Burlington, N.C. – Western Carolina senior Ivan Ninkovic saved his best for last on Tuesday, knocking four strokes off his scores from the opening two rounds at the Phoenix Invitational to climb 11 positions and lead the Catamounts to an 11th-place tie as competition closed at the par-71, 6,871-yard Alamance Country Club.
 
Ninkovic turned in his third-straight Top 10 finish of the fall, coming home in a three-way tie for seventh-place to pace the WCU side.
 
Opening on the back nine, the Pula, Croatia, native carded four birdies over his first nine holes to make the turn for home at 4-under par. After consecutive bogeys on holes No. 1 and No. 2 relegated him to 2-under for the day, Ninkovic closed his round with a trio of birdies over his last seven holes for the 5-under par round of 66, and a three-round tally of 206.
 
Tuesday's round of 66 was the fifth of the fall season for Ninkovic, who finished the event with 11 birdies and an eagle over the final event of the semester.
 
Sophomore transfer Tyler Jones climbed 25 spots on Tuesday into a tie for 39th on the strength of a final round score of 68 to give him a 3-over par 216 for the tournament. Jones carded seven birdies against four bogeys, closing the event with a combined 12 birdies.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five were juniors Jace Butcher (224) in a tie for 69th and Andrew Korytoski (230) in 86th overall. Freshman Charlie Coe carded his best round of the event with a third-round 76 for a three-round score of 239, finishing 92nd overall.
 
Butcher finished the tournament with nine birdies, while Korytoski and Coe both had seven birdies apiece. Coe carded four of his seven birdies over the final 18 holes.
 
Two of Western Carolina's individuals matched Jones in a tie for 39th overall with scores of 3-over par 216. Michael Bevins slipped into the 39th-place tie with a final round 75, while freshman Connor Williams advanced one spot with a 1-over par 72 on Tuesday. Redshirt senior Josh Lendach closed the tournament with his best round, rallying 16 spots into a tie for 61st with a three-round score of 221.
 
Bevins carded 13 birdies to lead WCU's individuals, including five apiece in the first two rounds and three over the final 18 holes. Lendach and Williams both had nine birdies apiece.
 
Elon's Landon Durham cruised to a six-stroke victory over Owen Newberry of Charleston Southern, 196-to-202, to claim the individual medalist honors. Cullen Campbell from Old Dominion and Elon's Jack Wieler tied for third to round out the podium, finishing with matching scores of 9-under par 204.
 
Western Carolina men's golf returns to action in February, traveling to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, opening its seven-tournament spring semester at the Compadres Collegiate, hosted by Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). The 54-hole event is scheduled for February 1-3, 2026.
 
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).
 
T11 – Western Carolina – 298 – 289 – 282 = 869 (+17)
T7 – Ivan Ninkovic – 70-70-66 = 206 (-7)
T39 – Tyler Jones – 76-72-68 = 216 (+3)
T69 – Jace Butcher -77-75-72 = 224 (+11)
86 – Andrew Korytoski – 75-72-83 = 230 (+17)
92 – Charlie Coe – 79-84-76 = 239 (+26)
T39 – Connor Williams (ind.) – 73-71-72 = 216 (+3)
T39 – Michael Bevins (ind.) – 73-68-75 = 216 (+3)
T61 – Josh Lendach (ind.) – 76-74-71 = 221 (+8)