WCU’s Poston leads, Catamounts sixth at Golfweek Program Challenge
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Western Carolina junior J.T. Poston carded a career-low tying round of 6-under-par 66 on Sunday to pace the 60-golfer field at the season-opening Golfweek Program Challenge at the par 72, 6,940-yard True Blue Golf Club. As a team, the Catamounts stand in sixth place with an opening-round score of 290, 10 strokes off the lead but just four outside of the top five.
Coupled with the WCU women’s team score of 293, Western Carolina stands tied for second in the Program Challenge portion of the event with a combined score of 583, knotted with Jacksonville State. James Madison holds a collective five-stroke advantage with scores of 280 and 298 for a 578.
Paired with golfers from Jacksonville State and IUPUI, the Catamount men are scheduled to tee off on the front nine beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, with Poston teeing off last for WCU at 8:06 a.m. Fans can follow with live scoring through GolfStatResults.com.
Opening on the back nine, Poston carded a bogey-free round on Sunday to start the tournament strong for the Purple & Gold. The Hickory, N.C., native birdied the par-4 13th to make the turn at 1-under par. On the front nine, Poston carded birdies on five of the nine holes to shoot 66, holding a one-stroke advantage over a three-way tie for second.
Sophomore Tyler Lail stands tied for 29th after the first round with a 2-over-par 74. Lail birdied three of his first eight holes on the day before a double-bogey on the par-4 18th to make the turn at 1-under. Back-to-back double-bogeys on the third and fourth holes on the front nine moved the Conover, N.C., product to 3-over for the round before he closed with a fourth birdie on the par-4 eighth hole to finish his round at 2-over par.
Senior Greg Bunner and redshirt junior Collin Witiak are tied for 36th after 18 holes with 2-over-par 75s, while junior Matthew Turner rounds out the Catamount side with a 5-over-par 77, tied for 49th overall. Witiak countered four holes of bogey-or-worse with three birdies, while Bunner carded a pair of birdies to stand at even-par through 12 holes before three bogeys over his final six holes. Turner likewise had two birdies on Sunday.
James Madison has three golfers inside the individual top 10 to lead the 12-team field with an opening-round 280. Northern Iowa is four strokes in arrears at 284, followed by a two-way tie for third between Akron and IUPUI a stroke back at 285. Jacksonville State rounds out the top five at 286.
Chattanooga finishes 14th at Carpet Capital Collegiate
ROCKY FACE, Ga. – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team finished the Carpet Capital Collegiate in 14th place with a final-round 297 (+9). It gave UTC a three-day total of 899 with a squad featuring four freshmen and a senior.
Davis Bunn led the Mocs with a 3-round total of 220. He turned in cards of 71, 74 and 75 for his total. Wes Gosselin and Stuart Thomas were next up after Bunn at 227 with identical scores.
Ewan Scott debuted with a 228 total. He was consistent with scores of 77, 75 and 76. Brooks Thomas rounded out the Mocs’ lineup at 234. He rebounded from an opening-round 85 with cards of 75 and 74.
Georgia Tech swept the team and individual wins. The Yellow Jackets shot 14-under par 850 for the win, beating Georgia by six strokes (856). LSU was a distant third with an even-par 864.
Ollie Schniederjans was the wire-to-wire co-winner at -9 (207). North Carolina’s Bailey Patrick battled to the end, tying him on the final two holes. Schniederjans finished double-bogey/bogey after back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16. Patrick played the final four at 1-under for the tie.
UTC returns to the tee Sunday at the Golfweek Conference Challenge. Chattanooga finished as runners-up in 2011 with Stephan Jaeger (2009-12) claiming his second win at Spirit Hollow Golf Clun in Burlington, Iowa.