Madison, Wis. – Senior Tyler Jones fired a second-round 2-under-par 70 on Monday, trimming five strokes from his opening-round score and surging 26 spots up the individual leaderboard, while Andrew Korytoski added a 1-under 71 to climb 21 positions as Western Carolina remained tied for 10th after 36 holes at the 2026 Badger Invitational.
 
Despite slipping from the tournament lead following an opening-round, career-low 66, Jace Butcher remains firmly in contention, entering Tuesday's final round tied for ninth place at 4-under-par 140.
 
Butcher followed Sunday's record-setting round with a 2-over 74 on Monday. The Kennesaw, Ga., native added two birdies to bring his tournament total to nine, continuing to own the lowest individual round recorded in the event this week.
 
Jones made the biggest move of the day for the Catamounts, improving to a tie for 33rd with a two-round score of 1-over-par 145. After offsetting a front-nine bogey with an eagle on the par-5 ninth, the senior caught fire on the back side, carding three birdies over a seven-hole stretch to reach 4-under for the round before a pair of late bogeys settled his score at 70.
 
Korytoski also posted one of the day's stronger rounds, tallying five birdies against four bogeys en route to a 1-under 71. The sophomore is tied for 38th entering the final round at 2-over-par 146 and has totaled seven birdies through 36 holes.
 
Connor Williams and Connor Warren both cut strokes from their opening-round scores on Monday to round out the Catamount scoring five. Williams carded a 2-over 74 and sits tied for 67th at 150, while Warren improved by one shot from Sunday's round with a 77 and is tied for 90th at 155.
 
Southern Miss used a strong second round to move into the team lead at 8-under-par 568, holding a two-stroke advantage over co-second-place Western Kentucky and South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits posted the low round of the tournament through 36 holes with a 9-under-par 279, vaulting five spots up the standings. Northern Illinois (567) and St. Thomas (568) complete the top five.
 
Jake Moffitt paced Southern Miss' climb by taking over the individual lead at 9-under-par 135, carrying a two-shot advantage over Wisconsin's Joseph Gutierrez and South Dakota State's Cole Witherow, who share second at 137. Witherow matched the low round of the day with a 5-under 67 and moved up 12 places in the standings.
 
Play at the par-72, 7,286-yard University Ridge Golf Course concludes Tuesday with a shotgun start scheduled for 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT). Paired with golfers from Omaha, Ohio, and South Dakota, Western Carolina's players will begin the final round on holes No. 8 through 10.
 
Live scoring is available through the Scoreboard app powered by Clippd.
 
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).
 
T10 – Western Carolina – 292 – 289 = 581 (+5)
T9 – Jace Butcher – 66-74 = 140 (-4)
T33 – Tyler Jones – 75-70 = 145 (+1)
T38 – Andrew Korytoski – 75-71 = 146 (+2)
T67 – Connor Williams – 76-74 = 150 (+6)
T90 – Connor Warren – 78-77 = 155 (+11)