CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Coastal Carolina University has secured the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big South Men’s Golf Championship, which will be hosted by the Chanticleers at The Patriot Golf Club at Grand Harbor in Ninety-Six, S.C.  Coastal Carolina, last year’s champion, receives the No. 1 seed based on its current Golfweek national ranking of 44, the highest among the seven Big South men’s golf programs. 

Liberty, which finished fifth in last year’s championship, is ranked 116th in the nation by Golfweek and receives the No. 2 seed.  Radford is the No. 3 seed with its ranking of 167, while Winthrop receives the No. 4 seed with its ranking of 172.  New member Gardner-Webb will compete in its first Big South Men’s Golf Championship as the No. 5 seed, as the Bulldogs are ranked No. 186.  Charleston Southern, last year’s runner-up finisher, is ranked No. 202 and will be the No. 6 seed in the championship.  High Point rounds out the seedings at No. 7 with its national ranking of 249.  In addition, new Big South member Presbyterian College – which is ranked No. 174 in the country, will participate in the event but will not count in the overall team and individual standings due to its transition to Division I, and does not receive an official seed.

The Patriot Club is hosting the Big South Men’s Golf Championship for the fourth time in five years, as the course hosted the event in 2005, 2006 and 2008.  The 2009 Big South Men’s Golf Championship begins this weekend with a practice round on Sunday, April 19.  The three-day, 54-hole event will be played April 20-22 and is free and open to the public.  The 2009 champion will receive the Big South’s automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.  The Conference Championship schedule is as follows:

Sunday, April 19 
11:00am - Practice Round

Monday, April 20 
8:00am - First round
8:00-8:36am -- #7 High Point, Presbyterian
8:45-9:21am -- #4 Winthrop, #5 Gardner-Webb, #6 Charleston Southern
9:30-10:06am -- #1 Coastal Carolina, #2 Liberty, #3 Radford

Tuesday, April 21 
8:00am - Second Round

Wednesday, April 22 
8:00am - Final Round

Meanwhile, the annual Big South Men’s Golf Awards Banquet will be held Sunday evening, April 19 following the practice round at The Patriot Golf Club.  The 2009 annual award winners and half of the All-Conference team will be announced at that time, while the remaining All-Conference performers will be determined by their finish in the Conference Championship.