2013-14 Men's Golf Preview
8/30/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Aug 30, 2013
The Seton Hall men's golf team opens its 2013 fall season this weekend with three rounds at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Missouri, in Verona, N.Y. The Pirates are coming off a year in which a very young team gained some valuable experience.
"I think anytime you expose a young player early to significant competition it helps them down the road," said head coach Clay White. "These kids already know what it's like to compete on a high level. They know how I coach. They understand the tournament environment. There is a lot of experience you can gain through tournaments that you can't get in practice."
The Pirates will look for leadership from Gary Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) during the 2013-14 year. Dunne was named to the 2012 All-BIG EAST Team following a stellar showing at the conference championship that year, but fell victim to an arm injury last year. If Seton Hall expects to climb back up the conference leader board this year, it'll need a health Dunne in the lineup.
"If we're going to be successful, our seniors need to play well," White said. "Gary has got to play confident and loose. He can't focus on this being his last year, he's just got to go and play. If he keeps that mindset, I think he can have a big year."
Another contributor to the Pirates' inconsistency during the spring season was the absence of Derrick Kim (New City, N.Y.). After a solid fall season, and strong freshman campaign the year prior, Kim sat out the spring season.
"It'll be really nice to have Derrick back," White said. "He had a tremendous summer and is a great player. Provided he keeps his academics in check, there is no reason why he can have a very successful junior year."
A pleasant surprise for Coach White last year was the play of a pair of freshmen, David Cha (Carrollton, Texas) and Cory Wilson (Newton, N.J.). Cha started all 10 tournaments for the Pirates and was a consistent team scorer. Wilson led the team with the lowest stroke average for the year and was named Seton Hall's Freshman Male Athlete of the Year. In his top performance, Wilson tied for second place with an even-par score at the Binghamton University Invitational.
"We have a much deeper team this year, so I think it'll enable David and Cory to play a little freer on the course," White said. "They won't necessarily have the pressure this year to have their scores count every round, so they can take a few more chances and I think that'll result in better overall scores.
Other returning regular contributors include senior Marc Kunesch (Newton, N.J.), who has competed in 12 career tournaments and junior J.T. Harper (Pebble Beach, Calif.), who led the Pirates with the lowest 2013 spring stroke average.
Joining the team this year is a pair of freshman, L.J. Go (Guadalupe Cebu City, Philippines) and Kevin O'Brien (Wexford, Pa.). Coach White thinks both newcomers have an opportunity to push for the starting lineup right away.
"L.J. is very well traveled and has played a number of big international events," White said. "But I'm really looking for him to simply be a freshman... play hard and learn. I think we'll get a lot of good rounds from him. Kevin has also had some success in high school. He's played a lot of golf this summer and has broken par. I'm looking for both to contribute from the start and I think they're both capable of being regular members of the lineup."
The Pirates will be one of 14 teams competing on the Kaluhyat Course at Turning Stone. In addition to Seton Hall and host Missouri, the field includes Binghamton, Canisius, Central Connecticut State, Cleveland State, Connecticut, Detroit, George Mason, LaSalle, Loyola (Ill.), McNeese State, Saint Peter's and Villanova.
The Kaluhyat Course is a par-72 and measures 7,105 yards. The tournament will consist of 54 holes, with 36 being played on Sunday and the final 18 on Monday.
This will be the fourth time that Seton Hall has competed in the five-year history of the tournament. The Pirates' best team performance came in 2009 when they finished third amid a field of 13 teams. Colin Van Es led all Pirates with a third place individual finish at 2-over-par. Most recently, Seton Hall placed sixth among 14 teams during the 2011 event. Recent graduate Troy Spencer tied for third among all individual golfers with an impressive 5-under-par, 69-69-73-211. Spencer's 211 is tied for the second-lowest three-round, par-72 score in Seton Hall history.
Results following each day's events will be available on www.SHUpirates.com.
