The Hall Readies for BIG EAST Championship

CALLAWASSIE ISLAND, S.C. - The Seton Hall men's golf team will return to action this weekend when it begins play at the 2018 BIG EAST Championship at Callawassie Island Golf Club, April 29-May 1.

The Pirates have earned the BIG EAST's No. 2 seed based on Golfstat ranking, among the nine conference schools. Seton Hall has averaged 293.00 strokes per tournament this year, the second lowest in program history. In 10 tournaments, the Pirates have registered five top-5 finishes and shot a program-record 24-under-par at the Loyola Invitational.

Junior Chris Yeom (Flushing, N.Y.) enters the weekend with the conference's lowest stroke average, having shot five of his 10 tournaments this year under par. Newcomer Gregor Tait (Martlesham Heath, England) has had the team's second-lowest scoring average this spring and won the individual title at the UNCG/Martin Downs Collegiate.

The Pirates have won two team BIG EAST titles in program history, but none since 2000.

Tournament Details:
2018 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Host: BIG EAST Conference
Location: Okatie, S.C.
Course: Callawassie Island Golf Club (Dogwood & Magnolia Courses)
Course Vitals: Par-72, 6,166 yards
Dates: April 29 – May 1, 2018

Championship Format:
Nine team, 54-hole, stroke play Championship. Teams compete in groups of three. The event is conducted over four days with each team's five members playing a practice round of 18 holes on day one, one 18-hole round on days two, three and four.

The Course:
The club features three nine-hole courses. The competition will play the first nine holes on the Dogwood Course and the second nine on the Magnolia Course. Designing Callawassie Island's award-winning championship 27-hole course, Tom Fazio took advantage of the island's natural beauty to create a juxtaposition of visual drama and superb playability. Magnificent live oaks and magnolias, as well as freshwater ponds and the surrounding saltwater marsh, come into play on most holes. Inspiring vistas and abundant wildlife make nature part of the golf experience.

The Field:
For the BIG EAST Championship, the field is limited to only the nine men's golf teams of the conference. This includes (in order of Golfstat ranking): Marquette, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Butler, DePaul, Xavier, Villanova and Creighton.

The Seton Hall Lineup:

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

Last Time Out:
Yeom shot a 2-over-par, 73, in Sunday's final round to lead the Pirates to a sixth place tie at the 2018 Rutherford Intercollegiate.

Yeom was the top Pirate competitor in round three, as he was for the first two rounds. The junior tied for third place among 74 individual golfers with a 2-under-par, 69-69-73-211. It is Yeom's fifth sub-par tournament of the 2017-18 year, and his third top-five.

As a team, the Pirates shot a 19-over-par, 303, in round three. For the tournament, The Hall tied Dayton for sixth place with a 25-over-par, 288-303-303-877. Penn State won the team title at 8-under-par, finishing as the only team under-par for the tournament. Seton Hall's lone BIG EAST competition, Georgetown, finished in ninth place, 16 strokes behind the Pirates.

Last Time at the BIG EAST Championship:
Lloyd Jefferson Go and Gen Nagai (Mandaue Cebu City, Philippines) tied as tournament runners-up, and the Pirates finished second by just one stroke the 2017 BIG EAST Championship.

The Championship came down to the final hole of the tournament. Marquette held a two-stroke lead with Nagai and the Golden Eagles' Matt Bachmann approaching the par-4, 18th green. Nagai had a 15-foot putt for birdie, but narrowly missed, and settled for par. Bachmann's approach nearly found sand, and he had to chip onto the green. Bachmann missed a long par putt, but was able to knock in a close bogey putt to win the tournament for Marquette by a single stroke.

For the tournament, The Hall finished 36-over-par with a 304-299-297-900. Marquette, who entered the day 17 strokes behind the leader DePaul, fired a 2-under-par, 286, to edge the Pirates for the title. The Blue Demons faded to fourth at 44-over-par. Georgetown finished third, only a stroke behind the Pirates at 37-over-par.

Seton Hall's 36-over-par, 900, is its lowest score in the four years the BIG EAST Championship has been held at Callawassie Island. It's only the second time in program history that the Pirates have finished as the team runner-up.

Tee Times:
No. 2 Seton Hall will be paired with golfers from No. 1 Marquette and No. 3 Georgetown for Sunday's first round. Yip will get the Pirates started at 9:40 a.m. off the first tee of the Dogwood Course. Tee times and pairings for rounds two and three will be determined by tournament results.

Results:
Complete results will be available after each round's completion at www.SHUpirates.com. Live scoring is available via Golfstat.com.

Scoreboard

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