(From left to right) Kailer Stone, Byungho Lee, Willy Walsh and Luke Ringkamp stand for a photo Aug. 8 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. The group competed in the 126th U.S. Amateur Golf Championship. Photo courtesy of Pepperdine Athletics
Pepperdine Men’s Golf swung their way into the 2026 season after competing in the Sahalee Players Championship tournament Sept. 12-13 at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. The Waves concluded the tournament and the mark of their new season by placing 10th overall.
The Waves entered the season ranked No. 13 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, finishing their previous season ranked No. 14 after placing 16th at the NCAA Championships, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Day One
The tournament began Sept. 12 with a 7 a.m. tee time as the Waves finished the opening two rounds tied for eighth place in the 12-team field, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Freshman Luke Ringkamp headlined the Waves’ first-day performance, finishing under par through two rounds to tie for third individually. Ringkamp sat just eight strokes behind Illinois’ Max Herendeen, who led the field at nine-under par, according to SCOREBOARD.
Freshman Ayden Fynaut, also making his collegiate debut alongside Ringkamp, delivered the Waves’ biggest turnaround in the second round. After opening with a nine-over (81), Fynaut responded by shooting a 2-under (70), marking an 11-stroke improvement. His second-round 70 was the best score by a Wave that day and moved him to third on the Waves’ leaderboard with a seven-over performance, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Competing as an individual, sophomore Luke Dariotis finished the first day of the tournament at one-under par (143), placing him in a tie for 33rd individually, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
As a team, the Waves closed the first day tied for eighth with the Washington Huskies after posting a two-round score of 602. Pepperdine carded a 303 in the opening round before improving by four strokes with a 299 in round two, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Senior Willy Walsh walks off the teeing ground at the Southwestern Invitational on Jan. 28 at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif. The Waves won the tournament, finishing 11-under. Photo by Melissa Houston
Day Two
The tournament continued Sept. 13 with a 7:20 a.m. tee time and despite a solid opening day that resulted in Pepperdine finishing tied for eighth, the Waves slipped to 10th place in the final round, tying San Diego State University with a team score of 906, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Ringkamp entered the third round in a strong position but struggled down the stretch as he shot a six-over (78). This result led him to finish his first collegiate tournament at five-over (221), earning a tie for 11th overall, according to Pepperdine Athletics. Despite the drop on the leaderboard, Ringkamp closed his collegiate debut on a positive note with a birdie on the seventh green.
Fynaut finished the tournament just two strokes behind Ringkamp, continuing his impressive recovery from his opening-round 81. Fynaut shot an even-par 72 in the final round, recording the lowest score by a Wave that day, to finish the tournament at seven-over (223) and tied for 17th overall, according to Pepperdine Athletics. After beginning the tournament at nine-over, Fynaut played his final 36 holes at two-under par, highlighting a strong comeback in his collegiate debut.
Rounding out Pepperdine’s four counting scores in the final round, senior Willy Walsh carded a four-over (76) to finish the tournament at nine-over (225) and tied for 25th. Byungho Lee recorded his best round of the tournament by shooting a six-over (78), finishing at 28-over (244) and in 70th place, according to Peppdine Athletics.
Dariotis, competing as an individual, finished the tournament at 17-over (233) after carding a nine-over (81) in the final round, placing him in a tie for 51st overall, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Junior Byungho Lee stares off into the distance, envisioning his swing as he tees off on day three of the Southwestern Invitational on Jan. 28 at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif. Lee finished the tournament tied for sixth. Photo by Melissa Houston
Final Results
As Pepperdine tied for No. 10 with San Diego State, Oklahoma State University led the tournament, shooting four-under as a team, followed by University of Florida’s second-place finish at 24-over and University of Washington’s third-place finish at 26-over, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Although the Waves mark the start of their season finishing 10th out of 12 teams, they look ahead to their next tournament as they travel to the Fighting Illini Invitational Sept. 18-20 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill.
This story was copy edited by Lila Rendel.
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Contact Genevieve Cantu via email: genevieve.cantu@pepperdine.edu