Playa del Carmen, Mexico – Western Carolina redshirt sophomore men's golfer, Tyler Jones, has a flair for the dramatic and an uncanny appreciation of symmetry.
 
The Charlotte transfer from Jacksonville, N.C., claimed his second individual medalist honors of the 2025-26 season on Tuesday at the spring-opening Compadres Collegiate at the par-72, 6,701-yard Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club. And for the second time this season, he did so in dramatic fashion, cashing in on an eagle on his 54th hole of regulation to take the two-stroke victory.
 
Jones fired a tournament-low final-round score of 66 to rally past Sam Johnson of Drake to earn individual medalist honors and pull the Catamounts home in fifth place, the squad's fourth top-five finish of the season. Jones finished with a three-day total of 212.
 
Flashback to mid-September at the beautiful Waynesville Inn & Golf Club. Jones, in just his second event for the Purple & Gold, holed an eagle putt on No. 18 on the way to a three-stroke victory after entering the final hole tied at the JT Poston Invitational.
 
Back in the present, Jones opened Tuesday's final round on the par-3, 144-yard sixth. He quickly moved to 3-under par for the day with a trio of birdies among his first eight holes before the first blemish – a bogey on the par-5, 485-yard 14th. Jones got the stroke back on the subsequent hole and then some, however, posting two more birdies before making the turn to the front nine with five holes to play at 4-under par.
 
Four straight pars left him knotted atop the individual leaderboard with one hole to play, the par-5, 489-yard fifth. Jones then delivered his dramatic eagle, holing out in three strokes to break the tie and add tournament hardware to his luggage to clear customs on the way back to Cullowhee.
 
Jones carded 15 total birdies – five per round – with the Eagle capping his comeback that saw him rally from a second-round score of 3-over par, 75, and fifth-place to start the day.
 
Jones is the first Catamount men's golfer to finish atop the individual leaderboard twice in the same season since Dylan MacQueen did so back in 2017-18, winning the Phoenix Intercollegiate outright in the Fall 2017 and finishing regulation in a three-way tie for first at The Manor Intercollegiate in the Spring 2018. However, Jones is the first Catamount to claim sole medalist honors since JT Poston did so back in 2014-15, leaving the current WCU redshirt sophomore in rarified air.
 
Junior Jace Butcher posted his best finish of the season, matching his second-round 1-over par 73 on Tuesday to finish sixth. Butcher battled through an up-and-down final round, countering six bogeys with three birdies, and like Jones, eagled the par-5 fifth – a hole he double-bogeyed on Monday. The Kennesaw, Ga., product carded 10 birdies in Mexico.
 
Behind WCU's duo inside the individual Top 10, senior Ivan Ninkovic had his best round of the tournament, rallying seven spots into a tie for 19th with an even-par 72 on Tuesday and a three-round total of 227. The Croatian-born striker overcame a double-bogey on his first hole of the final round with four birdies, giving him 13 for the event.
 
Rounding out the Catamount scoring five were redshirt senior Josh Lendach in a tie for 41st at 236, and junior Andrew Korytoski in a tie for 47th overall at 240. Lendach averaged three birdies per round, while Korytoski had two of his five birdies on Tuesday.
 
Playing unattached as individuals, WCU junior Dalton Payne finished 35th overall with a three-round score of 234. Freshman Connor Williams matched Ninkovic with his best round of the event, shooting even par to rally eight positions into 45th with a score of 238, while junior Michael Bevins (241) finished 49th. Williams had five of his nine birdies in the final round, while Payne had eight total birdies and Bevins had five.
 
Tournament host Texas-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) held off Lone Star State rival, North Texas, to claim the team championship by five strokes, 880-to-885. Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) was third at 890, two strokes ahead of fourth-place Drake (892) and four clear of the Catamounts in fifth at 894.
 
WCU overtook Louisiana-Monroe (ULM), which faded to sixth at 905, followed by Northern Colorado (921), Morehead State (925), and Bellarmine (935) to round out the field.
 
Western Carolina returns stateside for its next event, traveling to Hilton Head Island, S.C., for the Wexford Intercollegiate, hosted by Francis Marion Feb. 16-17.
 
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).
 
5 – Western Carolina – 304 – 300 – 290 = 894 (+30)
1 – Tyler Jones – 71-75-66 = 212 (-4)
6 – Jace Butcher – 74-73-73 = 220 (+4)
T19 – Ivan Ninkovic – 79-76-72 = 227 (+11)
T41 – Josh Lendach – 80-77-79 = 236 (+20)
T47 – Andrew Korytoski – 84-76-80 = 240 (+24)
35 – Dalton Payne (ind.) – 82-74-78 = 234 (+18)
45 – Connor Williams (ind.) – 81-85-72 = 238 (+22)
49 – Michael Bevins (ind.) – 81-76-84 = 241 (+25)