PGN FEATURE: Tri-State Star ‘Big Shot’ Bilby Shines for Marshall

In roughly a decade as a competitive golfer, Ryan Bilby has accomplished much.

But the past year in particular has been special for Marshall University’s top men’s player.

Since last spring, the 21-year-old native of West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle has done the following:

• Finished third individually at the Sun Belt Conference championship
• Claimed medalist honors in a U.S. Amateur qualifier in Johnstown, Pa.
• Won the West Virginia PGA Classic at Marshall’s home course
• Posted five consecutive top-10 finishes in NCAA tournaments

While Bilby’s top-10 streak ended with a 14th-place finish at the People’s Golf Championship in Georgia on March 13-15, his Thundering two-semester surge for the Herd included a second-place finish at the Dayton Flyer Invitational last fall, followed by another runner-up in Arizona last month at the Loyola Intercollegiate.

There, at Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Bilby opened with a 9-under 63 that tied for the second-lowest round in relation to par in Marshall program history. He shot under par all three days and was one of just five players to reach double-digits under par for the tournament.

Hear from Marshall senior Ryan Bilby following his T-2 performance at the 2025 Loyola Intercollegiate!

Bilby finished 12-under, which included an opening round 63 in which he carded 10 birdies.

Bilby led the 116-player field with 21 birdies on the week. pic.twitter.com/yNj8PkSkrv

— Herd Golf (@HerdMGolf) February 19, 2025

“For the most part, it’s been about experience,” said Bilby, explaining how he’s leveled up for his senior year. “Having three years under my belt and having gotten better each year has made me feel a lot more comfortable playing these events. Also, having seen these courses before definitely helps, too.

“Not having won an event in college yet, and being so close a lot, makes me want to work even harder than I have.”

Well, I wasn’t going to mention the lack of an individual NCAA win that quickly, but it’s true Bilby hasn’t checked that particular item off his to-do list quite yet.

Not that the 2018 Tri-State PGA Isaly’s Junior Tour Player of the Year is a stranger to the top of a leaderboard, as last year’s pair of victories can attest. And let’s not forget his West Virginia Open title in 2023, or his playoff win that same summer at the Links Brewing Company Stableford Championship at Chartiers Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh.

No doubt, though, the young man known as ‘Big Shot Bilby‘ is on a trajectory toward that first NCAA triumph. According to him, that’s as much due to his psychological approach than how he moves the golf club.

“The mental side of the game has been what I am the proudest of,” Bilby said. “I didn’t let anything get to me all week (at the Loyola Intercollegiate) and just tried to birdie every hole.

“In the offseason up north, it’s really tough to practice and play as much as I would like, but I really talked a lot with my coach (Marshall’s Matt Grobe) about the mental side of the game and having a new approach. I’m trying to do everything a little bit slower and be more methodical, because I would get too quick and not think enough about certain shots.”

Ryan Bilby receives runner-up prize after shooting 12 under at the Loyola Intercollegiate. (MARSHALL ATHLETICS)

That’s not to say Bilby shrugs off the technical side of the game. After the late Sean Peres helped him build a fundamental foundation during his teen years, Bilby connected a few years ago with Pittsburgh-area teaching pro Ed Vietmeier, who owns Vietmeier Golf Center in McKees Rocks.

The arrangement works quite well in the summer, with Vietmeier’s home base located roughly a 45-minute drive from Bilby’s family’s home in Follansbee, West Virginia.

“Nothing too severe, just keeping me in line,” Bilby said. “We really just try to make sure I’m hitting my (swing) positions. I can get into a habit of swinging too far right when I’m trying to hit cuts, which is not a good combo.”

His western Pennsylvania connections don’t stop there. Not only does Bilby frequent U.S. Route 22-corridor layouts like Quicksilver and Ponderosa, he regularly participates in WPGA and Tri-State PGA competitions when he’s home from school.

“For me, playing competitive golf helps me get better, and I love traveling and seeing new golf courses and playing against the best competition,” Bilby said. “The WPGA runs great events on great golf courses and being able to play against some high-quality competition is always great.”

Bilby said the rush that comes with testing himself against other excellent golfers gives him the fuel to keep pressing for improvement. From his success on the Isaly’s Junior Tour, to winning three straight Ohio Valley Athletic Conference crowns while at Brooke High School, to improving his stroke average at Marshall for three years running, he’s demonstrated an ability to succeed regardless of his golf environment.

In other words, ‘Big Shot’ keeps his sights set high.

“Golf has always been what makes me happy, and especially good golf,” Bilby said with a laugh. “Putting myself in position to win and being nervous is what makes the game fun for me.”

That love for competitive golf has only grown at Marshall. Bilby said he was grateful for how coach Grobe made the recruiting process easier during the COVID-19 ordeal, simply by showing more concern with what was going on in his life than other coaches he was speaking with at the time.

He also was previously acquainted with a couple of his eventual Herd teammates, including current roommate Joseph Kalaskey.

“Really, just being able to play and compete with my teammates every day is such a blessing,” Bilby said. “Being a very competitive person, just playing the tournaments we do and having chances to win are what gives me joy on the course.”

Marshall has three tournaments remaining before the Sun Belt Championship, starting with the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate from March 23-25 in Alabama. They’ll square off with host West Virginia University and several others at the Mountaineer Intercollegiate in Bridgeport on April 14-15.