GOLF Preview 26-27

Golf set to tee off in 2026-27 season

By Chase Fisk, Director of Athletic Communications

Linfield men's and women's golf enter the 2026-27 season with young talent returning on both sides, highlighted by one of the most decorated golfers in program history in Douglas Bailey and a men's team coming off a run at the Northwest Conference championship. The women's program, returns a young core that gained valuable experience throughout a 2025-26 season in which freshmen regularly occupied nearly the entire starting lineup.

“We’re really excited to get the season underway. We have such a great core group of individuals on both our men’s and women’s teams who truly embrace the culture, work ethic, and expectations we’ve established within our program. Our returning players have done a tremendous job setting that standard, and our new players have fit right in from day one. There’s a lot of excitement within this group, and we’re ready to get out there, compete, and see what we can accomplish this season.”
Director of Golf, Mitch Wilson
Douglas Bailey and Mitch Wilson
Brody Landaker
Ryder Ng
Emmett Cox
Owen Irving
Breleigh Garcia
Tina Kelley, Ainsley Kelley
Sara Pate
Breleigh Garcia
Breleigh Garcia

Women's Golf 2025-26 Season Recap

Linfield women's golf underwent a significant youth movement during the 2025-26 season, regularly fielding a starting five composed almost entirely of first-year Wildcats. The young group showed its potential early by placing third at the Pacific Lutheran Invitational, where Kariss Whitford led Linfield with a sixth-place finish. During the spring, Breleigh Garcia paced the Wildcats at the Laughlin Ranch Invite with a two-round 180, while Sophia Hamilton delivered one of the team's top individual finishes of the year by placing eighth at the George Fox Invite. Addison Nations emerged as Linfield's leader at the NWC Championship, shooting rounds of 86 and 92 to finish 26th, one spot ahead of Sara Pate. Garcia capped off her freshman campaign with an 82 in the final round at Pumpkin Ridge, her best score of the season. Linfield finished seventh at the NWC Championship and sixth in the final season-long conference standings, placing ahead of Pacific Lutheran, Whitman and Willamette.

Men's Golf 2025-26 Season Recap

Linfield men's golf put together one of its strongest seasons in recent program history in 2025-26, finishing second in the Northwest Conference's season-long aggregate standings, just 11 strokes behind Willamette. The Wildcats finished third at the NWC Fall Classic before catching fire in the spring, winning four consecutive team tournaments at the Laughlin Ranch Invite, Willamette Valley Cup, George Fox Invite and NWC Spring Classic. Linfield later placed second at both the Wildcat Invite and NWC Championship. Douglas Bailey led the way with a historic junior campaign, posting a 72.2 NWC scoring average and winning three times during the spring, including medalist honors at the NWC Spring Classic and NWC Championship. His second consecutive NWC Championship individual title earned him NWC Player of the Year and First Team All-NWC honors before he advanced to the NCAA Division III Championships, where he tied for 27th. Freshmen Brody Landaker and Owen Irving also emerged as immediate contributors, earning Second Team and Third Team All-NWC honors, respectively. The senior class included Kellen Hudson, Zach Netter and Alex Salinas. Hudson enjoyed the most accomplished final season of the group, winning the Willamette Valley Cup, recording four top-10 finishes and posting a 74.6 adjusted scoring average. He later earned Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar and NWC Scholar-Athlete recognition before graduating with a degree in sport management.

2025-26 Women's Golf Results
2025-26 Men's Golf Results
Douglas Bailey
Senior Douglas Bailey

Senior Douglas Bailey returns following a historic junior season that established him among the top golfers in NCAA Division III. The Durham, Oregon native finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 71.6 adjusted scoring average and ended the year ranked No. 34 nationally. Bailey never finished worse than sixth in six spring regular-season events and captured medalist honors at the Laughlin Ranch Invite, NWC Spring Classic and NWC Championship.

Bailey carded rounds of 68 and 69 to finish five-under before sinking a birdie on the first playoff hole to successfully defend his NWC Championship medalist title. He became the NWC Player of the Year and earned First Team All-NWC honors while helping Linfield contend for the conference's season-long championship.

Bailey's season continued at the NCAA Division III National Championship, where he became Linfield's first men's golfer to compete at nationals since 2012. He survived a playoff to make the cut and closed the four-round championship with scores of 73, 73, 72 and 71 to finish tied for 27th at two-over par. His accomplishments earned him Linfield's 2025-26 Male Athlete of the Year award, and he later added PING Honorable Mention All-America honors.

The Anacortes, Washington native gained experience throughout the fall before becoming one of the Wildcats' leading performers during the spring.

