Greensboro, Ga. – Redshirt senior Pablo Hernandez climbed six spots on the individual leaderboard to advance Western Carolina up a position in the team standings after Monday's second round of the 2024 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship on the par-72, 7,174-yard Oconee Course at the Reynolds Lake Oconee. Hernandez posted a team-low round of 1-under-par 71 to move into a tie for 31st with 18 holes to play as the Catamounts took over seventh from Samford with a two-round total of 599.
 
Sophomore Ivan Ninkovic continues to pace the Catamounts in a tie for 22nd after 36 holes, mirroring his opening-round 2-over-par 74 with a second-straight plus-2 for a two-day score of 148. The Croatian-born striker had a much busier card on Monday, charting four birdies against four bogeys and a double-bogey on the par-3 13th to provide his score.
 
Freshman Jace Butcher likewise matched his opening-round score over the second 18 holes, posing a second-consecutive 3-over-par 75 for a two-day total of 150. Opening on the back nine, Butcher countered a pair of bogeys with his first of two birdies to make the turn at 1-over-par. A double-bogey on the par-3 fifth was countered by a birdie on No. 7 to leave the Kennesaw, Ga., product poised to shoot one stroke better than Sunday. However, he was tripped by a double-bogey on the par-4 ninth to hit the clubhouse with consecutive scores of 75.
 
Hernandez mounted quite the rally on Monday to post WCU's first round under par. Not only did he rebound from a first-round 8-over-par 80, but he brushed off a ragged start to his second round with style. Bogeys on four of his first six holes to open Monday left him at 4-over par with a dozen holes to play. However, the Madrid, Spain, product birdied five of his remaining 12 holes to accompany seven pars to erase his choppy start.
 
Hernandez birdied three consecutive holes including the par-5 17th, and par-4 18th, and opened his front nine with a birdie on the par-5 No. 1. Two additional birdies down the stretch left him 3-under-par on the front alone, 1-under-par 71 for the day.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five are fifth-year senior Magnus Pedersen, up three positions into a tie for 36th with a total of 155, and freshman Andrew Korytoski in 38th overall at 156. Pedersen carded three birdies on Monday with Korytoski posting back-to-back birdies on No. 17 and 18 to make the turn to the front at 1-over par before a tough final nine holes.
 
All told Butcher has posted a team-best 23 pars over the tournament's opening 36 holes – one ahead of Ninkovic with 22. Hernandez, Ninkovic, and Korytoski each have six birdies apiece for the Catamount scoring five.
 
First-round leader ETSU holds a four-stroke lead over second-place Chattanooga after two of the scheduled three rounds. The Buccaneers shot a 9-under-par 279 in round two, while the Mocs closed the deficit by shooting the best team score of the day at 14-under-par 274.
 
UNCG advanced one spot into third place at 3-under 573 after a second-round score of 5-under 283 on Monday. Furman is fourth at 1-over 577, followed by Wofford (580) and Mercer (584) in fifth and sixth. Western Carolina is in seventh place at 23-over 599 and Samford rounds out the leaderboard at 26-over 602.
 
ETSU's Mats Ege holds the individual lead at 12-under-par 132. He and Chattanooga's John Houk posted the best individual rounds of the day after both shot 7-under 65. Houk sits in second on the individual leaderboard at 10-under-par 134. Matty Dodd-Berry of ETSU is within three strokes of the lead with a two-round score of 135 (65-70) with 18 holes to play.
 
Once again paired with golfers from Samford, WCU's scoring five hits the course on the back nine off of the No. 10 tee beginning at 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday. Live scoring through Golfstat is available through lines at CatamountSports.com.
 
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).
 
7 – Western Carolina – 305-294 = 599 (+23)
T22 – Ivan Ninkovic – 74-74 = 148 (+4)
T26 – Jace Butcher – 75-75 = 150 (+6)
T31 – Pablo Hernandez – 80-71 = 151 (+7)
T36 – Magnus Pedersen – 81-74 = 155 (+11)
38 – Andrew Korytoski – 76-80 = 156(+12)
 
2024 SoCon Men's Golf Championship
Reynolds Lake Oconee – The Oconee Course
1 – ETSU – 275 – 279 = 554  (-22)
2 – Chattanooga – 284 – 274 = 558 (-18)
3 – UNCG – 290 – 283 = 573 (-3)
4 – Furman – 286 – 291 = 577  (+1)
5 – Wofford – 300 – 280 = 580 (+4)
6 – Mercer – 296 – 288 = 584 (+8)
7 – Western Carolina – 305 – 294 = 599 (+23)
8 – Samford – 302 – 300 = 602 (+26)