HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. --- Junior Douglas Bailey completed a successful week at Mission Inn Resort at the NCAA Division III National Championship, capping off the tournament with a one-under 71 on Friday. After four rounds of play, he finished T-27, the best finish by a Wildcat since the team's last NCAA appearance in 2012.
 
DAY ONE
The national championship is held at Mission Inn Golf Resort outside of Orlando, Florida. Play is split between two separate courses, as well as split starts on the front and back nines. Bailey began the tournament on Tuesday at the Las Colinas course at Mission Inn. 
 
With the lightning delay cutting round one short for the afternoon wave of competition, Bailey is now forced to finish round one on Wednesday morning before heading over to Mission Inn's El Campeon course to begin round two shortly thereafter. 
 
Bailey began his tournament on hole ten on Tuesday, making a birdie three on the 392-yard par four. He later made bogey on the par-three 15^th hole, otherwise cruising to a par on each of the other eight holes of play. The junior is tied amongst 25 others at even-par for the tournament, all chasing Kenyon's Adrian Jordan who carded a five-under 67 in round one. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps led the team standings at four-under, just ahead of Carnegie Mellon at three-under.
 
DAY TWO
Forced into an early start on Wednesday, Bailey completed his final eight holes of round one as the sun came up. He made three consecutive pars to begin the morning, finishing his round with three bogeys and a birdie to shoot two-over 73, falling back to 60^th after his first 18 holes.
 
Bailey immediately went to work over on Mission Inn's El Campeon course, starting his second round on hole one. Follow six-straight pars, a double bogey on the par four seventh set up him to bounce back with a birdie on the par-three eighth to follow. On the inward nine, Bailey grinded to remain one-over in round two, making two birdies and two bogeys. He completed day two with a one-over 73 at El Campeon, and rounding out the first half of the tournament with a pair of 73's. 
 
After Wednesday's early tee time, the junior from Durham, Oregon, was forced to stick around for multiple hours after his round. In the event that he was tied for the sixth and final individual spot, he would be going into a playoff. 
 
When it was all said and done, darkness had set in, and Bailey was tied at three-over with Matt Turcotte of Calvin for the final spot into the next two rounds. Round two was one group short of completion, meaning the playoff came after the final group finishes early in the morning. 
 
DAY THREE
Bright and early on Thursday morning, Bailey did what he does best and won the playoff over Matt Turcotte of Calvin to secure his spot in the final two rounds of the national championship.
 
He began round three going birdie-par-birdie, starting the day on hole ten of Mission Inn's El Campeon course. A birdie on the par-five 14^th pushed him to two-under, but a double bogey on 17 dropped the junior back to even for the round.
 
Birdie on 18 and an eagle on the par-five first hole got him back on track and to even par for the tournament. Bailey lost steam coming in, making bogey on each of his last three holes of the day to shoot 72. It's his best round of the week, making five birdies and an eagle, matching his birdie total from rounds one and two combined. 
 
Bailey enters the final round tied for 30^th individually at +3 for the tournament. Kenyon's Adrian Jordan, Lynchburg's Alan Van Asch, and Washington and Lee's Tim Kaufman lead the pack at seven-under. Illinois Wesleyan hold a five-stroke lead in the team standings, sitting at five-under. 
 
The best finish by a Wildcat at the NCAA DIII National Championship was Alex Fitch in 2012, finishing at +11 and in a tie for 22^nd place. 
 
DAY FOUR
Teeing off of hole one on El Campeon, Bailey got off to a shaky start, making bogey on both holes two and four. A birdie on the par-four ninth helped the junior turn at one-over 36. He went birdie-bogey on 10 and 11, before making his run back to even par.
 
Bailey birdied both par fives coming in, helping him to his lowest score of the week, a one-under 71. With the Friday's 71, bailey jumped up three spots, tying for 27^th for the tournament individually. 
 
It's the 'Cats best finish at the national championship since the team's last appearance in 2012. 
 
"I'm incredibly proud of Douglas and the way he competed this week at the NCAA National Championship." Said head coach Mitch Wilson following the week.
 
"Mission Inn was a phenomenal property and an extremely challenging setup, and Douglas battled with some of the best players in the country all week long. What stood out most was his composure and discipline. He stayed committed to the game plan, playing smart while still being aggressive when needed. It takes a tremendous amount of mental toughness to play 27 holes in one day and then come back at 7:30 a.m. the next morning for a playoff to continue the tournament."
 
"Finishing T-27 out of 225 golfers is something to be proud of. I'm truly honored to have been a part of this journey with him this week.' Said Wilson.
 
The 2026 season comes to a close, as Bailey capped off a tremendous season that saw three medalist wins, and his first national championship appearance. The Wildcats closed out the season in second-place in the Northwest Conference as a team. 
 
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