Nations posted a top-15 performance at the George Fox Invite, rebounding from an opening 92 to shoot Linfield's best final-round score of 86 and move into 14th place. She saved one of her strongest performances for the NWC Championship, leading the Wildcats with an opening-round 86 that included two birdies before finishing 26th overall. Nations was Linfield's top individual finisher at the conference championship.

Her performance on the course was complemented by success in the classroom. Nations was one of three Linfield women's golfers named a Northwest Conference Scholar-Athlete following the 2025-26 academic year.

Addison Nations
Sophomore Addison Nations
Brody Landaker
Sophomore Brody Landaker

The North Plains, Oregon native recorded a 74.1 scoring average over 19 rounds and earned Second Team All-Northwest Conference honors in his collegiate debut season.

Landaker's freshman year grew stronger as the season progressed. He tied for first at the Wildcat Invite after forcing a playoff for medalist honors, then opened the NWC Championship with a four-under-par 67 to hold the individual lead after the first round. He ultimately finished fifth at the conference championship, giving Linfield a second golfer inside the top five alongside Bailey.

After earning all-conference recognition in his first collegiate season, he enters 2026-27 as an established part of a Linfield lineup looking to make another run at the NWC title.

Breleigh Garcia also returns after playing a significant role throughout her freshman season. The Corona, California native was among Linfield's leaders in several tournaments and produced some of her best golf during the spring.

Garcia led the Wildcats at the Laughlin Ranch Invite with an opening-round 83 and a two-round total of 180. She later improved from 96 to 88 at the George Fox Invite before delivering her best round of the season when it mattered most. After opening the NWC Championship with a 98, Garcia jumped 10 positions on the leaderboard with a final-round 82, using two birdies to shoot three-over 38 on the back nine. She finished 28th overall, just two positions behind Nations.

She was selected as Linfield women's golf's representative on the Northwest Conference All-Sportsmanship Team and was named an NWC Scholar-Athlete. 

Breleigh Garcia
Sophomore Breleigh Garcia

In addition to Landaker, men's golfers Owen Irving and Timothy Morach gained extensive tournament experience in their first seasons. Irving earned Third Team All-NWC honors after posting a 75.8 scoring average and finishing fourth at the NWC Fall Classic, while also being named to the NWC All-Sportsmanship Team. On the women's side, Nations and Garcia are joined by returning classmates Sophia Hamilton and Ainsley Kelley. Hamilton recorded an eighth-place finish at the George Fox Invite and joined Nations and Garcia as an NWC Scholar-Athlete.

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Linfield Women's Golf Schedule

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We were such a young group last year, and having all but two players back says a lot about the character on this roster. They've pushed each other and pushed themselves, and that commitment is going to pay off. There's also a healthy competitiveness inside the team right now, everyone wanting to earn their spot and prove themselves, and that's exactly the kind of hunger that leads to lower scores.
Co-Head Coach Tina Kelley

The women's program enters the new season with a much more experienced foundation than it had one year ago. Nations, Garcia, Hamilton and Kelley all gained substantial collegiate tournament experience as freshmen, while Sara Pate also returns after producing her best round of the season at the 2026 NWC Championship. After relying heavily on newcomers throughout 2025-26, that experience gives Linfield a young core capable of taking another step forward in 2026-27.

The Wildcats are set to open the season at the Willamette Invite on September 19th, later returning to Pumpkin Ridge for the Northwest Conference Fall Classic beginning on October 4th. The Fall season wraps up on October 13th, where Linfield will compete in the Clovernook Women's Intercollegiate in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“Breleigh and Addison really turned it on last Spring, cutting over five strokes off their scoring average and playing with a level of consistency that's been great to see. Coming into this season, both of them are striking the ball as well as I've seen, and I'm confident that's going to show up in our scores once we get into competition. On top of that, we've brought in a really talented group of new players this year. We've already seen several sub-80 rounds in our first qualifying rounds, which tells me this team is ready to compete. We're excited to get out there and see what we can do.” said Tina Kelley on the upcoming season.

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2026 Linfield Men's Golf Schedule

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Linfield men's golf enters 2026-27 with legitimate championship aspirations after returning four of the five players who regularly occupied the starting lineup during last season's run to second place in the NWC. Bailey gives the Wildcats a proven national-level player at the top of the lineup, while Landaker, Irving, Ryder Ng and the team's returning depth provide experience behind him. Head coach Mitch Wilson enters his eighth season after being named the 2025-26 NWC Coach of the Year. Linfield begins its fall schedule September 13-14 at the Whitworth Fall Invite at Indian Canyon Country Club, before competing at the NWC Fall Classic at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club October 4-5 and The Clash in Rancho Cucamonga, California, October 19-20.

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