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DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. -- The Samford University men's golf team will begin play in the 2013 Southern Conference Championship Sunday at 7 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs look to make waves in the 11-team event being held at the pristine Ralston Creek Golf Course.
 
The 77^th edition of the postseason tournament is being played at Ralston Creek for the second time after moving there in 2012. The 7,446-yard course was designed by Rees Jones and has hosted events such as the 2011 Nationwide Tour Championship.
 
Chattanooga rolled to a 19-stroke win last season, finishing with the only sub-par score at 3-under 861. The title was Chattanooga's first since 2009 but fourth in the last six seasons. The 2011 champion, Georgia Southern, finished second.
 
The defending champion Mocs are the top-ranked SoCon team in this season's Golfstat rankings, checking in at No. 48 nationally. Georgia Southern is No. 53, while Davidson is No. 83 and College of Charleston is No. 91 to give the league four teams in the top 100.
 
Chattanooga's Stephan Jaeger capped his stellar career with the individual title last season at 9-under 207 and was named the league's player of the year for the third straight season. His 11-shot victory matched the tournament record for winning margin.
 
The top returning finishers from the 2012 tournament are Chattanooga's Chris Robb and Wofford's Brennan Hudson, who were runners-up to Jaeger a year ago.
 
Also returning for this season's championship are Chattanooga's Steven Fox, Georgia Southern's Scott Wolfes and Samford's Casey O'Toole, who were among a six-way tie for fourth last year.
 
Wolfes, the 2012 SoCon Freshman of the Year, is the top-rated SoCon player in the Golfstat rankings this year at No. 41 nationally. Fox is the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and competed in the Masters last weekend. O'Toole earned an individual NCAA berth last season.
 
The team winner of the SoCon Championship will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA regional, while the individual medalist will also earn an automatic regional qualification.
 
The SoCon Men's Golf Championship has been played every season since 1933, aside from a four-year hiatus during World War II, and the event boasts past champions such as Arnold Palmer (1948-49) and Brad Faxon (1983).
 
Samford heads into this week's three-day competition with aspirations of topping its fifth-place performance at the SoCon Championship last season.
 
At the highly-competitive 2012 tournament, the Bulldogs finished in fifth place at the three-day, 54-hole event, which was also held at the pristine Ralston Creek Golf Course.
 
The Bulldogs were paced in the 11-team event by O'Toole, who finished the talent-laden competition tied for fourth place in the individual standings. Samford's native of Oneonta, Ala., fired a 1-over-par 73 in all three rounds of the tournament. O'Toole finished with a 3-over-par 219 (73-73-73) and earned All-SoCon accolades for his performance.
 
Drew Aimone also earned All-SoCon honors last season. The Bulldogs' native of Savannah, Ga., finished tied for 19^th place in the tournament and turned in a final score of 223 (72-74-77). Samford's Zach Hughes also finished tied for 19^th place and registered a third-round tally of 75.
 
The Bulldogs' Bill Nabors closed out the 2012 SoCon Championship with a 54-hole score of 227 (72-77-78), while William Catanzaro tallied a three-round total of 236 (80-81-75).
 
The winner of the SoCon Championship will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional while the Individual Medalist will also earn an automatic regional qualification. The tournament tees off at 7 a.m. (CDT) on Sunday.

Live Results
Samford Media Guide
Round One Tee Times