March 1, 2009

MOBILE, Ala. - The Samford women's golf team will begin play in its second tournament of the 2009 spring season Monday at 8 a.m., as the Bulldogs square off against 15 of the top teams in the Southeast Region at the USA Lady Jaguar Invitational.

The 54-hole, two-day competition is being hosted by the University of South Alabama at the Azalea City Golf Club (par 72, 6,051 yards).

The field of the 2009 USA Lady Jaguar Invitational consists of the following teams: Samford, UAB, Arkansas State, Belmont, Florida International, Jackson State, Jacksonville State, Lamar, Louisiana-Monroe, McNeese State, Middle Tennessee, Nicholls, Sam Houston State, South Alabama, Southern Miss and Troy.

The teams will begin competition at 8 a.m., Monday with a shotgun start. The first two rounds are scheduled to be completed Monday, with the final round taking place Tuesday. The last day of competition will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Samford heads into this week's event with a full head of steam after cruising to an impressive 40-stroke victory at the Birmingham-Southern College Ann Rhoads Invitational held at Timberline Golf Course on Feb. 22-23.

Samford, which earned its second first-place finish of the 2008-09 campaign last week, fired a tournament-best round of 292 on the second day of competition. The Bulldogs concluded the two-day event with a final team tally of 603.

In a total of six tournaments this season, Samford has earned at least a top-five finish in five of the events.

Samford's Heather Arnold won the individual title of the BSC Ann Rhoads Invitational and carded a dominant two-round score of 147. After opening the competition with an eighth-place score of 79 on Feb. 22, she turned in a tournament-best round of 68 in the final round on Feb. 23.

Following Monday's opening two rounds of competition, Samford will conclude play in the two-day, 54-hole USA Lady Jaguar Invitational on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., at the Azalea City Golf Club (par 72, 6,051 yards) in Mobile, Ala.