Madison, Wis. – Fifth-year senior Magnus Pedersen carded an opening-round 1-under par 71 on Sunday to lead Western Carolina men's golf at the 2023 Badger Invitational, hosted by the University of Wisconsin at the par-72, 7,286-yard University Ridge Golf Course. Pedersen sits in 21st overall, tied with six other golfers after 18 holes to pace WCU's scoring five.
 
Pedersen countered one bogey with a pair of birdies on Sunday for his 1-under par round. Opening on the back nine, the Moss, Norway, product posted both birdies and the one bogey on the back nine to make the turn at 1-under par. He then played the final nine holes at even-par.
 
Redshirt senior Pablo Hernandez sits in a tie for 28th after the first 18 holes with an even-par round of 72. Hernandez overcame three bogeys and one double-bogey with an eagle on the par-5 ninth and a trio of birdies in a busy first round.
 
Sophomore transfer Ivan Ninkovic shot 5-over par 77 to sit in a tie for 69th, with freshmen Andrew Korytoski (79) and Dalton Payne (81) rounding out the scoring five in a tie for 77th and 87th, respectively. Ninkovic was 2-under par on the front nine but 7-over on the back in his first round, while Korytoski had a pair of birdies on Sunday.
 
Florida Gulf Coast leads the 18-team field by seven strokes after the openin g round, carding a first-round score of 274 to sit ahead of second-place Middle Tennessee State at 281. Long Beach State and Nebraska are tied for third a stroke back at 282, with a two-way tie between Illinois State and Central Arkansas at 283 rounding out the top 10.
 
FGCU's Austin Cherichella leads the 90-golfer field after posting a first-round, 7-under par 65 on Sunday.
 
In the Badger Individual tournament at the par-71 TPC Wisconsin, WCU freshman Jace Butcher – playing unattached – carded an opening-round 7-over par 78 followed by a second-round 4-over 75 for a 36-hole score of 11-over par 153. He sits just five strokes outside the individual top 10 entering Monday's final round where he will tee-off on the front nine beginning at 8:20 a.m. CT / 9:20 a.m. ET.
 
Action resumes on Monday with the second round of the Badger Invitational team tournament, with the final round of the Badger Individual at TPC Wisconsin also held on Monday. Live scoring through Leaderboard King is available online.
 
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2023 Badger Invitational
15 – Western Carolina – 299 (+15)
T21 – Magnus Pedersen – 71 (-1)
T28 – Pablo Hernandez – 72 (E)
T69 – Ivan Ninkovic – 77 (+5)
T77 – Andrew Korytoski – 79 (+7)
T87 – Dalton Payne – 81 (+9)
 
2023 Badger Individual
T15 – Jace Butcher – 78 – 75 = 153 (+11)