Sept. 27, 2001
Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's golf team will be part of a 12-team field when it hosts the WCU-Laurel Ridge Intercollegiate Oct. 1-2 (Monday-Tuesday) at Waynesville's Laurel Ridge Country Club.
The field features five North Carolina schools, including Gardner-Webb, Lenoir-Rhyne, Catawba, High Point and Belmont-Abbey, as well as Radford, Stetson, The Citadel, Tennessee State, Samford and South Carolina State. The first tee time is set for 7:30 a.m., on Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes of competition each day. Rounds are expected to be completed at approximately 3:00 p.m. (ET).
"I think this is a competitive field and I like the way we have been able to take a good sample of schools from across the Southeast," said WCU head coach Johnny Wike. "The golf course is very challenging and it will be the first men's collegiate tournament held there so I will be interested to see how things turn out."
The tournament will be the first for Western in the 2001-02 campaign. The Catamounts were scheduled to play at Elon's Sea Trail Intercollegiate earlier this month, but cancelled due to the recent national tragedy.
Western will be led by seniors Lee Cline (Hickory, N.C.) and Greg Lewis (Stanley, N.C.). Cline has established himself as one of WCU's all-time leaders, ranking eighth on the career scoring average list and owning the school's second-best three-round score. He additionally is coming off a solid summer, placing second at the 2001 Carolina Amateur. Lewis ranks just ahead of Cline on the school's all-time scoring average list at seventh and posted a top 15 finish at last year's Southern Conference Championship.
"Lee and Greg are playing very well, the way you would expect seniors to play," said Wike. "Clay Kilgore (Nebo, N.C.) has shown marked improvement over last season and could be an impact player as a sophomore. Our team will be rounded out by freshmen Andrew Paduch, who finished second in our team qualifier, and Chase Kress. However, Ryan Meyers and Gorham Bradley, who will play on an individual basis, are pushing hard to break the top five."
Western Carolina will also host The Shoot-Out at Burning Ridge Nov. 10-11 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The event will take place at Burning Ridge Country Club. After Burning Ridge, the golf team will be off until resuming action Mar. 4-5 at the Winthrop Intercollegiate.
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