Maricopa, Ariz. – Riding the momentum of consecutive runner-up team finishes – and with four-straight top five showings – the Western Carolina men's golf team faces one of its toughest challenges of the season this week, teeing off at the Cowboy Classic, hosted by the University of Wyoming at the par-72, 7,330-yard AK-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.
The tournament opens with a shotgun start on Tuesday (March 31) at 7:30 a.m. MST / 10:30 a.m. ET, with 36 holes of continuous play in foursomes. The final round is slated for Wednesday (April 1), again with a 7:30 a.m. MST / 10:30 ET shotgun start.
Live scoring for each round is available
online through the Scoreboard app, powered by Clippd.
In addition to the Catamounts and the host Cowboys, the national field includes 25 teams from 14 different states, with five teams inside the national Top 50 rankings. The ranked entrants include No. 28 Southern California (USC), No. 42 San Diego, No. 45 USF, No. 46 Arkansas State, and No. 49 UNLV. The field also includes individuals inside the national Top 100, and eight combined among the Top 200.
Rounding out the field are golfers from Cal State Fullerton, CSU Northridge, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Iowa State, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, San Francisco, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, St. Mary's (Calif.), UC Irvine, Utah State, Utah Valley, UT Arlington, UTEP, Weber State, and Wichita State.
WCU's scoring five is scheduled to begin with two groups on Hole No. 7 and one on Hole No. 8 on Tuesday, matched with golfers from New Mexico State, St. Mary's, and Fresno State.
Western Carolina's scoring lineup features a trio of golfers who have claimed Southern Conference Men's Golfer of the Week plaudits this season, most recently seeing
Jace Butcher awarded after winning Georgia's Southern Intercollegiate. Seeded second, Butcher flanks three-time weekly award winner, sophomore transfer
Tyler Jones, as the No. 1 seed for the Catamounts. Jones, who has a pair of first-place finishes, and Butcher comprise two of the three conference golfers with medalist honors to date this season.
Senior
Ivan Ninkovic tees off as the third seed, followed by freshman
Connor Williams and WCU's third weekly honoree, junior
Andrew Korytoski, at No. 5.
Jones enters the week leading the SoCon in scoring average at 70.13 through 23 total rounds, while Butcher is 11th overall at 72.22. Ninkovic ranks ninth in the league with a stroke average of 72.09, giving WCU three among the top 11 in the conference.
Following this week's trip out west, the Catamounts have just one remaining event ahead of the 2026 SoCon Men's Golf Championship, April 27-29, at the Solina Golf Course in West Columbia, S.C. WCU closes the regular season at the Wofford Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C., April 12-14, in the penultimate event before the champion-crowning event.
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 X (@catamounts, @CatamountMGolf).
