April 8, 2012

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Samford University men's golf team will compete in its fourth tournament of the 2012 spring season this week as the Bulldogs are slated to participate in the 24th annual Coca-Cola Invitational being held Monday and Tuesday at The Country Club of Spartanburg, a par-72, 6,648-yard course.

This week's Coca-Cola Invitational, being hosted by Wofford University, will consist of the following 17 teams: Samford, Appalachian State, Campbell, Charleston Southern, Davidson, East Tennessee State, Elon, Gardner-Webb, High Point, James Madison, Longwood, Presbyterian, Radford, Richmond, Stetson, USC Upstate and Wofford.

East Tennessee State returns as back-to-back champions after taking the top spot in the standings in 2011 with a 289-285-284--858. Charleston Southern's Jacob Pastor claimed the individual title with a 70-69-71--210.

The tournament will begin Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) with a shotgun start with 36 holes, before wrapping up on Tuesday with the final 18 holes.

Samford heads into the 24th annual Coca-Cola Invitational with a full head of steam after earning an eighth-place finish at the talent-laden 2012 Furman Intercollegiate being held at the par-72, 6,994-yard Furman University Golf Club on March 18.

In the three-round Furman Intercollegiate, Samford carded a stellar third-round score of 282 as the Bulldogs turned in the third best mark of the day. The only two teams with better rounds to close out the tournament were No. 14-ranked Clemson (272) and Virginia Tech (281).

Heading into the final day of competition, Samford was tied for 12th place in the highly-competitive, 21-team field consisting of Furman, Charleston Southern, No. 14 Clemson, Coastal Carolina, East Tennessee State, Elon, Francis Marion, Gardner-Webb, No. 21 Georgia, Georgia State, Marshall, Michigan, Presbyterian, No. 43 Purdue, Temple, Troy, Virginia Tech, Western Carolina, Winthrop and Wofford.

The Bulldogs' brilliant third-round performance allowed them to jump from 12th place to eighth place on the final day of competition at the 2012 Furman Intercollegiate. Samford finished second out of five Southern Conference teams in the field and place nine strokes better than No. 43-ranked Purdue.

Samford finished the tournament with three players ranked among the top 30. In a field comprised of 126 competitors, the Bulldogs' Bill Nabors placed 16th in the final individual standings with a three-round total of 2-under-par 214 (71-72-71). Nabors' 2-under-par performance matches his best outing of the 2011-12 campaign.

Junior Drew Aimone paced Samford's rally as he posted the team's best score of the tournament, a 4-under-par 68. The Bulldogs' talented native of Savannah, Ga., used his stellar third-round performance to finish tied for 21st place in the Furman Intercollegiate. Aimone concluded the weekend with a 54-hole mark of even-par 216 (76-72-68).

Samford's Casey O'Toole, just a week after cruising to the championship title of the 2012 Samford Intercollegiate, turned in another solid score as he finished the tournament tied for 29th place and registered a three-round tally of 218 (73-73-72).

Rounding out the Bulldogs' scores at the 2012 Furman Intercollegiate were Zach Hughes (77-75-71=223) and Gabe Hyde (74-76-79=229).

The 2012 Coca-Cola Invitational will resume Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) as the 17-team tournament continues with the final round of competition to be held at the Country Club of Spartanburg in Spartanburg, S.C.