Cullowhee, N.C. – Eleven combined tournaments, with five in the fall and six in the spring, comprise Western Carolina's 2026-27 men's golf schedule, released today by head coach Tim Eckberg. The Catamounts again host a pair of tournaments, one in each semester, including the JT Poston Invitational in mid-September and The Peoples Championship at Sea Palms in late February in the spring semester.
 
The 2026-27 schedule opens in late August on a "Little Slice of Donald Ross" in Augusta, Ga., before culminating in the Lowcountry of South Carolina with the 2027 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship at the Pawley's Plantation Golf and Country Club in late April.
 
Six of WCU's 11 events will be played evenly between North Carolina and Georgia, with one apiece coming in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Florida, internationally in Mexico, and concluding with the SoCon Championship in South Carolina.
 
"This is, by far, the best schedule we have been able to put together. But success brings on better and better events," said Eckberg. "This program and team are on the rise. It's been an exciting summer watching them, and I'm ready to get them into action in the purple and gold this fall."
 
Western Carolina opens the 2026 fall with its first-ever trip to the Fall Jaguar Invitational, hosted by Augusta University at the Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. For the Catamounts, it's the 11th different season-opening event over the past 20 years and the first time opening in Georgia.
 
The Catamounts return to western North Carolina and the friendly confines of the Waynesville Inn and Golf Club, Sept. 13-15, to host its annual home tournament, the J.T. Poston Invitational. It's the third consecutive season WCU men's golf has partnered with the Tapestry Collection by Hilton property in the "Gateway to the Smokies," at the renovated, redesigned, and reconfigured course. The Catamounts have a pair of top-five finishes in the first two events in their new home, rallying to fourth in 2024 before posting a third-place finish last fall. Tyler Jones delivered Western Carolina its first home-event medalist since 2016, when Dylan MacQueen won the Hummingbird Intercollegiate at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley.
 
Southern Mississippi edged Kennesaw State, which is led by former WCU head coach Bryant Odom, by a stroke to claim the 2025 J.T. Poston Invitational Championship. Another former Catamount skipper, Carter Cheves, led his James Madison squad to fourth in the final standings.
 
"Over the past two seasons, the ownership, staff, and membership have been so welcoming to our program. Again, having the ability to say, 'thank you' to each of them and showcase this amazing property on the national stage is very exciting," said Eckberg on hosting the Poston Invitational at the Waynesville Inn and Club.
 
For the third straight year, WCU and the JT Poston Invitational will support the WIGC Charitable Foundation, an organization designed to support junior golf and grow future leaders in western North Carolina.
 
Eckberg added, "Working closely with the owners, Grey Raines and David Tart, we're using our tournament to support the WIGC Charitable Foundation, one that is very dear to both myself and the tournament's namesake, JT Poston."
 
WCU's three-event September continues with its first-ever trip to the Highlands Invitational, co-hosted by ETSU and Wake Forest at the Chicago Highlands Club in Westchester, Ill., before returning to the Midwest for the Badger Invitational, hosted by the University of Wisconsin at its home University Ridge Golf Course in Madison. The Catamounts make their fourth trip to Madison since 2015, last playing in the tournament in the fall of 2023.
 
The fall semester concludes with a return to the Old North State and Elon's Phoenix Invitational at the Alamance Country Club in Burlington on Oct. 12-13. The Catamounts make their third trip to the tournament over the past four seasons, looking to improve upon an 11th-place showing last year, with a second-place finish in 2023-24.
 
Western Carolina's spring semester opens in the Sunshine State at the Sea Best Invitational, hosted by Jacksonville University at the Atlantic Beach Country Club. It's WCU's first trip to this event. The Catamounts then return to the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula at the Playa Paraiso Golf Club for the Compadres Collegiate, hosted by UT-Rio Grande Valley in Cancun, Mexico. Coming off a fifth-place finish a season ago – and medalist honors by WCU's Jones – the Catamounts make their third-straight appearance in the tournament.
 
February closes with Western Carolina playing host to its second event of the year with the seventh installment of The Peoples Championship at Sea Palms in St. Simon's Island, Ga. It's the fourth year that Peoples Golf has been the presenting sponsor for the tournament in coastal Georgia. Will Peoples, a 2008 Western Carolina graduate with a degree in business management, continues his generous support of Catamount golf. WCU led through two rounds a season ago, finishing as the event runner-up, its best since starting the event post-COVID in 2020.
 
In its final two tune-up events ahead of the conference championship, the Catamounts make a pair of event debuts, scheduled for late-March and mid-April.
 
The squad's lone event in March has WCU travel to the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga., for the Linger Longer Invitational. Though this marks the team's first trip to this tournament, which is celebrating its 20th year, it is hosted at the same club that entertained the SoCon Men's Golf Championship from 2021 through 2025, though will be contested on a different course at the venue. In the penultimate event of the season, WCU travels to the Tar Heel Intercollegiate, April 10-11, hosted by the University of North Carolina at the Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill.
 
In the final week of April, WCU travels to South Carolina's Hammock Coast for the 2027 SoCon Men's Golf Championship, hosted at the Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club in Pawleys Island, S.C., April 26-28. It's the third location for the league's champion-crowning event over the past three seasons, and just the seventh venue for the conference championship over the past 21 seasons. The team champion and the top individual, if not on the winning squad, garner automatic bids to the NCAA postseason.
 
Highlighted by the return of reigning conference men's golfer of the year Tyler Jones, and four seniors, Michael Bevins, Jace Butcher, Andrew Korytoski, and Dalton Payne, the Catamounts have an 11-golfer roster for the 2026-27 season. Second-year strikers Charlie Coe, Hayden Magnussen, and Connor Williams are joined by transfer newcomers Andrew Perry (Guilford College) and Connor Warren (Charlotte), and freshman Brewer Lael (Newton, N.C).
 
Jones and Butcher finished among the conference's leaders in scoring average in 2025-26, leading the league and finishing 10th, respectively, with Korytoski, Bevins, and Payne each finishing among the top 50 individuals. Jones, Butcher, and Korytoski combined for six SoCon Golfer of the Week honors last season, each recording podium finishes with Jones and Butcher both claiming medalist honors.
 
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).
 
Western Carolina Men's Golf – 2026-27 Schedule:
Fall 2026
Aug. 31-Sept. 1 – Fall Jaguar Invitational – Forest Hills GC (Augusta, Ga.)
Sept. 13-15 – JT Poston Invitational – Waynesville Inn and Golf Club (Waynesville, N.C.)
Sept. 21-22 – Highlands Invitational – Chicago Highlands Club (Westchester, Ill.)
Sept. 27-29 – Badger Invitational – University Ridge GC (Madison, Wis.)
Oct. 12-13 – Phoenix Invitational – Alamance CC (Burlington, N.C.)
 
Spring 2027
Feb 2-3 – Sea Best Invitational – Atlantic Beach CC (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Feb. 7-9 – Compadres Collegiate – Playa Paraiso Golf Club (Cancun, Mexico)
Feb. 26-27 – Peoples Golf Championship – Sea Palms Resort (St. Simon's Island, Ga.)
March 19-21 – Linger Longer Invitational – Reynolds Lake Oconee (Greensboro, Ga.)
April 10-11 – Tar Heel Intercollegiate – Finley GC (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
April 26-28 – SoCon Men's Golf Championship – Pawley's Plantation G&CC (Pawley's Island, S.C.)