Catamount Men’s Golf Rallies to Ninth at Crusader Collegiate
Freshman Pierre Viallaneix fires 3-under par 69 Tuesday to lead WCU
Chesterton, Ind. – Three Catamounts posted rounds under par on Tuesday as Western Carolina climbed three spots in the final team standings, finishing ninth at the season-opening Crusader Collegiate with a 54-hole score of 898. WCU freshman Pierre Viallaneix carded a career-low round over the final 18 holes with a 3-under par 69, shooting 218 in his collegiate debut.
In addition to Viallaneix shooting 69 on Tuesday, international classmates Magnus Pedersen of Moss Norway and Icelandic sophomore Tumi Kúld fired 1-under par rounds of 71 as a part of WCU’s moving day.
Opening on the par-5 10th, Viallaneix carded four birdies and five pars on the back nine to make the turn for home 4-under for the round. The Apopka, Fla., product moved to 5-under with a birdie on the par-5 first where he stood with seven holes to play. Viallaneix countered three-straight bogies with two additional birdies on the sixth and seventh holes before capping his round with a bogey on No. 9 to shoot 1-over on the front nine and a career-low round of 3-under for the day.
Viallaneix finished the tournament ranked tied for fifth with 13 birdies and was tied for third in both par-3 scoring at 1-under (2.92) and par-5 scoring at 7-under (4.42).
Pedersen, who led WCU with 36 pars over the 54-hole tournament, countered two bogeys with a trio of birdies and 13 pars including seven-straight to close the round for his 1-under round of 71 while Kúld charted six birdies against five bogeys in matching his freshman counterpart as the two finished tied for 51st overall, advancing 14 positions in the final standings.
Redshirt freshman transfer Tyler Bussert came home with a 2-over par round of 74 on Tuesday, finishing second on the Catamount squad in a tie for 45th with a two-day tally of 9-over par 225. Rounding out WCU’s scoring five was freshman Quintin Metz, slipping into a tie for 67th overall at 234.
Playing unattached as an individual, junior Zach Caudill closed his first three rounds of the season with a 6-over par 78 for a 54-hole score of 235, tied for 72nd overall in the standings.
First-round leader Wright State (853) claimed a five-stroke edge over a two-way tie for the runner-up spot between North Dakota State and event host, Valparaiso at 858. Butler finished fourth with a three-round score of 867 with Loyola-Chicago rounding out the top five teams a stroke back at 868.
North Dakota State’s Van Holmgren fired one of two final-round 6-under par rounds of 66, advancing from a third-place tie after 36 holes to claim individual medalist honors by four strokes with a score of 207. Holmgren claimed the top spot over a three-way tie for the runner-up position.
Western Carolina returns to action by hosting the J.T. Poston Invitational, Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at the beautiful Country Club of Sapphire Valley. The practice round is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 29 with the 54-hole event to include 36 continuous holes on Monday, Sept. 30 with the final 18 holes to be played on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
9 – Western Carolina – 307-306-285 = 898 (+34)
T19 – Pierre Viallaneix – 73-76-69 = 218 (+2)
T45 – Tyler Bussert – 77-74-74 = 225 (+9)
T51 – Magnus Pedersen – 79-78-71 = 228 (+12)
T51 – Tumi Kúld – 79-78-71 = 228 (+12)
T67 – Quinton Metz – 78-78-78 = 234 (+18)
T72 – Zach Caudill (ind.) – 81-76-78 = 235 (+19)