Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Four strokes off the lead after 18 holes, Western Carolina redshirt junior Tyler Jones followed his opening-round 2-under par 70 with a 5-under par round of 67 to close to within two strokes after 36 holes at the Wexford Intercollegiate, hosted by Francis Marion at the par-72, 6,884-yard Arnold Palmer Signature Black course at Wexford Golf Club.
 
With Jones stalking the lead and senior Ivan Ninkovic at even-par 144 through 36 holes, the Catamounts finished the opening day in fourth place overall, just two strokes off the podium and three strokes in arrears of the runner-up spot.
 
Action concludes with round three on Tuesday, beginning with an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Paired with golfers from Xavier and Francis Marion, the Catamount scoring five opens play between holes No. 4 and No. 6. Live scoring is available online through the Scoreboard app, powered by Clippd.
 
Jones carded nine birdies against a pair of bogeys in Monday's first two rounds to shoot 7-under par. Opening on the par-4, 359-yard fourth, Jones was 1-under par six holes into his day before back-to-back bogeys relegated him to 1-over par, where he stayed through 11 holes. The Jacksonville, N.C., product then birdied three of his final seven holes to card an opening-round 70.
 
Jones parlayed momentum from the close of his opening round into a blemish-free second, carding 13 pars and five birdies in posting a 5-under par round of 67, for the two-round 137. He's tied for the lead in par-4 scoring at 4-under par (3.80) and is tied for third with nine birdies.
 
Ninkovic fired a first-round 2-under par 70 before a 2-over par 74 to sit even after 36 holes, 13th in the individual standings. The Pula, Croatia, product countered three bogeys with a trio of birdies and one of four eagles shot on Monday in the opening 18 holes, closing the round with seven-straight pars.
 
In the second round, Ninkovic birdied his first hole before a bogey on the par-5 15th moved him back to even-par eight holes into the round. He was poised to carry an even-par score through the second round, but a double-bogey on the par-4, 415-yard fourth left him at 2-over.
 
Junior Andrew Korytoski overcame an early triple-bogey, posting a pair of birdies among his final six holes to shoot 2-over par 74 over the opening 18 holes. He then countered five bogeys with two additional birdies for a second-round 75, finishing Monday in a tie for 32nd at 5-over par, 149.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five are junior Jace Butcher in a tie for 57th at 9-over par 153, while freshman Connor Williams tied for 74th with a two-round 157. Butcher carded a pair of birdies over the opening two rounds, while Williams charted three of his four birdies over the second 18 holes.
 
College of Charleston leads the 18-team field by 13 strokes over second-place, Mercer, 567-to-580, through 36 holes. The Bears have a stroke edge over third-place South Carolina Aiken (581), the 41st-ranked team in the NCAA Division II ranks, with WCU two strokes in arrears in fourth at 583. Xavier rounds out the top five through two rounds at 587, four strokes back of the Catamounts.
 
WCU's Jones trails Miles Eubanks of the College of Charleston by two strokes, 135-to-137, entering Tuesday's final round. Eubanks posted rounds of 66 and 69. USC Aiken's Mitchell McNeill is a stroke back of Jones with a two-round total of 138.
 
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4 – Western Carolina – 293 – 290 = 583 (+7)
2 – Tyler Jones – 70-67 = 137 (-7)
13 – Ivan Ninkovic – 70-74 = 144  (E)
T32 – Andrew Korytoski – 74-75 = 149 (+5)
T57 – Jace Butcher – 79-74 = 153 (+9)
T74 – Connor Williams – 80-77 = 157 (+13)