Greensboro, Ga. – Western Carolina men's golf successfully fended off hard-charging No. 49 UNCG and Mercer over Tuesday's final 18 holes to come home fourth at the 2023 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship concluded at the par-72, 7,174-yard Oconee Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee.
 
Paced by graduate transfer Adam Hooker in a three-way tie for seventh place, the Catamounts closed the 54-hole event with their tournament-best round of 2-under par 286 with the two strokes propelling WCU to the fourth place showing with a three-day total of 2-under par 862.
 
Opening on the front nine, Hooker saved his best for last in carding a 3-under par round of 69 over the final 18 holes, countering two bogeys with five birdies to climb one position in the standings. The Lebanon, Va., native charted six pars and a trio of birdies on the front nine Tuesday to make the turn for home at 3-under par. He countered a bogey on the par-4 12th with two additional birdies on holes No. 14 and 17 to move to 4-under before carding a bogey on his final hole of the tournament.
 
Hooker led the field in par-3 scoring over the 54 holes of competition, shooting 3-under (2.75) on the shortest layouts. He finished the event at 5-under par 211.
 
Fifth-year senior Louis Theys slid two spots into a tie for 13th, closing the tournament with an even-par round of 72 for a three-day total of 1-under par 215. The Belgian-born Theys countered three bogeys with a trio of birdies over the final 18 holes. He made the turn to the back nine at 1-over par with a birdie on the par-4 third before a pair of bogeys on No. 5 and No. 8. He moved back to even with his second birdie on the par-4 11th, closing with a bogey, birdie, and five pars.
 
Redshirt freshman Josh Lendach posted both his best 54-hole score and career finish as a Catamount to come home tie for 14th with an even-par 216. A product of Raleigh, N.C., Lendach posted his third-consecutive even-par round on Tuesday, charting WCU's lone eagle with four birdies during his up-and-down final day. Using an eagle and three birdies against a bogey, he started the day at 4-under par seven holes into the round, making the turn to the back at 3-under par. Lendach overcame a double-bogey and a pair of bogeys with his fourth birdie of the round to finish even.
 
Lendach was one of just 11 golfers to card an eagle at the conference championship with UTC's Paul Conroy posting two over his 54 holes.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five was redshirt junior Pablo Hernandez in a tie for 29th at 5-over par 221 and senior Magnus Pedersen in 38th at 234. Hernandez countered four bogeys with three birdies for a 1-over par 73 final round, finishing the event tied with teammates Hooker and Theys with a team-best 11 birdies. Pedersen was 3-over par at the final turn and carded his fourth birdie of the three days to shoot 78 on Tuesday.
 
With the individual medalist and runner-up among its scoring five, No. 34 ETSU pulled away down the stretch to claim a five-stroke conference championship over Volunteer State rival No. 47 Chattanooga, 834-to-839. The Buccaneers claimed their third-straight SoCon championship – and 23rd title all-time – to garner the league's automatic bid to the NCAA men's golf regional play.
 
Furman was nine strokes off the pace in third at 843, followed by WCU (862) and No. 49 UNCG (864) rounding out the top five. Mercer slipped two spots to finish sixth, two strokes in arrears of fifth at 866 with Wofford (875) and Samford (884) closing out the eight-team field.
 
Mats Ege of ETSU claimed a four-stroke victory over his Buccaneer teammate Matty Dodd-Berry, 202-to-206, to win medalist honors.
 
Tuesday's fourth-place finish represented the seventh Top 10 showing for the Catamount men's golf team this season – and the squad's fourth top-five finish. WCU posted its second-consecutive fourth-place finish at the conference champion crowning event, also finishing fourth in 2022 with a three-day tally of 861. The Catamounts were second on the same course in the 2021 season.
 
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).
 
2023 SoCon Men's Golf Championship
Reynolds Lake Oconee | Final
1 – No. 34 ETSU – 274 – 281 – 279 = 834 (-30)
2 – No. 47 Chattanooga – 277 – 279 – 283 = 839 (-25)
3 – Furman – 277 – 291 – 275 = 843 (-21)
4 – Western Carolina – 288 – 288 – 286 = 862 (-2)
5 – No. 49 UNCG – 292 – 291 – 281 = 864 (E)
6 – Mercer – 285 – 291 – 290 = 866 (+2)
7 – Wofford – 290 – 296 – 289 = 875 (+11)
8 – Samford – 294 – 295 – 295 = 884 (+20)
 
4 – Western Carolina – 288 – 288 – 286 = 862 (-2)
T7 – Adam Hooker – 70 – 72 – 69 = 211 (-5)
13 – Louis Theys – 75 – 68 – 72 = 215 (-1)
T14 – Josh Lendach – 72 – 72 – 72 = 216 (E)
T29 – Pablo Hernandez – 71 – 77 – 73 = 221 (+5)
38 – Magnus Pedersen – 80 – 76 – 78 = 234 (+18)