Sapphire, N.C. – Western Carolina men's golf sits in sixth place after 36 of the scheduled 54 holes at the 2022 JT Poston Invitational at the par-71, 7,007-yard Country Club of Sapphire Valley. Catamount newcomers
Adam Hooker and
Ryan Thomas lead the squad's scoring five in ties for fifth and ninth, respectively.
The final round is scheduled for Tuesday morning with tee times off the first and 10th tees beginning at 8:30 a.m. Paired with golfers from Chattanooga and Wofford, WCU's golfers hit the course on the front nine beginning at 9 a.m. Live scoring is available online through GolfStat with a link at CatamountSports.com.
Hooker moved up two spots over the second round, following his even-par 71 with a 2-under par round of 69. The Lebanon, Va., native countered a pair of bogeys with two birdies in the first round to shoot even-par. Opening on the par-3 11th in the second round, Hooker birdied his fourth hole of the second round to move to 1-under where he stayed until a bogey on the par-4 fourth. He finished with two birdies among his final six holes to shoot 69.
Thomas was WCU's biggest gainer between the first and second rounds, climbing 11 spots from a tie for 20th with a first-round 1-over par 72 into a tie for ninth at even-par with a 1-under 70. The transfer from Launceston, Tasmania, Australia countered six bogeys and a pair of double-bogeys with a team-best 10 birdies.
Fifth-year senior
Louis Theys and sophomore transfer
Pablo Hernandez sit in a tie for 35th overall with matching scores of 147 including an even-par 71 and a 5-over 76. Rounding out WCU's scoring five is senior
Magnus Pedersen in a tie for 71st at 152 (71-81). Theys carded seven birdies on Monday while Hernandez had three and Pedersen five birdies through the first 36 holes.
Playing unattached as individuals, sophomore
Kiefer Bulau posted rounds of 78 and 73 to sit in a nine-way tie for 62nd that includes transfer teammate
Josh Lendach (76-75), who is making his debut for the Purple & Gold. Senior
Quinton Metz is 93rd overall with a two-round score of 160 (84-76).
Collectively as a team, WCU leads the tournament in par-4 scoring at 4.05 (+5). The Catamounts carded 111 collective pars – the third-most in the field – led by Hooker with 28 and Hernandez with 26 while posting 30 birdies as a team.
Tied for second with WCU after the opening 18 holes, Coastal Carolina climbed to the top of the team leaderboard and carries a five-stroke lead into Tuesday's final round. The Chanticleers, making their first appearance at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley, carded rounds of 284 and 280 to lead second-place UNC Wilmington (569), which moved up two spots in the second 18 holes. First-round leader Elon slid to third with a score of 572 with conference-foes Chattanooga and Wofford tied for fourth at 574, a stroke ahead of the sixth-place Catamounts.
Thanks to this year's tournament-low round of 6-under par 65 carded in the second round, Georgia State's Jordan Jung vaulted 19 spots to sit atop the individual leaderboard with a score of 5-under par 137. Jung's 65 ranks tied for the fifth-best round in event history. He carries a one-stroke leave over a three-way tie for the runner-up spot including Walker Isley from UNCW and Coastal Carolina's Tyler Gray and Seth Taylor.
The 2022 JT Poston Invitational concludes on 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).
6 – Western Carolina – 284 – 291 = 575 (+7)
T5 –
Adam Hooker – 71-69 = 140 (-2)
T9 –
Ryan Thomas – 72-70 = 142 (E)
T35 –
Louis Theys – 71-76 = 147 (+5)
T35 –
Pablo Hernandez – 71-76 = 147 (+50)
T71 –
Magnus Pedersen – 71-81 = 152 (+10)
T62 –
Kiefer Bulau (ind.) – 78-73 = 151 (+9)
T62 –
Josh Lendach (ind.) – 76-75 = 151 (+9)
93 –
Quinton Metz (ind.) – 84-76 = 160 (+18)
Gallery: (9-26-2022) Day 1 at the 2022 JT Poston Invitational
