Spartanburg, S.C. – Sophomore Jace Butcher jumped one spot in the standings on Monday to move into a tie atop the individual leaderboard after two rounds as Western Carolina men's golf slipped into the runner-up position with 18 holes to play at The Carolina Cup, hosted by USC Upstate at the par-72, 6,929 Carolina Country Club.
 
Butcher followed his opening-round even-par score with a 2-under-par round of 70 on Monday to sit tied for the lead with Drew Bolton of Tennessee Tech who mirrored WCU's second-year striker with a two-round score of 142. Wofford's Ben Jordan is third, a stroke back at 143.
 
Playing close to home in a tournament hosted by its crosstown rival, Wofford posted a second-round score of 4-under par 284 to move past the Catamounts and climb atop the leaderboard through 36 holes with a two-round score of 584. WCU slid to second six strokes in arrears after consecutive rounds of 7-over par 295 for a two-day total of 590. Rounding out the top five are Oakland (593), Winthrop (594), and Tennessee Tech at 608.
 
Opening on the front nine, Butcher carded eight pars and one birdie to make the turn at 1-under par on Monday. A second birdie on the par-5 13th pushed Butcher to 2-under par before a double-bogey on the par-3 15th relegated him back even. The Kennesaw, Ga., product then finished with back-to-back birdies to finish his day and move atop the heap.
 
Freshman Chase Cline advanced one position into a tie for 15th after shooting 3-over  par 75 for a second-consecutive day. Even through nine holes, a triple-bogey and a trio of bogeys pushed Cline to 6-over par with two holes to play. The rookie from Chapin, S.C., finished the day with a second birdie before charting an eagle on the par-5, 515-yard 18th. Junior transfer Callum Waugh cut five strokes off his second round to advance 16 spots, shooting 1-over par 73 for a two-day total of 151. Three-over par through 10 holes, Waugh finished his round with a trio of birdies against a fourth bogey.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five are senior Kiefer Bulau and junior Ivan Ninkovic, tied for 28th in the individual standings. Ninkovic slipped 12 positions with a second-round score of 5-over par 77 while Bulau fell 22 positions after a busy second round, countering seven holes at bogey-or-worse with four birdies – just one shy of his Sunday tally. The Catamount upperclassman duo sit tied with matching scores of 152.
 
Western Carolina's four individuals are scattered through the field with sophomore Dalton Payne advancing into contention for medalist honors on Monday. Payne climbed from a 16th-place tie into a fourth with two others with 18 holes to play, cutting five strokes with a 2-under par 70 in round two. Beginning on the back nine, an eagle on the par-5 13th moved the Estero, Fla., native to 2-under par where he eventually made the turn. Consecutive bogeys on holes No. 1 and No. 2 moved him back even before two consecutive birdies for a two-round tally of 145.
 
Sophomore Andrew Korytoski slid into a tie for 28th with a second-round score of 78 for a total of 152, followed by redshirt junior Josh Lendach (77-79=156) in a tie for 38th. Sophomore Michael Bevins enters Tuesday's final round in a tie for 47th with a total of 159, posting two birdies for a second straight day. Korytoski carded just one birdie on Monday, while Lendach doubled his first-round total with four birdies to give him six at the event.
 
Paired with golfers from first-place Wofford and third-place Oakland, Western Carolina's scoring front nine beginning 9:30 a.m. with tournament play commencing at 9 a.m. Live scoring through Clippd is available through a link online at CatamountSports.com.
 
2 – Western Carolina – 295 – 295 = 590 (+14)
T1 – Jace Butcher – 72-70 = 142 (-2)
T15 – Chase Cline – 75-75 = 150 (+6)
22 – Callum Waugh – 78-73 = 151 (+7)
T28 – Ivan Ninkovic – 75-77 = 152 (+8)
T28 – Kiefer Bulau – 73-79 = 152 (+8)
T4 – Dalton Payne (ind.) – 75-70 = 145 (+1)
T28 – Andrew Korytoski (ind.) – 74-78 = 152 (+8)
T38 – Josh Lendach (ind.) – 77-79 = 156 (+12)
T47 – Michael Bevins (ind.) – 78-81 = 159 (+15)