Pawleys Island, S.C. – Fifth-year senior Magnus Pedersen fired a career-low round of 6-under par 66 on Sunday to lead a pair of Catamounts in the individual Top 10 as Western Carolina sits amidst a two-way tie for fourth place after the opening round of the Golfweek Fall Challenge at the par-72, 6,988-yard True Blue Golf Club. The Catamounts carded a team score of 9-under par 279 just eight strokes off the pace after the first round of competition.
 
Pedersen is in a three-way tie for the runner-up spot after 18 of the scheduled 54 holes, just one stroke off the pace entering Monday's second round. Redshirt senior Pablo Hernandez is two strokes in arrears, matching his WCU career-low round at 4-under par 68 to sit in a six-way tie for sixth place as the duo paced WCU in the first round of the 2023-24 season.
 
Opening on the back nine, Pedersen carded two of his team-best tying seven birdies – which rank him tied for fourth in the tournament field over the opening 18 holes – in the first nine holes to make the turn to the front at 2-under par. The Moss, Norway, product moved to 6-under par just five holes into the front nine with four birdies. His lone blemish was a bogey on the par-4, 382-yard eighth to slip to 5-under par before he capped the round with the seventh birdie and the 6-under par round of 66.
 
Pedersen's previous career-low was a 67 shot in the opening round of the JT Poston Invitational back in his freshman season in 2019.
 
Hernandez countered three bogeys with a team-high tying seven birdies for the 4-under par round of 68 to sit in a six-way tie for sixth place. He posted four birdies against two bogeys among his first three holes to make the turn to the front nine at 2-under par. A third bogey relegated Hernandez to 1-under, but he played the final eight holes at 3-under par with five pars and three birdies for the 68, his third round of 68 since transferring to WCU.
 
Sophomore transfer Ivan Ninkovic shot an opening-round score of even-par 72 to sit mired in an eight-way tie for 47th overall. The Pula, Croatia, product countered four bogeys with four birdies in his first action in the Purple & Gold. Rounding out WCU's scoring five are a pair of freshmen with Jace Butcher shooting 1-over par 73 to sit tied for 55th and Andrew Korytoski in a tie for 68th at 3-over par 75. Butcher carded three birdies while Korytoski recorded a pair in his first collegiate round.
 
Playing unattached as an individual, freshman Dalton Payne shot a 3-over par 75 to sit tied with classmate Korytoski in 68th, carding three birdies in the first round.
 
Paced by individual leader Riley Lewis with a 7-under par 65 on Sunday, Loyola Marymount leads the 14-team field after 18 holes after carding a team score of 271 to hold a one-stroke edge over second-place Washington State at 272. Arkansas State (274) sits in third with WCU and Richmond tied for fourth with matching scores of 279 to round out the top five.
 
Paired with golfers from Coastal Carolina and Richmond, WCU's scoring five opens play Monday at 8:30 a.m., on the front nine. WCU's individual Dalton Payne tees off on the back nine beginning at 7:50 a.m. Live scoring of the tournament is available online through GolfStat.
 
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T4 – Western Carolina – 279 = 279
T2 – Magnus Pedersen (1) – 66 = 66
T6 – Pablo Hernandez (2) – 68 = 68
T47 – Ivan Ninkovic (3) – 72 = 72
T55 – Jace Butcher (5) – 73 = 73
T68 – Andrew Korytoski (4) – 75 = 75
T68 – Dalton Payne (individual) – 75 = 75