Chattanooga Rolls to Men?s Golf Championship

UTC's Jaeger Cruises to Medalist Honors

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Chattanooga left no doubt on the course Tuesday by shooting the lowest round of the tournament, a seven-under par 281, to win by 19 strokes over defending champion Georgia Southern at the 2012 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship at the Ralston Creek Course on Daniel Island.

The Mocs, which opened the day with a nine-stroke lead over Samford and 11-stroke margin over Georgia Southern, started out hot on the front nine and never looked back. All four of UTC's counters were under par on the day, including a three-under 69 from champion Stephan Jaeger and a two-under par 70 from Steven Fox.

Jaeger's victory was one of historic proportions as his nine-under par total of 207 placed him 11 shots ahead of second place Brannan Hudson ( +2) of Wofford and Chris Robb of Chattanooga. That margin ties for the largest in Southern Conference tournament history with conference legend and former PGA golfer Brad Faxon, who tallied an 11-shot win in 1983 while playing for Furman. Jaeger entered the day with a six-shot lead over the competition and proceeded to shoot the best round of the day and second-best of the tournament, trailing only his own 66 on Sunday.

Chattanooga sophomore Chris Robb and Wofford freshman Brannan Hudson shot up the leaderboard on Tuesday to finish tied for second at two-over par 218. Following in fourth at 219 (+3) was a six-way tie of Elon's Tanner Norton, Furman's Austin Reeves, Georgia Southern's Zach Hartman and Scott Wolfes, Samford's Casey O'Toole and Chattanooga's Steven Fox.

In the team competition, Georgia Southern (880, +16) shot one-over on the day, its best round of the week, to rise one spot and finish second. The Eagles have now placed in the top two for four consecutive years.

College of Charleston (882) was at 18-over par for tournament, which was good enough for third place. The Cougars were followed by Wofford (887), Samford (889), Furman (897) and Appalachian State (897) in the fourth through sixth spots, respectively. Elon (905), Davidson (906), Western Carolina (914) and UNCG (917) completed the field.

Chattanooga's 19-stroke win is the largest by a SoCon team since East Tennessee State won by the same margin at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club in 2001. With the victory, the 34th-ranked Mocs earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA regionals. The NCAA field will be announced via a webcast selection show on www.ncaa.com at 9 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 30.

In voting conducted among the league's head coaches, Jaeger was voted as the SoCon Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, becoming the first golfer to win the award three times since the inception of the award in 1989.

Georgia Southern's Wolfes took home Freshman of the Year honors, becoming the fifth Eagle all-time to earn that award.

Chattanooga head coach Mark Guhne was voted as the league's coach of the year by his peers for the fourth time.

2012 Southern Conference Men's Golf Championship
Ralston Creek Course, Daniel Island
Charleston, S.C.
FINAL ROUND

Top 10 Individuals
1. Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga           66-72-69=207 -9
2t. Brannan Hudson, Wofford                72-76-70=218 +2
2t. Chris Robb, Chattanooga                 76-71-71=218 +2
4t. Austin Reeves, Furman                   72-70-77=219 +3
4t. Tanner Norton, Elon                        72-75-72=219 +3
4t. Zach Hartman, Georgia Southern      73-74-72=219 +3
4t. Scott Wolfes, Georgia Southern       72-77-70=219 +3
4t. Casey O'Toole, Samford                   73-73-73=219 +3
4t. Steven Fox, Chattanooga                 75-74-70=219 +3
10t. Seth Stuart, College of Charleston   74-75-71=220 +4
10t. Richard Fountain, Davidson             73-77-70=220 +4
10t. Liam Johnston, Chattanooga           77-72-71=220 +4
10t. J.T. Poston, Western Carolina         80-70-70=220 +4

Team Standings
1. Chattanooga               294-286-281=861 -3
2. Georgia Southern        290-301-289=880 +16
3. College of Charleston   295-298-289=882 +18
4. Wofford                       291-306-290=887 +23
5. Samford                      293-296-300=889 +25
6t. Appalachian State      300-302-295=897 +33
6t. Furman                      295-301-301=897 +33
8. Elon                           297-309-299=905 +41
9. Davidson                    305-298-303=906 +42
10. Western Carolina      306-308-300=914 +50
11. UNCG                      308-311-298=917 +53

All-Conference Team
Casey Komline, Appalachian State
Richard Fountain, Davidson
John Skeadas, Davidson
Austin Reeves, Furman
Lewis Gruber, Georgia Southern
Scott Wolfes, Georgia Southern
Drew Aimone, Samford
Casey O'Toole, Samford
Steven Fox, Chattanooga
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga

All-Freshman Team
Shane Rogan, College of Charleston
Zach Hartman, Georgia Southern
Scott Wolfes, Georgia Southern
Alex Ehlert, UNCG
JT Poston, Western Carolina

Player of the Year
Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga

Freshman of the Year
Scott Wolfes, Georgia Southern

Coach of the Year
Mark Guhne, Chattanooga