Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Western Carolina men's golf returns to action at the Wexford Intercollegiate, hosted by Francis Marion Monday and Tuesday at the par-72, 6,913-yard Wexford Plantation. The event returns for the first time since 2020 as last year's tournament was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.
In addition to the Catamounts and host Patriots, fellow Southern Conference foes Furman and Mercer will compete. Rounding out the 17-team field are golfers from defending event champion Augusta, Charleston Southern, Cleveland State, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Dayton, Gardner-Webb, Ohio, Presbyterian, Radford, USC-Aiken, Temple, and Winthrop.
Among the field are four previous team champions led by three-time winner USC Aiken (2006, 2009, & 2014), and includes Augusta (2020), Charleston Southern (2019), and Gardner-Webb (2017).
Scheduled for an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start and 36 holes of continuous play on Monday, WCU will be paired with golfers from Ohio and the various individual competitors and open between the 16th and 18th holes. Tuesday's second round will also go off with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m., with teams set by lineup after Monday's first two rounds.
Live scoring for each round through GolfStat is available online.
Coming off his career-best finish with a runner-up showing at the spring-opening Advance Golf Partners Collegiate, reigning SoCon Men's Golfer of the Week
Presten Richardson is slated to lead the Catamount scoring five into Monday's first round. Richardson, a sophomore from Miller, Mo., advanced to 15th in the latest SoCon scoring standings after his 6-under par tournament in Florida.
True freshman
Jake Peacock, who paced the Catamounts in four of the five events in the fall semester, looks to bounce back in the spring's second event as WCU's No. 2. Peacock ranks 10th in the SoCon in seasonal scoring average with a WCU-leading 71.39 stroke average.
Senior Tumi Kúld is the third seed for the Catamounts with junior
Magnus Pedersen and freshman
Kyle Kushnir rounding out the scoring five. A third freshman in
Kiefer Bulau will again play unattached as an individual in vying for medalist honors.
WCU men's golf alum JT Poston claimed medalist honors with a 2-under par tournament score back in 2015. The Catamounts return to the event for the first time since February 2016.
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).
