Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Western Carolina University

Western Carolina
The Official Home of Catamount Athletics

Schedule

2025-26 Catamount Men's Golf Roster

Charlie Bulla, WCU Communications and Marketing
Samuel Wallace - WCU Communications and Marketing

Ivan Ninkovic

  • Position Player
  • Class Senior
  • Hometown Pula, Croatia
  • High School Ekonomska Skola Pula

Biography

2024-25 (Junior): Played in all 10 of the team’s seasonal events as a part of the scoring five … Finished second on the WCU squad in scoring at 73.13 over 30 rounds, ranked 20th overall in the Southern Conference … A combined 28 of his 30 seasonal rounds were carded in the 70s or better, including six shot in the 60s … Closed the season on a hot streak with four of his final six rounds shot in the 60s … Led the Catamount lineup four times on the year, including three-straight to close the year … Had three Top 10 individual finishes on the year … Finished in a seventh-place tie at the JT Poston Invitational with a 1-under score of 209 (70-71-68) with 12 total birdies, earning Southern Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week honors … Finished tied for 11th at the Gulf Coast Collegiate in New Orleans with a score of 217 (73-72-72) … Led WCU at the Hootie Intercollegiate at Bulls Bay with an even-par score of 216 (72-71-73) … Finished tied for fourth to lead WCU at Penn State’s Rutherford Intercollegiate with a 2-under par score of 211 (75-68-68) … Posted his best finish at the SoCon Men’s Golf Championship, making a run at the top of the leaderboard in a third-place tie with an 8-under par 208 (69-70-69).

2023-24 (Sophomore): Competed in all 11 of the team’s events on the season as a part of WCU’s scoring five … Finished third on the squad with a seasonal scoring average of 72.52, ranked 21st in the Southern Conference … A combined 28 of his 29 rounds were shot in the 70s or better including six rounds fired in the 60s … Twice led the Catamount scoring five including a 16th-place finish at the home JT Poston Invitational and again at the General Hackler Championship in the spring semester … Carded his career-best round of 66 in the second round of the season-opening Golfweek Fall Challenge as part of posting his career-low 54-hole score of 205 (72-66-67) … Scored his best finish of the season in the opener, placing in a tie for seventh-place … Also posted Top 20 individual finishes with a 16th-place tie at the JT Poston Invitational and a 12th-place finish at the WCU-hosted, rain-shortened Peoples Golf Championship at Sea Palms Resort ... Named to the 2023-24 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Prior to Western Carolina: Transferred to WCU from Linsey Wilson College during the summer of 2023 … At Lindsey Wilson: Earned 2023 Ping NAIA First Team All-America honors after collecting both 2023 Mid-South Conference Player and Freshman of the Year accolades … Also named Ping Midwest All-Region in 2022-23 … Finished the season ranked 39th in the Golfstat rankings … Won two events – the Player Club Invitational and the Mid-South Spring Tournament – with three runner-up finishes in the 2022-23 season … In 10 regular-season events at Lindsey Wilson, boasted an adjusted scoring average of 71.42 … Shot 21 of his 29 rounds at par or better with 10 carded in the 60’s … Carded the second-most birdies in the NAIA with 109 … Finished fourth at the Croatian International Amateur Championship in June 2023 with a four-round score of 286 (74-72-67-73).

Historical Player Information

  • 2023-24Sophomore

    Player
  • 2024-25Junior

    Player
  • 2025-26Senior

    Player