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Pepperdine Men’s and Women’s Golf attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Pepperdine Golf Clubhouse on Sept. 4. The new facility gives both programs a shared space on campus to practice, study and spend time together. Photo courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
A new season is underway for Pepperdine Golf — and this year, both teams have a new place to call home.
Coming off of successful 2025-26 seasons, Pepperdine Men’s and Women’s Golf are looking to build off their postseason success with younger rosters and new faces. The men enter the season as back-to-back West Coast Conference (WCC) champions, while the women are coming off a WCC Championship and tied-for-fifth finish at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
For the men’s team, almost half of the nine-person roster is new. With three freshmen and a sophomore transfer joining the Waves, Head Coach Michael Beard said this year’s team already has a different feel.
“It’s definitely a different vibe,” Beard said. “It’s new and younger, but also very experienced from a golf standpoint.”
Despite their youth, Beard and senior Willy Walsh said the newcomers bring experience and a new energy to the program.
“Now this year we have three new freshmen and three sophomores, so only three upperclassmen, which is a little different. It feels younger and like new blood in a sense,” Walsh said.
As one of those three upperclassmen, Walsh is stepping into a bigger leadership role this season. After looking to last year’s former seniors for leadership during his first three years at Pepperdine, he is now learning how to set that example himself.
“It’s been good, it’s been new,” Walsh said. “It’s been fun to be put in that new role and try to lead these guys.”
Beard said Walsh’s experience around team sports is helping him bring the Waves together in a sport that often feels individual.
“Walsh has embraced and is really looking forward to being our captain and leader this year,” Beard said. “He’s leading both on the course and away from the course as well.”
Pepperdine Men’s Golf senior Willy Walsh competes at the Fighting Illini Invitational in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Sept. 19. The Waves finished tied for ninth in their second tournament of the season.
The Waves have already faced tough competition to start the fall. Men’s Golf finished tied for 10th at the Sahalee Players Championship Sept. 12-13 before finishing tied for ninth at the Fighting Illini Invitational Sept. 18-19, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Freshman Luke Ringkamp led the Waves in his collegiate debut at Sahalee, finishing tied for 11th. At the Fighting Illini Invitational, senior Carson Kim led Pepperdine at 7-under-par, while freshman Ayden Fynaut and Ringkamp followed at 5-under and 4-under, respectively.
Even without the results the team had hoped for, Beard said he saw signs of improvement between the first two tournaments.
“Obviously you want to go out and win every tournament,” Beard said. “But when you don’t do as well as you think you should have, it’s important to learn things that will help you for the next event.”
While Beard is searching for growth throughout the season, the Waves have a familiar goal waiting for them in the spring. Pepperdine has won back-to-back WCC Championships, and Walsh said his experience from those postseason runs can help guide the younger Waves.
“This year I’ll try to step into that leadership role and set the standard on what it takes to win that golf tournament,” Walsh said. “We’ll be ready this year.”
For Beard, getting there will require the Waves to develop more than their physical game.
“This game will always find you out,” Beard said. “It always finds a way to expose you, so it’ll tell you what you need to work on. You just have to be honest and be open to working on it.”
Women’s Golf
While the men are building around a younger roster, the women are doing the same.
Women’s Golf enters the season without any seniors on its seven-person roster. Four juniors make up the oldest class on the team, while a transfer and freshman join the Waves this season.
Head Coach Laurie Gibbs said the new roster gives the Waves a clean slate despite last year’s postseason success.
“We’re coming off a great year last year and we’re all very proud of that, but it’s a clean slate,” Gibbs said. “It’s a time for new goals and new opportunities and to have some new things happen for our season this year.”
Those new opportunities have already turned into strong results.
Pepperdine opened the season with a second place finish at the Dick McGuire Invitational Sept. 14-15 before finishing tied for third at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic Sept. 21-23, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
At the Dick McGuire Invitational, sophomore Kylee Choi earned the first individual tournament victory of her collegiate career. Finishing 10-under-paras the Waves fell within one stroke of the team title. The Waves followed that performance by shooting 32-under at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic, the second-lowest tournament score to par in program history, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
(From left to right) Pepperdine Women’s Golf players Katelyn Kong, Irene Kim, Grace Anderson, Eunseo Choi and Kylee Choi pose for a picture on the green course at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic in Wolcott, Colo. The Waves finished tied for third at 32-under-par, the second-lowest tournament score to par in program history.
Junior Eunseo Choi finished as the individual runner-up at 14-under, while junior Grace Anderson shot a career-best 8-under in the final round, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“We’re very much knocking at the door,” Eunseo Choi said. “We’re very close to winning. That’s going to set high standards and high expectations for us.”
Without a senior captain, Eunseo Choi said leadership has become a shared responsibility among the team.
“We all have a responsibility to keep each other accountable for our actions,” Eunseo Choi said.
Gibbs said that responsibility extends throughout the entire roster. Rather than relying on one or two leaders, she wants each Wave to have a voice.
“I really look at all of them,” Gibbs said. “It’s not just one or two players that are going to lead the group. I believe all seven of them have something to add that’s really special and meaningful.”
That team dynamic has become one of Pepperdine’s biggest strengths, Eunseo Choi said. Despite golf being an individual sport, the Waves are pushing each other while still celebrating one another’s success.
“One of our best strengths is our chemistry,” Eunseo Choi said. “We’re competing with each other, but we’re still happy for each other if they do well. That’s what’s really getting us to perform well.”
The Waves are also taking things one shot at a time. Before competing, Gibbs said each golfer shares a quote or reminder with the team to help everyone focus on what they can control.
“Instead of thinking about the total score or the end results, being more in the present and understanding the value of one shot at a time is what really got us in the game,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs said that same mindset will be important as Pepperdine continues through a schedule filled with strong competition.
“Every shot means something,” Gibbs said. “Every time we compete and have a club in our hands, it’s meaningful and it gets us prepared for the postseason.”
A New Home for Pepperdine Golf
As both teams settle into their new rosters, they are also settling into a new home. Pepperdine opened its new Golf Clubhouse this fall, giving both programs locker rooms, meeting spaces and a place to practice together on campus, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The hallway inside the new Pepperdine Golf Clubhouse features Pepperdine Golf signage and the Waves’ logo. The new facility brings both golf programs under one roof with designated areas for the teams throughout the clubhouse.
“We’ve never really had a presence on campus, and now we have a spot,” Beard said. “It’s really fun.”
The Clubhouse is also giving the teams more time together away from competition. Eunseo Choi said the women can now move between schoolwork and practice without leaving campus.
“We can literally stay there, study and then go practice and study again,” Eunseo Choi said. “It’s so nice.”
As the Waves look deeper into the season, both teams will have several more chances to test their young rosters. Pepperdine Men’s Golf finished 13th at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas on Sept. 29, while Women’s Golf will compete in the Haskins Women’s Intercollegiate from Oct. 12-13.
This story was copy edited by Olivia Schlossin.
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Contact Grace Boktor via email: grace.boktor@pepperdine.edu