RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – The Linfield men's golf team climbed two spots on the leaderboard to finish tied for fifth at The Clash among a field of six top-50 Division III teams and the reigning DIII National Champions.
The Wildcats finished at 19-over par, opening with a 303 before improving by 11 strokes with a 292 in the final round. Linfield shared fifth place with California Lutheran, while tournament host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps claimed the team title at 4-over. Redlands finished second at 8-over, followed by Willamette at 13-over.
Sophomore Brody Landaker led the Wildcats, tying for ninth individually at 1-over after rounds of 74 and 71. Landaker's opening round featured birdies on 4, 5, and 9. He followed with a 1-under 71 on Tuesday, highlighted by birdies on holes 4, 8, and 17. Landaker played the front nine in 2-under 34.
Freshman Jake Rodgers returned to the lineup tying for 15th at 4-over, making the biggest jump amongst the Wildcats, moving up 38-places on the individual leaderboard. Rodgers opened with a 7-over 79 before firing a 3-under 69 in the final round. His second round featured six birdies, including four across the front nine and another at the par-4 17th. Rodgers played the front nine in 3-under 33.
Douglas Bailey tied for 22nd at 5-over after rounds of 73 and 76. Bailey's opening round included birdies on holes 1, 12 and 18, along with an eagle on the par-5 14th. He followed with a 4-over 76 on Tuesday, recording birdies on 4, 8 and 11.
Both Timothy Morach and Owen Irving tied for 47th at 10-over following rounds of 78 and 76. Morach's opening round featured two birdies, later sinking four in Tuesday's round. He played the front nine in 1-under 35 during Tuesday's round.
Irving recorded a birdie on the par-5 seventh during his opening round before adding a birdie at the par-4 ninth in Round 2. He played the back nine in even-par 36 during the final round to join Morach in 47th.
Ryder Ng competed as an individual for Linfield, tying for 12th at 3-over after rounds of 72 and 75. Ng's even-par opening round included birdies on holes 7, 8, 10 and 14. He followed with a 3-over 75, making three birdies, while playing the back nine in 1-under 35.
The 'Cats entered the week at No. 44 in the Scoreboard by Clippd rankings, finishing ahead of No. 17 Pomona-Pitzer and No. 41 Occidental. Linfield finished just six strokes behind No. 36 Willamette, and ahead of NWC rivals Lewis & Clark, Pacific, and George Fox.
The Fall half of the 2026-27 is complete, the Wildcats now eye the Spring slate where they hope to move up in the Northwest Conference standings with the Spring Classic and NWC Championship.
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