Charlotte, N.C. - Gardner-Webb, last year's runner up, has secured the No. 5 seed in next week's Big South Men's Golf Championship, which will be hosted by Winthrop University at The Patriot Golf Club at Grand Harbor in Ninety Six, S.C.

The Liberty Flames, last year's team champion, will defend its title as the No. 1 seed based on its current Golfweek national ranking of 33, the highest among the nine Big South men's golf programs.

Campbell is ranked No. 76 in the nation by Golfweek and receives the No. 2 seed, just ahead of No. 3 seed Coastal Carolina, which is ranked No. 77 in the country. Charleston Southern is the No. 4 seed with its ranking of 105, while Gardner-Webb earns the No. 5 seed with its national ranking of No. 127. Host Winthrop is No. 140 nationally and will be the No. 6 seed in the championship, with Radford (144) receiving the No. 7 seed. High Point rounds out the official championship field at No. 8 with its ranking of 169. Presbyterian College, which is ranked No. 155 in the nation, will again participate in the event on an invitation-only basis, as the team is not eligible for the Conference Championship until 2013 due to its transition process to Division I. PC's team and individual scores will not count in the official standings.

The Patriot Club is hosting the Big South Men's Golf Championship for the seventh time in eight years, as the course hosted the event in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The 2012 Big South Men's Golf Championship begins this weekend with a practice round on Sunday, April 15. The three-day, 54-hole event will be played April 16-18 and is free and open to the public. In addition, fans can follow the action online via GolfStat's "Live Scoring" feature. The 2012 champion will receive the Big South's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals. The Conference Championship schedule is as follows:

Date Time (ET) Event

Sunday, April 15 11:00am Practice Round

Monday, April 16 8:00am First round

8:00-8:40am #7 Radford, #8 High Point, Presbyterian College

8:50-9:30am #4 Charleston Southern, #5 Gardner-Webb, #6 Winthrop

9:40-10:20am #1 Liberty, #2 Campbell, #3 Coastal Carolina

Tuesday, April 17 8:00am Second Round

Wednesday, April 18 8:00am Final Round

Meanwhile, the Big South Conference will announce half of its 2012 All-Conference team, which is based on regular-season performance, and the All-Academic Team on Sunday evening following the practice round. The 2012 annual award winners, as well as the remaining All-Conference performers based on Conference Championship finish, will be announced on Wednesday, April 18 during the post-Championship awards ceremony.

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