held from Oct. 8-9 at The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington, Illinois. Both Bibbey and his teammate, Liam Spillane, shot a 74 on the first day to advance to the second round on the following day. Bibbey was in 26th place going into the second round.
“I didn’t have any expectations for the first day,” he said.
On the second day of the tournament, Bibbey made more birdies than usual, which paved the way to finishing seventh overall. Bibbey said he became more nervous the better he was doing; the live scoreboards notified him that he was in the top 10.
However, his coach, Bill Young, kept him calm. Young was Bibbey’s caddie during the tournament and talked through the holes with him.
“It was nice to have a second opinion,” Bibbey said. “He double-checked everything for me.”
Bibbey also had the support of a couple of his teammates at the tournament. Seniors Maddox Neumann and Niko Haas made the trek down to Bloomington to watch their teammates golf.
“It was great seeing them down there,” Bibbey said. “It meant a lot to see them watch Spillane and me.”
Bibbey has always had a strong support system throughout his golfing career. His biggest supporter is his dad. He was the one that took Bibbey to golf tournaments and introduced him to the sport at just 3 years old. Just a few years later, Bibbey played his first tournament with him.
“It was the best time of my life,” he said. “So I just kept going with it.”
At a young age, Bibbey started practicing with The Player Service (TPS), a golf academy that specializes in developing golfers for tournament play.
He tried out for the OPRF golf team his freshman year of high school and has been golfing for the Huskies since then. It is his first and only team that he has golfed for so far.
Reflecting on his time at OPRF, Bibbey said it wasn’t golfing he would miss the most.
“I’m going to miss the experience with the guys,” Bibbey said. “They are a lot of fun.”
He said he would also miss traveling to tournaments early in the morning. In fact, Bibbey’s favorite moment of his golfing career was earning the title of tournament medalist at the Niles West Regional Tournament in Wilmette on Sept. 29.
Bibbey credits his confidence in his play for his successes. He advises future golfers to keep their confidence up too.
“Stay confident,” he said. “It’s huge for your game.”
Bibbey is unsure of his plans after high school, but he is sure of one thing.
“I want to play college golf somewhere,” he said.
For now, Bibbey will continue to practice with TPS to improve his game.
