Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's golf returns to the beautiful Country Club of Sapphire Valley in southern Jackson County the next three days to host the 2021 JT Poston Invitational. A combined 14 teams vie for the championship at the par-71, 7,007-yard course layout.
WCU's home tournament returns to the Country Club of Sapphire Valley (CCSV) after a one-year hiatus as the 2020 event was canceled at the course due to COVID-19 with the Catamounts hosting at the Cateechee Golf Club in Hartwell, Ga., lending the tournament name for a year. This year marks the 15th season overall that WCU and CCSV have combined to host an intercollegiate men's golf tournament.
For just the fifth time in WCU's event-hosting history at the CCSV, the 2021 JT Poston Invitational will play out at a 54-hole format with 36 holes of continuous play with a shotgun start on Monday, Sept. 27 and the third and final round to tee-off on Tuesday, Sept. 28 from tee boxes on both the first and 10th holes. Live scoring of the tournament will be available online through GolfStat.com.
Tournament namesake, Poston, who plans to be at the country club during the day on Sunday for the practice rounds and tournament dinner, won individual medalist honors in WCU's home event in the 2013 event – the first time the then Hummingbird Intercollegiate played out at 54 holes. The Hickory, N.C., native carded a then WCU school-record 54-hole score of 204. Adding top 10 finishes of ninth in 2011 and third, in 2015, Poston's average finish over his four-year career at the tournament was eighth.
"We say it every year, but it still rings true – we are beyond fortunate to be able to call the Country Club of Sapphire Valley a home course and to host a top-notch collegiate tournament at this spectacular venue in front of a great membership and our fan base," said WCU head coach
Tim Eckberg. "It's an incredible golf course, and now tied with a former Catamount great and a rising star on the PGA Tour, I'm extremely proud to have the opportunity to showcase some of the best college golf here once again."
The host Catamounts are joined in the 2021 field are fellow Southern Conference foes Chattanooga, Furman, Mercer, and Wofford. Rounding out the field is Appalachian State, Belmont, Central Arkansas, defending champion Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, Middle Tennessee, Morehead State, South Carolina, and UNC Wilmington. Clemson is sending four individual competitors to complete the 87-golfer field.
Among this year's tournament field are five former team champions, including two-time event winners Western Carolina (2007, 2016) and Wofford (2013, 2015) and two-time defending champion Georgia Southern (2018, 2019). The Eagles set an event-record with a 47-under par 805 the last time collegiate golfers hit the course in Sapphire.
Also in the 2021 field is the 2009 event winner Furman and the 2011 team champion Appalachian State. The defending tournament individual medalist – South Carolina's Ryan Hall – returns to defend his Poston Invitational crown from 2019 after setting an event record with a three-round score of 199 (70-65-64).
Three of the previous tournaments at the CCSV have been decided by a single stroke including the most recent event back in 2019 as Georgia Southern edged hard-charging South Carolina, 805-to-806, to become the first program to go back-to-back at the Poston Invitational or Hummingbird Intercollegiate. Clemson defeated SoCon-foe Furman by a single marker in 2014 with UCF rallying past Vanderbilt in 2008 for a one-stroke victory in the 36-hole format.
WCU's home event has never had an individual repeat winner, though three schools have seen an individual medalist. A tourney-high three Catamounts have stood atop the podium at their home tournament, including Dylan MacQueen (2016), current PGT Tour pro – and tournament's namesake JT Poston (2013), and Andres Cuenca (2007). Both Furman (2009, 2014) and Vanderbilt (2008, 2010) have both had individual winners twice in the event's history.
Playing at a par-71, 7,007-yard layout this year, the beautiful Country Club of Sapphire Valley is a private, member-owned club that features a valley golf course, plush clubhouse, state-of-the-art fitness center, and tennis center. The course meanders through the backdrop of mature hardwood forest and the scenic mountains of the southern Appalachians that provide for breathtaking views and a natural setting. The course, which sits on a level valley floor despite its mountainous surroundings, was initially designed by George Cobb and was updated by Bill Bergin.
Coming off individual medalist honors in his collegiate debut, freshman
Jake Peacock paces the Catamount scoring five into his first appearance in WCU's home tournament. A product of Milton, Ga., Peacock matched a program record-low, 54-hole score of 200 (67-67-66) in guiding WCU to the team championship at the season-opening EKU Intercollegiate. He enters the second tournament of the year ranked second in the Southern Conference in scoring.
Peacock is flanked by classmate
Kyle Kushnir, a Raleigh native who finished fourth in his collegiate debut in the second seed. Kushnir opened his career with a low round of 64, shooting 5-under at the EKU Intercollegiate. Rounding out WCU's scoring five behind the freshman duo are junior
Magnus Pedersen, senior Tumi Kúld, and sophomore
Presten Richardson. Pedersen finished tied for 16th at the most recent JT Poston Invitational back in 2019,
Two Catamount returners and a third freshman will compete for the individual championship unattached. Senior
Louis Theys, who finished 10th at the JT Poston Invitational at Cateechee last spring, is joined by junior
Quinton Metz and Canadian-born true freshman
Kiefer Bulau, who is making his collegiate debut.
Complete results and recaps of both days will be made available after play Monday and Tuesday.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountMGolf).
Gallery: (9-26-2021) JT Poston with WCU Men's Golf at CCSV
