Two longtime friends were reunited on the OU men’s golf team last spring.

OU golfers Ben Klaus and Will Kropp have been friends since they were 10.

When they were growing up in Edmond, the two played with a large group of kids at Oak Tree Country Club and noted that they practiced together more than anyone else. The two also played together a lot while at Edmond North High School.

The pair earned a long list of awards and honors, including All-State and All-American individual honors and seven total state championships. Both also were members of the 2006 McDonald’s High School National Championship team.

After graduating from Edmond North in 2007, Klaus became a Commodore at Vanderbilt University as Kropp entered his final year at Edmond North.

That season, Klaus competed in four events at Vanderbilt, and Kropp won his fourth straight state championship at Edmond North. After graduation, Kropp was recruited to Georgia by former Bulldog assistant Nate Hybl.

Though the two longtime friends were at different universities — one in Tennessee and one in Georgia — the friends stayed close.

“We hung out all the time when we were in town and spoke regularly while we were at other schools,” Klaus said.

In 2009, Hybl was hired by OU to restore the winning tradition it had lost since the Sooners’ 1989 national championship. When Hybl came to OU, Kropp followed.

“I had some injuries. Coach Hybl had recruited me to Georgia, and I liked him, and OU was closer to home,” Kropp said. “All of those things combined led to me transferring.”

When Kropp learned he would get a full release from Georgia, he told Klaus, who thought getting a full release from Vanderbilt wasn’t a possibility.

“I’ll never forget it; I was on my way to a political science test and got the text from Will,” Klaus said. “I couldn’t concentrate at all on the test and told the professor after that I had just found something out right before the test that could change my academic and golf career forever. Luckily, she graded it easy and passed me.”

Klaus began to strongly consider the idea of transferring. Klaus played the 2009 fall season at Vanderbilt after coming off of an ACL injury, and though he felt improvement in his game, his scores weren’t showing. His family, swing coach and he felt he would be happier and more successful at OU.

So Klaus was released to talk with Hybl, and both agreed it would be better for Klaus and the team to transfer to OU.

Though their relationship hasn’t changed much over the years, their games have.

“In high school, we never lost. We could play decent as a team and still win by 20 strokes,” Klaus said. “We have to push each other a lot more now.”

Both suffered injuries during their collegiate careers, which affected their time on the course and scores, but they’re fighting back together.