It’s photoshoot day in late August for the Concordia golf team and there’s one Bulldog who steals the show. Quite obviously comfortable under the spotlight, Ivan Yabut flashes a big smile, makes you laugh with goofy cross-eyed faces and expressions and even barks like a dog. But you won’t see any of that on the golf course from Yabut, who also fashions a calm but confident demeanor as a competitor.
It’s the range of situations that reveal the character of Yabut, someone Head Coach Brett Muller has built his lineup around over the past few seasons. There’s a reason why the First Tee organization out of Omaha, Neb., has used Yabut to promote its mission. Yabut is first class.
Says Muller, “How Ivan initially came on our radar was just watching his high school scores. I had some email correspondence and then the first time I had the chance to watch Ivan compete was at a recruiting showcase at Miracle Hill Golf Course the spring before his senior year. I was very intrigued. He fit in great with the players on our team at the time. He’s been a great asset to our campus and the team.”
Notice how Muller framed Yabut’s contributions beyond his golf success, which has been plentiful. It’s likely no surprise to anyone who’s known Yabut from a young age that he went on to become a collegiate golfer. He eats, sleeps and breaths the sport that he started playing at the age of four. Roughly 15 years later, Yabut was presented a medal for placing fifth in the GPAC. That finish marked the highest GPAC placement ever for a Bulldog men’s golfer.
Yabut had been groomed to compete and to conduct himself at a high level. As a young child, Ivan looked up to his sister Tiffanie, who also took a liking to golf. Tiffanie played the sport at Missouri Western State University, led the team to two NCAA Division II national tournaments and served as a team captain before her playing career led into her current role as head women’s golf coach at California State University Bakersfield. In some form, golf will also stick with Ivan, who is in his final season playing at Concordia.
Says Ivan, “Tiffanie has influenced me ever since I picked up a club at the age of four. She was always more into it than I was at an early age but with her being seven years older than me, I had a role model that laid out the blueprint: hard work will always beat talent and that success is earned, not given.”
It’s those types of lessons that have been instilled in Ivan by his sister Tiffanie and also by his parents, Jay and Elizabeth, and the First Tee organization. This past December, Yabut discussed the impact of First Tee through an interview that was placed on its YouTube channel. Once a pupil within First Tee, Ivan has transitioned to become an ambassador, an instructor and a mentor for children just like him years ago. Ivan spent his summer working with First Tee.
It’s been a rewarding venture and a chance to give back to the Omaha community, Ivan’s hometown stomping grounds as a Burke High School graduate. The added bonus is that all the time spent at golf courses has made his game even stronger.
Explains Yabut, “I grew up in the First Tee of Omaha from the age of six all the way to age 14. It’s a program that teaches golf to kids, especially underprivileged and at-risk kids. This led me to work at a golf course in Omaha, Miracle Hill, because it had free golf as a work benefit. I was able to play golf almost every day and get better. Then I started caddying at Omaha Country Club, which entails me staying in golf shape all summer, creating relationships with members and keeping up on course management and green reading, which helps my golf game stay sharp.”
The golf junkie Yabut took off in a big way during the 2021-22 collegiate season. He became the No. 1 player in the lineup and enjoyed a day to remember on Sept. 13, 2021, when he carded a seven-under-par 65 and broke the program record for a single round. Already this 2022-23 campaign, Yabut has helped the Bulldogs shatter team records for lowest 18-hole score (283) and lowest 36-hole score (567) at an event.
During preseason qualifying rounds in August, Yabut routinely turned in scores in the 60s and appears to be a contender for the GPAC tournament title this coming spring. Yabut averaged a score of 74.9 last season. He feels like he can improve upon that after altering the way he lines up the ball this past offseason. There will be days in which Yabut is simply in a groove.
As Yabut recalls of his record-breaking day, “The first nine I shot even-par. I had one birdie and one bogey. I just felt like nothing was going in. I made it through nine and I was like, this is a birdie hole. I made two birdies in a row and a couple pars and I kind of blacked out after that.”
‘Blacking out’ is really a term for what happens when Yabut is zoned in. This part of life is serious stuff for someone with aspirations to do special things this fall and spring.
“In between golf shots we can have fun and talk and mess around, but once I’m over a golf shot, I’m all in,” Yabut said. “I have to be focused. I go through the same motion – I have two practice swings, look behind the ball and take three deep breaths. It helps me get centered and stay in the present moment.”
Added Coach Muller, “He’s laid back and wants to have fun. He also knows there’s a time and a place for that. When he’s on the course it’s all about competing and bettering his game. He’s going to do anything he can to continue to improve. He’s not going to be outworked.”
The present is pretty good for Yabut, who plans to graduate next May and move on to graduate school. The psychology major says he chose Concordia for its faith-based education and for the opportunity to play golf, of course. Faith, family and golf will always be pillars of Yabut’s life.
No matter the distance, Ivan and Tiffanie will continue to connect over their shared bond. Says Ivan, “My sister and I talk almost weekly over FaceTime. I help her with coaching decisions sometimes and drama with her team. But we also help each other with practice drills and what we do for practice as well as share what we do for our schedule. These last few weeks we really shared what we did for qualifying and the schedule we have for practice, especially since her team arrived around the same time.”
Behind the big smile and the goofiness, Ivan Yabut has shown he has a whole lot more to him. Golf just happens to be his avenue for reaching others and spreading the joy the game has given him. If you could shoot seven-under-par, you’d be smiling too.