Cullowhee, N.C. – For a sixth-consecutive season, Western Carolina men's golf heads to the golf haven of St. Simons Island, Ga., this week to play host to The Peoples Championship at Sea Palms Resort, hosted at the par-71, 6,664-yard coastal Georgia venue.
 
Named to honor and thank Peoples Golf for its continued support of the program, this year's highly anticipated tournament features 20 teams from 13 states, with 123 men's golfers vying for the team championship and individual medalist honors.
 
Action begins with a tournament practice round on Wed., March 11, and a tournament welcome banquet. The three-round, 54-hole event will be played over three days, March 12-14, with 18 holes per day. Each round will feature tee times off both the front and back nine, with both a morning and afternoon wave (subject to change based on weather and course conditions) for a true "Tour experience" beginning at 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
 
Live scoring is available online through Leaderboard King (leaderboardking.com).
 
Joining Western Carolina (#135) in this year's 20-team field are golfers from Belmont (#224), Charleston Southern (#222), Davidson (#268), Drexel (#179), Florida A&M (#214), Long Island (#195), Marshall (#249), Mount St. Mary's (#275), Murray State (#213), Providence (#267), Samford (#198), Siena (#233), Tennessee Tech (#185), UT-Martin (#172), Valparaiso (#268), Villanova (#212), Winthrop (#188), Wright State (#205), and Xavier (#98).
 
A combined 23 individuals also comprise the tournament field this year. Two of the four previous team champions – Wright State (2022) and two-time champion Davidson (2023 & 2024) – join this year's field.
 
Marshall and Wright State join WCU in a return to coastal Georgia for a sixth-consecutive season, while Belmont, Siena, and Xavier are all each back for the fifth-consecutive season. Charleston Southern, Florida A&M, and Samford each return for the second year, with three – Providence, Valparaiso, and Villanova – entering the event for the first time in 2026, marking now 46 different schools that have participated, entering the sixth-year of the tournament.
 
Jacksonville State edged Appalachian State to win the inaugural championship in March 2021, with Wright State cruising to an eight-stroke victory over Radford in the second installment of the tournament in March 2022. Davidson won by 13 strokes over the defending champion Wright State in the 2023 event before defending its championship a season ago in the rain-shortened event in the inaugural Peoples Championship at the Sea Palms Resort.
 
Last year, fellow Southern Conference foe UNC Greensboro led all three rounds on the way to claiming a 16-stroke victory over two-time defending champion Davidson, which made a run on the final day to move back into contention and the runner-up position. The Spartans carded the third-best team score in event history on the way to winning
 
Playing at a par-71, 6,664-yard layout, the Sea Palms Resort (www.SeaPalms.com) is located on St. Simons Island, the largest barrier island of the Golden Isles in coastal Georgia. The island is located between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla., just outside the historic city of Brunswick and just north of Jekyll Island.
 
Originally opened in 1967, the golf course was originally designed by George Cobb and renovated in October 2019. The championship course is framed by live oaks and towering pine trees and is surrounded by the lagoons and salt marshes of the Golden Isles. The facility also includes a driving range and 'the Miracle' practice area.
 
The Peoples Golf Championship at Sea Palms Resort is again the second event WCU men's golf has hosted in the 2025-26 season, contesting the JT Poston Invitational for the second year at the renovated Waynesville Inn and Golf Club back in the fall. Since the COVID-19 altered 2020-21 season, WCU and the Sea Palms Resort have partnered for a spring tournament.
 
Owned by Western Carolina alum Will Peoples, Peoples Golf (peoples.golf) furthered its relationship with Catamount men's golf with Eckberg and the program dubbing its spring event The Peoples Championship back in 2024. A year later, Peoples and his business, Peoples Golf, inked a five-year commitment to the WCU men's golf program. Founded in 2008, Peoples Golf, including The Peoples Clubs and Tour Stock Putters, is a full-service online golf store specializing in custom-built tour-issue clubs. Will Peoples was an avid golfer growing up, and turned his passion into a business.
 
"Will Peoples and Peoples Golf have been assisting our Catamount men's golf program over the past four years in any way that they've been able. But with the renewal of his gift to our program, he has taken that relationship to the next level," continued Eckberg. "The naming of our spring tournament in Georgia after Will and his business is another way of thanking him for his continued support and donations to Catamount golf, while also showcasing his company at the event for the players, coaches, and the St. Simons golf community. He and his business are committed to golf at the mid-major level."
 
This year, the tournament also welcomes Matt Schuth, the VP of Player Development at L.A.B. Golf (labgolf.com) to the course. Wednesday's opening festivities include a coach's putting challenge, with the winning coach getting two putters for his team. Additionally, the top three finishing individuals at The Peoples Championship will be awarded LAB Putters.
 
All 10 of Western Carolina's rostered golfers will be in action, with five competing together for the team championship and five competing as WCU's 'B' team, essentially as individuals.
 
The Catamount scoring five is led by Tyler Jones, currently the top golfer in the Southern Conference through 18 combined rounds. The Jacksonville, N.C., product and three-time SoCon Men's Golfer of the Week, ranks as the only golfer in the league with a sub-70 scoring average at 69.78. He enters the week with four podium finishes, including two medalist honors, a third-place finish in the fall semester opener, and, most recently, a runner-up finish at the Wexford Intercollegiate.
 
Jones is flanked by senior Ivan Ninkovic (5th in the SoCon, 71.28) as the second seed, with junior Jace Butcher, who has the 12th-best scoring average (72.83). Rounding out the team are junior Andrew Korytoski (27th, 74.44) and freshman Connor Williams (38th, 76.47).
 
Five Catamounts will compete unattached, including redshirt senior Josh Lendach, juniors Michael Bevins and Dalton Payne, and freshmen Charlie Coe and Hayden Magnussen.
 
WCU's scoring five is paired with golfers from Xavier and Marshall to open Thursday's first round, opening the afternoon wave of start times at 12:45 p.m. on the first tee box. The five Catamount individuals will follow in line beginning at 1:35 p.m. off the front nine.
 
Complete recaps from the The Peoples Golf Championship at Sea Palms Resort will be made available online at CatamountSports.com following each round. Live scoring each day is available through Leaderboard Kings (leaderboardking.com).
 
Following three days in coastal Georgia, the Catamounts are scheduled to remain in The Peach State, venturing to the Piedmont region and Athens, Ga., for the 36-hole Southern Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Georgia at the Athens Country Club. The one-day event is scheduled for Monday, March 16.
 
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).