Playa del Carmen, Mexico – Paced by a career-best runner-up finish by freshman Chase Cline, the Western Carolina men's golf team rallied for a seventh-place finish at the Los Vaqueros Intercollegiate on Tuesday as play concluded at the par-72, 6,683-yard Iberostar Paraiso Golf Club.
 
Cline posted a second-consecutive round of 2-under par 70 over the final 18 holes to advance four spots in the final finishing order, and the Catamounts carded the fourth-lowest team round on Tuesday to advance to another four positions after climbing three spots on Monday. All told, after the opening 18 holes, the Catamounts moved up seven positions over the final 36 holes to collect their third top-10 team finish of the 2024-25 season to open the spring portion of the schedule.
 
Opening the final round with a bogey on the par-4 10th, Cline put together a strong back nine to set the tone for the day, posting back-to-back birdies on holes No. 14 and 15 to eventually make the turn for home at 1-under par. Two additional birdies sandwiched around a bogey on the par-3, 144-yard sixth – one he had birdied in the previous two rounds – left him at 2-under for the day with two holes to play. The Chapin, S.C., product closed with consecutive pars for the second-straight 2-under 70.
 
Cline's three-day total of 212 is the second-best of his rookie season, just two strokes back from the 210 he carded at the JT Poston Invitational. He finished ahead of a pair of SMU golfers who ranked 34th and 48th in the national rankings. Cline posted a team-best 13 birdies – tied for the third-most overall – and was one of just 12 golfers in the field to card an eagle. He also led the 90-golfer tournament field in par-5 scoring (4.42).
 
Sophomore Jace Butcher slipped two spots in Tuesday's final round, coming home in a four-way tie for 37th overall at 228. He had a much quieter final round with two double-bogeys, two bogeys, and his 11th birdie of the event to match his opening-round score of 5-over par 77. Junior Ivan Ninkovic continued his march back up the leaderboard, recovering from an uncharacteristic opening round with consecutive scores of 1-over par  73. He advanced 11 spots on Tuesday to finish 51st overall.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five were sophomores Michael Bevins who slid into a tie for 65th at 238 with a final-round 82, and classmate Andrew Korytoski in a tie for 83rd, up four rungs after saving his best round for last with a 2-over par 74. Korytoski carded five birdies on Tuesday's final 18 holes.
 
Playing as an individual unattached, senior Kiefer Bulau shot his best round of the opener at 77, climbing 10 positions into a tie for 71st overall. He finished the tournament with five total birdies, two coming in Tuesday's final round.
 
No. 16 SMU finished the tournament with a three-day tally of even-par 864 to cruise to a 15-stroke victory over second-place UTEP (879). North Texas finished third with a total of 884, followed by Abilene Christian (886) and UTSA (887), both ahead of the sixth-place Catamounts at 902.
 
Ranked 94th in the country, Louis Anceaux of ULM made his lead stand up after shooting 4-under par 68 on Sunday, followed by consecutive rounds of 1-under par 71 for a total of 210. WCU's Cline finished tied with No. 57 William Sides of SMU as the two shared the runner-up spot with matching scores of 4-under par 212.
 
Western Carolina men's golf return to action at the end of February, traveling to the Big Easy – New Orleans, La. – for the Gulf Coast Collegiate, hosted by the University of New Orleans. The 54-hole tournament will be contested over two days, Feb. 24-25 at the English Turn Golf Club.
 
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). 
 
7th – Western Carolina – 315-293-294 = 902 (+38)
T2 – Chase Cline – 72-70-70 = 212 (-4)
T37 – Jace Butcher – 77-74-77 = 228 (+12)
51 – Ivan Ninkovic – 86-73-73 = 232 (+16)
T65 – Michael Bevins – 80-76-82 = 238 (+22)
T83 – Andrew Korytoski – 89-84-74 = 247 (+31)
T71 – Kiefer Bulau (ind.) – 82-82-77 = 241 (+25)