April 22, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University men's golf team begins competition in the 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship at the Country Club of Paducah in Paducah, Ky. The Bulldog men look for their second conference title in three years.

The Bulldogs won the event in 2005, and look to upset favorites Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky. Austin Peay has five of its golfers entering the Championship ranked in the top 12 in stroke average in the OVC. Samford's Reed Davis joins that group of men at the number 10 spot on that list with a 73.0 stroke average.

Eastern Kentucky claimed the championship in 2006 and Tennessee Tech holds the second most amount of titles in the league with 10 (former member Middle Tennessee leads the way with 12).

The field should be as competitive as it has been in the past. Seven of the last 10 Championships have been decided by four strokes or less in team competition; two have gone to playoffs. In that same time, all but one event has been decided by three strokes of less in the individual competition, including a playoff in 2004.

The three-day event will culminate in the crowning of the 2007 champion and recipient of an automatic berth in to the NCAA Championship on Tuesday afternoon. This year marks the 45th year that the OVC men's golf championship has been in operation. The first event was held in 1962.

Hole-by-hole live results from each day of the championship can be accessed through links at OVCSports.com. A full recap and results will also be available at the conclusion of each day at www.samfordsports.com.