
Pirates Set to Defend BIG EAST Title This Weekend - Seton Hall University Athletics
The Seton Hall men's golf team will look to defend its title at the 2023 BIG EAST Championship this weekend at Riverton Pointe Country Club in Hardeeville, S.C.


HARDEEVILLE, S.C. – The Seton Hall men's golf team will look to defend its title at the 2023 BIG EAST Championship this weekend at Riverton Pointe Country Club in Hardeeville, S.C.
After seemingly finding a permanent home for the Championship event at Callawassie Resort, the tournament will be played at a different course for the fourth consecutive spring. This time, the field isn't far down the road from Callawassie at beautiful Riverton Pointe Country Club. The women's championship was held at the same location last week.
The Pirates are coming off a strong showing during the 2022-23 year and possess the third-best Golfstat Ranking in the 10-team BIG EAST entering the marquee event. The Hall averaged 293.64 strokes per round, which was the fifth-best in program history and the fourth-lowest in the BIG EAST this year. The Hall opened the year with a 12-stroke victory at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial and proceeded to collect three additional Top-5 finishes.
Seton Hall has won the team BIG EAST title three times, including last year. Four individuals have claimed the conference championship as well, including 2022 graduate Gregor Tait, who was a remarkable 11-under-par.
Tournament Details:
2023 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Host: BIG EAST Conference
Location: Hardeeville, S.C.
Resort: Riverton Pointe Country Club
Course Vitals: Par-72, 7,006 yards
Dates: April 28-30, 2023
THE COURSE
Riverton Pointe is without question the ultimate expression of the Nicklaus Design guarantee of uncompromising standards in superior golf course design. With large, subtle greens and fairways lined with tall sea pines and splashes of colorful wildflowers, the course is designed to harmonize perfectly with the lush Low Country landscape. The unique aesthetics of the course create a distinct visual experience that simply can't be replicated, and are destined to leave a lasting impression on those fortunate enough to enjoy Riverton Pointe.
From a playability standpoint, the golf course is designed to appeal to a broad range of players. The course offers five sets of tees – stretching all the way out to over 7300 yards for low-handicappers – while also placing an emphasis on forgiveness and overall playability for high-handicappers and beginners.
THE FIELD
The field will be limited to only the 10 member schools of the BIG EAST Conference. Below are the teams in order of their Golfstat ranking.
- Marquette – 56
- Butler – 166
- SETON HALL – 169
- Connecticut - 173
- St. John's – 181
- DePaul – 203
- Xavier – 204
- Creighton – 207
- Georgetown – 219
- Villanova – 230
Teams will play five golfers and count the four lowest scores per round.
THE LINEUP
Seton Hall will be bringing the following lineup to South Carolina:
- Wenliang Xie, Senior
- George Fricker, Sophomore
- Wanxi Sun, Junior
- David Lally, Freshman
- Angus O'Brien, Sophomore
LAST TIME OUT
Senior Wenliang Xie (Zhaoqing, China) fired a 4-under-par, 67, in the final round to lift the Seton Hall men's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Princeton Invitational on April 9.
Xie's round was one of the best all season for any Pirate as he was flawless for 18 holes. He had four birdies and 14 pars in route to his best round of the year. For the tournament, Xie shot 28 spots up the leader board on the final day to tie for 18th place with an even-par, 78-68-67-213.
As a team, The Hall rounded out the Princeton Invitational with a 4-over-par, 288, in round three. The Pirates placed fifth with an even-par, 284-280-288-852, for the tournament. Harvard won the team title at 15-under-par. Seton Hall's lone BIG EAST competition, Georgetown, finished at 12-over-par.
The top individual Seton Hall performer for the tournament was George Fricker (Woodbridge, England). The sophomore finished up an impressive three rounds with a 4-over-par, 75, in round three. For the event, he tied for 10th with a 3-under-par, 67-68-75-210. Harvard's Brian Ma won the individual title at 9-under-par.
LAST YEAR AT THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Graduate student Gregor Tait fired a remarkable 7-under-par, 65, to lift the Pirates to its first BIG EAST Championship in 22 years. Tait's effort earned him a share of the BIG EAST individual crown.
Tait started the day six strokes behind UConn's Caleb Manuel, but put together one of the finest rounds in Seton Hall history to catch the Husky and become the Pirates' fourth BIG EAST champion. He started his round with four straight birdies and added a fifth on the eighth hole, entering the turn at 4-under-par. He was still four-under through 15 holes before taking his game to another level when the Pirates needed him most. Tait eagled the par-5, 16th hole, parred 17 and birdied 18 with a lengthy putt that caused the Pirate faithful in attendance to roar.
The result?... a 7-under-par, 65, which ties Seton Hall's single-round par-72 record. For the tournament, Tait claimed the co-championship, with Manuel, with an 11-under-par, 70-70-65-205. His 205 is the second-lowest three-round par-72 total in Seton Hall history and shatters the program's record for a BIG EAST Tournament, which was 210 set by another former champion Lloyd Jefferson Go in 2016.
As a team, the Pirates entered the day just one stroke behind a duo of team leaders, Marquette and Connecticut. While UConn faded, Marquette and The Hall slugged it out back-and-forth until the Pirates took control late. Seton Hall finished with a 10-under-par, 278, in round three to win the tournament by three strokes over Marquette. The Hall's 278 is the lowest single-round in Pirate history at the BIG EAST Championship and the third-lowest par-72 round for any tournament.
THE STAKES
The BIG EAST will crown a team champion, which earns an automatic berth to the 2023 NCAA Championship. The individual champion also receives an NCAA Championship invitation.
TEE TIMES
The field will play one round (18 holes) over each day for three days. Competition on Friday and Saturday will begin at 8:00 a.m. On Championship Sunday, the action will begin at 8:30 a.m. Seton Hall will be paired with golfers from Marquette and Butler in round one and will tee off the first hole.
THE RESULTS
Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com. Full day results will also be available at SHUPirates.com.