BIG EAST CHAMPS! Seton Hall Claims Second Title in Three Years

Monday, April 29

Hardeeville, S.C. / Riverton Pointe Golf and Country Club

All Day

Seton Hall University

Third Round

Men from the BIG EAST Conference play during the final round of the BIG EAST Men's Golf Tournament Monday, April 29, 2024, at the Riverton Pointe Golf Club in Hardeeville, S.C. (BIG EAST/Photo by Stephen B. Morton)

Photo by: Stephen B. Morton for the Big East

BIG EAST CHAMPS! Seton Hall Claims Second Title in Three Years

4/29/2024 6:24:00 PM | Men's Golf

LIVE SCORING PHOTO GALLERY - Round 3

Wenliang Xie was named to the All-Tournament Team.

HARDEEVILLE, S.C. – For the second time in three years and the fourth time overall, the Seton Hall men's golf team is BIG EAST Conference champions. With a strong, team-wide final-round effort, the Pirates bested second-place Butler by five strokes to win the title and claim the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Disappointed with his performance after the first two rounds, George Fricker (Woodbridge, England) highlighted The Hall's final round effort with a 3-under-par, 69, on Monday. The junior had only one blemish on an otherwise brilliant round, a bogey on the sixth hole. Fricker used four birdies and 13 pars to fuel the top single round of the tournament for any Pirate. His performance enabled him to race up the leaderboard and finish tied for 28^th with a 10-over-par, 79-78-69-226.

As a team, the Pirates never dropped out of the top spot on Monday. The Hall entered the round with a two-stroke cushion on Butler, and saw it grow to as many as double-digits and shrink to as few as two again. In the end, Seton Hall shot an even-par, 288, its best round of the tournament, to hold off the field and edge Butler by five strokes.

The Hall's final score was an 8-over-par, 292-292-288-872. Butler finished at 13-over-par, while Creighton, who had the top team round on Monday, finished third at 15-over-par. Defending champion and tournament favorite Marquette finished fourth at 17-over-par.

The Pirates' 872 is the third-lowest score for the program at the BIG EAST Championship.

At one point during Monday's final round, three Seton Hall golfers were tied for the individual lead. In the end, only one, Wenliang Xie (Burbank, Calif.) qualified for the All-Tournament Team. The graduate student had four birdies in route to an even-par, 72, in round three. Xie was the top Seton Hall performer for the tournament, tying for third place among all golfers with an even-par, 70-74-72-216. It's Xie's 15^th career top-10 finish and eighth top-5 effort.

St. John's Peicheng Chen edged Xie by two strokes to win the title and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that goes to the BIG EAST individual champion.

No Seton Hall golfer was more consistent throughout the tournament than Wanxi Sun (Danville, Calif.). The senior used a strong front nine to fuel a 1-over-par, 73, in round three. For the tournament, he tied for sixth overall with a 1-over-par, 72-72-73-217. It's his eighth career top-10 finish and his best showing in three trips to the BIG EAST Championship.

Competing in his first-ever BIG EAST Championship, sophomore Jack Bosworth (Daniel Island, S.C.) looked every bit the veteran this week. In round three, he shot a solid 4-over-par, 76, but his work on Saturday and Sunday can't be overlooked. For the tournament, Bosworth tied for ninth with a 3-over-par, 71-72-76-219. It's his second career top-10 finish.

After a rough first round, sophomore David Lally (Wicklow, Ireland) carded back-to-back 2-over-par, 74's, in round two and three. Today, with Butler closing in on Seton Hall's lead, Lally collected a huge birdie on the 18^th hole, which may have iced the victory for the Pirates. For the week, he was 11-over-par with a 79-74-74-227.

Tournament Details:
2024 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Host: BIG EAST Conference
Location: Hardeeville, S.C.
Resort: Riverton Pointe Country Club
Course Vitals: Par-72, 7,158 yards
Dates: April 27-29, 2024

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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 Lowcountry 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 was limited to only the 10 member schools of the BIG EAST Conference. Below are the teams in order of their national ranking.

Marquette – 111
Connecticut - 148
Creighton – 152
SETON HALL – 166
Butler – 176
Xavier – 187
Georgetown – 209
St. John's – 233
DePaul – 235
Villanova – 246

THE FORMAT
Teams played five golfers and count the four lowest scores per round.

THE STAKES
By winning the BIG EAST Championship, Seton Hall's season will continue as it will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. St. John's Peicheng Chen also receives an NCAA Regionals invitation by winning the BIG EAST individual title.

UP NEXT
Seton Hall will advance to play in the 2024 NCAA Regionals for the second time in three years. The Hall will be sent to one of six possible sites: The University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas, The University Club in Baton Rouge, La., UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C., The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif. Or Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Pirates will find out their destination during the NCAA Selection Show on The Golf Channel at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1.