ARDMORE, Okla. - The Wayland Baptist men's golf team is ranked 13th in the country, but that's only fourth highest in the Sooner Athletic Conference. As such, Wayland coach Tom Harp knows the competition will be fierce when the SAC men's golf championships is played Monday and Tuesday at Dornick Hills Golf and Country Club.

The tournament starts with an 8:30 a.m. tee time Monday. Tuesday will be a modified shotgun start 7:45 a.m.

Oklahoma Christian captured the SAC championship last year in Shawnee, Okla., en route to winning the NAIA championship. Oklahoma Christian ended Oklahoma City University's streak of 12 consecutive conference crowns.

The 10-team field features five teams ranked in the NAIA's Top 25, including No. 1 Oklahoma City and No. 2 Oklahoma Christian. Southern Nazarene is ranked 8th, the Pioneers are 13th and Oklahoma Baptist is 23rd.

John Brown, Lubbock Christian, Mid-America Christian, Northwestern Oklahoma State and Rogers State round out the tournament field.

The conference champion will pick up an automatic spot in the NAIA Championships on May 18-21 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. There will be seven to nine at-large team berths available nationally, and Oklahoma City coach Kyle Blaser expects the SAC to grab a handful of them.

"We have the best conference in America," Blaser said. "I'm hoping we get four teams to the national tournament. Four deserve to go, if not five."

The Pioneers are led by senior Michael Loppnow, a returning NAIA All-American and the 2008 SAC individual medalist. Junior Matthew Webb may be the hottest WBU golfer right now, though. The transfer from Western Texas College has finished among the leaders in the past two tournaments.

Other WBU team members making the trip with Head Coach Tom Harp are sophomores Jonathan Elliott and Bradley Sinnett, and freshmen Jimmy Lu and Yohann Vora.

The Dornick Hills course has recently been site of The Perry Maxwell Intercollegiate hosted by Oklahoma State. The tournament annually featured the best college teams in the nation.

"It's the shortest tough course you'll see," Blaser said. "It's tricky with a lot of undulation on the greens."

Perry Maxwell designed Dornick Hills, which plays as a par-70, 6,543-yard course typically considered among the top five golf courses in Oklahoma. Maxwell laid out 75 courses in Oklahoma including Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., and redesigned Augusta National Golf Club and Pine Valley Golf Club among others. The clubhouse features a view of the Arbuckle Mountains.