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2025-26 WCU Men’s Golf Schedule
Cullowhee, N.C. – A combined 10 tournaments, with four in the fall semester and six in the spring, comprise Western Carolina’s 2025-26 men’s golf schedule, which was released today by head coach Tim Eckberg. The Catamounts will again host a pair of tournaments, one in each semester, including the JT Poston Invitational in mid-September and The Peoples Golf Championship at Sea Palms in mid-March in the spring semester.
WCU’s 2025-26 schedule opens in early September with a trip to coastal South Carolina before culminating in the Palmetto State at the Solina Golf Club in West Columbia for the 2026 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship in late April.
Four of WCU’s seasonal events are to be played in South Carolina, with two contested in North Carolina. The Catamounts head South of the Border to open the spring semester in Cancun, Mexico, in February, with additional tournaments in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and out west in Arizona.
Western Carolina’s four-event fall season opens in early September as the Purple & Gold return to the True Blue Golf Course in Pawley’s Island, S.C., marking the second time in the past three seasons WCU has competed in the Golfweek Fall Invitational. Most recently, the Catamounts came home with a third-place showing back in 2023, just five strokes off the pace. Four strikers still on the roster competed in that event in 2023, including senior Ivan Ninkovic – who finished tied for seventh – and juniors Jace Butcher, Andrew Korytoski, and Dalton Payne.
WCU returns to the friendly confines of the Waynesville Inn and Golf Club, Sept. 14-16, to host its annual home tournament, the J.T. Poston Invitational. It is the second consecutive season the Catamounts have partnered with the Tapestry Collection by Hilton property in the “Gateway to the Smokies,” at the renovated, redesigned, and reconfigured course. Last year, the Catamounts nearly out weathered the field, rallying to within a stroke of the podium over a rainy final 18 holes to finish fourth.
Lipscomb led wire-to-wire a season ago, cruising to an eight-stroke victory over former WCU head coach Bryant Odom and his Kennesaw State Owls squad at The Poston.
“Moving our fall home event to our new home, the Waynesville Inn and Golf Club, turned out extremely well last year – and we’re looking for better things this season. 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,” Eckberg said.
For the second-straight season, 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 the tournament’s namesake, JT Poston, and I.”
The Catamounts close their three-event September with a first-ever trip to southwestern Pennsylvania and the Mystic Rock Golf Course for the Nemacolin Invitational. It is the second straight season that the West Virginia Mountaineers have hosted the fall tournament at the course that sits just 34 miles from Morgantown – and roughly 90 minutes south of Pittsburgh.
The fall semester closes back in the Old North State as WCU travels east for Elon’s Phoenix Invitational, hosted at the Alamance Country Club in Burlington. Two seasons ago, the Catamounts carried a lead into the final round of the same event, finishing second to the tournament hosts.
Western Carolina’s spring semester opens on the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula at the Playa Paraiso Golf Club for the Compadres Collegiate, hosted by UT-Rio Grande Valley. The event features three rounds over three days south of the border, Feb. 1-3. WCU then heads back to coastal South Carolina for the Wexford Intercollegiate at the golf club that lends its name to the tournament. The 54-hole event will be spread over Feb. 16-17, hosted by Francis Marion on Hilton Head Island.
The Catamounts host their second event of the season, March 12-14, with The Peoples Golf Championship at Sea Palms in St. Simons Island, Ga. It is the sixth straight year WCU has hosted in coastal Georgia and the third that Peoples Golf has been the presenting sponsor. Will Peoples, a 2008 graduate of WCU with a degree in business management, continues his generous support of Catamount golf.
WCU’s schedule bridges March to April with a trip west to Arizona for Wyoming’s Cowboy Classic, hosted at the AK-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz., March 31 through April 1. Then, in the penultimate event of the season, the Catamounts compete at the Wofford Invitational, hosted by the Terriers at the Country Club of Spartanburg, April 12-14. WCU returns to the tournament after a one-year hiatus, placing seventh back in the spring of 2024.
The 2026 SoCon Men’s Golf Championship makes its debut at the Solina Golf Club in West Columbia, S.C., the site of last year’s SoCon women’s championship. The three-round, 54-hole league-champion crowning event is scheduled for April 27-29. The team champion and the top individual, if not on the winning squad, garner automatic bids to the NCAA postseason.
Western Carolina men’s golf returns seven golfers from a season ago, paced by seniors Ivan Ninkovic, redshirt senior Josh Lendach, and senior Callum Waugh. That trio is flanked by juniors Michael Bevins, Jace Butcher, Andrew Korytoski, and Dalton Payne to round out the returning cast.
Eckberg and WCU added Charlotte transfer, redshirt sophomore Tyler Jones, who spent two years in the Queen City. He also inked three instate freshmen in Charlie Coe (Morrisville, N.C. / Green Hope HS), Hayden Magnussen (Greensboro, N.C. / Wesleyan Christian Academy), and Connor Williams (Clemmons, N.C. / West Forsyth HS) to bolster this season’s roster.
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 – 2025-26 Schedule:
Fall 2025
Sept. 7-9 – Golfweek Fall Invitational – True Blue Golf Course (Pawley’s Island, S.C.)
Sept. 14-16 – JT Poston Invitational – Waynesville Inn and Golf Club (Waynesville, N.C.)
Sept. 29-30 – Nemacolin Invitational – Mystic Rock Golf Course (Farmington, Pa.)
Oct. 13-14 – Phoenix Invitational – Alamance Country Club (Burlington, N.C.)
Spring 2026
Feb. 1-3 – Compadres Collegiate – Playa Paraiso Golf Club (Cancun, Mexico)
Feb. 16-17 – Wexford Intercollegiate – Wexford Golf Club (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)
March 12-14 – Peoples Golf Championship – Sea Palms Resort (St. Simon’s Island, Ga.)
March 31-April 1 – Cowboy Classic – AK-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club (Maricopa, Ariz.)
April 12-14 – Wofford Invitational – Country Club of Spartanburg (Spartanburg, S.C.)
April 27-29 – SoCon Men’s Golf Championship – Solina Golf Club (West Columbia, S.C.)
