Hartwell, Ga. – With a pair of golfers sitting atop the individual leaderboard, Western Carolina has a two-stroke lead over longtime rival Appalachian State after 18 of the scheduled 54 holes at the 2020 J.T. Poston Invitational at the par-71, 6,550-yard Cateechee Golf Club. WCU sophomore Pierre Viallaneix matched his career-low round with a 7-under par opening round of 64 to lead junior teammate Louis Theys and the 38-golfer field by three strokes with two rounds to play.
 
WCU's opening-day team score of 276 on Sunday is the third-best single-round in program history, just one stroke shy of matching the program best set back in 2007 and matched again in 2017. The Catamounts (276) lead Appalachian State (278) entering the second round on Monday. Fellow Southern Conference foes Chattanooga and Mercer are tied for third, seven-strokes off the pace at 1-under 283. Piedmont College (287) and Central Arkansas (288) round out the six-team field.
 
Teeing off in the final pairing of the day, Viallaneix charted three birdies through his first five holes and made the turn for the back nine at 3-under par. The Apopka, Fla., finished strong, scoring a birdie on five of his final six holes to leapfrog his teammate Louis Theys to lead after 18 holes. The first round 64 for Viallaneix represents his fifth career round shot in the 60s while also matching his career-low posted back in the spring at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate.
 
Theys carried the lead into the final two holes on Sunday afternoon, playing bogey-free until a double-bogey on the par-5 17th relegated him to second behind his teammate. A product of Villers-Perwin, Belgium, Theys finished the opening day with six birdies, posting a career-low round of 67 – his best round since his freshman season.
 
Junior Tumi Kúld countered five bogeys with four birdies for a 1-over par, 72, to sit in a tie for 15th overall. It is the second-consecutive seasonal round at 72 for the Akureyri, Iceland native who posted WCU's best final round in the season-opening Scenic City Collegiate. Kúld is followed by sophomore Magnus Pedersen in a tie for 22nd a stroke back at 73, with freshman Presten Richardson (t-29th, 75) and sophomore Quinton Metz (t-35th, 78) rounding out WCU's six golfers in the field.
 
WCU and App State both recorded 27 combined birdies as a team while Chattanooga led the way with 77 combined pars.
 
Second-round action opens with tee times off the front nine at 8:00 am on Monday with teams playing in threesomes within their squad. WCU's six golfers are slated to open on No. 1 beginning at 10:45 am. Live scoring is available online through GolfStat.com.
 
2020 J.T. Poston Invitational – Round 1 Scores:
1 – Western Carolina – 276 (-8)
2 – Appalachian State – 278 (-6)
T3 – Chattanooga – 283 (-1)
T3 – Mercer – 283 (-1)
5 – Piedmont College – 287 (+3)
6 – Central Arkansas – 288 (+4)
 
1 – Western Carolina – 276 (-8)
1 – Pierre Viallaneix – 64 (-7)
2 – Louis Theys – 67 (-4)
T15 – Tumi Kúld – 72 (+1)
T22 – Magnus Pedersen – 73 (+2)
T29 – Presten Richardson – 75 (+4)
T35 – Quinton Metz – 78 (+7)