Pirates Head to Arizona for Loyola Invitational

GOODYEAR, ARIZ. - The Seton Hall men's golf team will return to action this weekend with three rounds of golf at the Loyola Invitational at Palm Valley Golf Course, February 25-26.

Tournament Details:
LOYOLA INVITATIONAL
Host: Loyola University
Location: Goodyear, Ariz.
Course: Palm Valley Golf Course
Course Vitals: Par-72, 7,015 yards
Dates: February 25-26, 2018

The Course:
Designed by renowned golf course architect Arthur Hills, Palm Valley Golf Club's Palms Course is one of the most popular championship Phoenix Arizona golf courses. The excellent layout provides a stiff challenge for accomplished players, yet it is flexible enough for novices to enjoy. One asset that sets Palm Valley Golf Club apart from other Phoenix Arizona golf courses is its diversity in play. The Palms Course has been rated among Arizona's best public golf courses by The Phoenix Business Journal, and the 18th hole is routinely cited by avid players as one of the best par-5s in the state.

The Field:
In addition to Seton Hall and host Loyola, the large field features 17 other teams including: Arkansas State, Army West Point, Charleston, Connecticut, DePaul, Drake, Eastern Michigan, Gonzaga, Hartford, Missouri State, Murray State, Siena, SIU-Edwardsville, St. John's, Towson, UT-Martin and Xavier. The tournament should provide a nice test for Seton Hall with three other BIG EAST Conference teams in the field.

The Seton Hall Lineup:

Chris Yeom, Junior
Linus Yip, Senior
Gregor Tait, Freshman
Gen Nagai, Junior
Alex McAuley, Sophomore

Individual – Andres Acevedo, Freshman

Last Time Out:
Last week, freshman Gregor Tait (Martlesham Heath, England) shot a 1-under-par, 71, in Tuesday's final round to claim the individual championship of the 2018 UNCG / Martin Downs Collegiate. Despite a record-tying team effort, the Pirates finished second in the team standings.

Tait was dominant, shooting under par in all three rounds to win his first collegiate individual championship in only his sixth career tournament. For the tournament, Tait shot a 9-under-par, 67-69-71-207, to best West Virginia's Matthew Sharpstene by two strokes for the title. His 9-under-par score is tied for the third-most strokes under par in a tournament in Pirate history. Furthermore, Tait's 207 is ties Go for the second-lowest tournament par-72 score ever at Seton Hall.

Collectively, Seton Hall sparkled on the course again in round three, finishing with a 3-under-par, 285. However, the Pirates were caught by West Virginia, which shot a spectacular 12-under-par, 276, in Tuesday's final round to claim the team title by two strokes over The Hall. The Pirates finished in second place, two strokes ahead of host UNC-Greensboro and six strokes ahead of Elon. Despite falling short, Seton Hall's three-day effort was historic. It finished with an 11-under-par, 287-281-285-853, which is the lowest par-72, three-round score in Pirate history. The Hall's 11-under-par score ties for the most strokes under par ever at Seton Hall.

Last Time at the Loyola Invitational:
Last year at this tournament, Lloyd Jefferson Go finished second among 96 individual golfers with a record 11-under-par, 68-70-67-205. The 205 is the lowest three-round, par-72 score ever for a Seton Hall golfer.

As a team, Seton Hall tied for seventh place among 16 teams competing. For the three-day event, the Pirates finished at 7-under-par with a 282-287-288-857. The Hall finished 23 strokes behind the team champion, Connecticut, but performed better than a pair of BIG EAST opponents.

Tee Times:
The field will begin with a shotgun start at 10:45 AM ET on both days. On Sunday, the teams will play two continuous rounds, before playing a single, final round on Monday. For the first round, the Pirates will be paired with golfers from DePaul, SIU-Edwardsville and Murray State.

Results:
Live scoring of the event will be available through Golfstat. Complete results of each day's events will also be available following competition at SHUpirates.com.