Palm City, Fla. – Sophomore Presten Richardson matched his career-low round of 5-under par 67 on Monday, surging to the top of the individual leaderboard at the spring-opening Advance Golf Partners Collegiate being contested at the par-72, 7,169-yard Hammock Creek Golf Club. With consecutive rounds in the 60s, Richardson has a two-round score of 135 and carries a four-stroke advantage into Tuesday's final round.
 
Behind Richardson, WCU sits amidst a three-way tie for third place in the team standings entering Tuesday's final round, seven strokes off the pace. The Catamounts are tied with fellow SoCon-foes Mercer and Wofford with matching scores of 587. Tournament host UNCG climbed five spots on Monday to match first-round leader Creighton with scores of 580.
 
For a second consecutive day, Richardson posted a bogey-free round, charting 13 pars and five birdies to give him a combined nine over the opening 36 holes, tied for the second-most in the field. The Miller, Mo., native matched his career-low round first posted at the Wofford Invitational in mid-April 2021.
 
Richardson holds a four-stroke edge over the second-place tie between No. 29 Tobias Jonsson of Mercer and George Mason's JP Miller at 5-under par 139.
 
Senior Tumi Kúld carded a 4-over par round of 76 on Monday, slipping nine spots into a six-way tie for 20th at 2-over par, 146. The Akureyri, Iceland, product carded his sixth birdie of the tournament on the par-5 second, but two double-bogeys and one bogey left him four over for the day. Junior Magnus Pedersen (74-79) and freshman Kyle Kushnir (72-81) are tied for 60th with matching scores of 153, with freshman Jake Peacock rounding out WCU's scoring five in 109th (161).
 
Playing unattached as an individual, freshman Kiefer Bulau climbed four spots on Monday into a tie for 79th overall at 155, while junior Quinton Metz is tied for 115th overall at 162.
 
Paired with golfers from Wofford, George Mason, and Old Dominion, the Catamount scoring five hits the course between the fourth and sixth holes on Tuesday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Live scoring through GolfStat is available online with a link through CatamountSports.com.
 
 
T3 – Western Carolina – 284 – 303 = 587 (+11)
1 – Presten Richardson – 68 – 67 = 135 (-9)
T20 – Tumi Kúld – 70 – 76 = 146 (+2)
T60 – Kyle Kushnir – 72 – 81 = 153 (+9)
T60 – Magnus Pedersen – 74 – 79 = 153 (+9)
T109 – Jake Peacock – 76 – 85 = 161 (+17)
T79 – Kiefer Bulau (ind.) – 77 – 78 = 155 (+11)
T115 – Quinton Metz (ind.) – 76 – 86 = 162 (+18)