Catamount Men's Golf Opens Season Monday at Augusta's Jaguar Invitational

Press Release

Augusta, Ga. – Western Carolina men's golf opens the 2026-27 season Monday and Tuesday at the Jaguar Invitational, hosted by Augusta University at Forest Hills Golf Club.

The 54-hole tournament begins on Monday with 36 holes of continuous play following a shotgun start. The event concludes Tuesday with the final 18-hole round on the par-72, 7,086-yard course. Live scoring will be available through the Scoreboard app powered by Clippd and online at CatamountSports.com.

The Catamounts are one of 10 teams competing in the season-opening tournament, joining host Augusta along with Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Belmont, Francis Marion, Georgia State, High Point, Paine College, and West Georgia. Western Carolina is paired with Augusta, Georgia State, and West Georgia for the opening two rounds and will begin play on holes No. 1 through 4.

Ten Catamounts are slated to compete this week, including the five-player scoring lineup and five individuals competing unattached.

Senior Jace Butcher leads Western Carolina into the season opener after earning medalist honors in qualifying. The Kennesaw, Georgia, native ranked second on the team last season with a 72.06 scoring average across 32 rounds.

Sophomore Charlie Coe claimed the second spot in the lineup after appearing in five tournaments as a freshman. He is joined by reigning Southern Conference Men's Golfer of the Year Tyler Jones, who enters his senior season after leading the conference with a 70.40 scoring average in 2025-26. Jones also earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Men's Golf Regional in Winston-Salem to cap his first season in Cullowhee.

Senior Andrew Korytoski occupies the fourth spot in the lineup, while sophomore Connor Williams rounds out the scoring five. Korytoski posted a 73.88 scoring average last season, while Williams competed in eight events as a freshman, including four appearances in the scoring lineup.

A group of five individuals will also represent the Catamounts this week, led by returning seniors Michael Bevins and Dalton Payne. Bevins recorded a 74.56 scoring average over 18 rounds a year ago, while Payne averaged 75.73 across 15 rounds.

Also competing unattached are Guilford College transfer Andrew Perry, who makes his Western Carolina debut, and freshmen Brewer Lael and Connor Warren, who are set to make their collegiate debuts.

The Jaguar Invitational opens a busy fall schedule that features five tournaments through mid-October. Western Carolina returns home Sept. 13-15 to host the J.T. Poston Invitational at Waynesville Inn & Golf Club before traveling to the Chicago Highlands Golf Club for the Highlands Invitational (Sept. 21-22) and to Madison, Wisconsin, for the Badger Invitational (Sept. 27-29).

The Catamounts conclude the fall season Oct. 12-13 at Elon's Phoenix Intercollegiate.