Xie, Sun Shine Setting Stage for Epic Final Round, Sunday

Saturday, April 29

Hardeeville, S.C. / Riverton Pointe Country Club

All Day

Seton Hall University

Second Round

Xie, Sun Shine Setting Stage for Epic Final Round, Sunday

4/29/2023 5:51:00 PM | Men's Golf

LIVE SCORING PHOTO GALLERY (RD 2)

The defending champion Pirates trail Marquette by just one stroke with 18 holes to play.

HARDEEVILLE, S.C. – Senior Wenliang Xie (Zhaoqing, China) fired a 3-under-par, 69, and the Seton Hall men's golf team trails Marquette by just one stroke entering Sunday's final round of the BIG EAST Championship.

Xie was 1-over-par through five, but then took his game to a higher level. The senior was 5-under-par from holes six through 16 and finished with a 3-under-par, 69. For the tournament, Xie is tied for 10^th among all individuals with a 1-under-par, 74-69-143.

The Hall entered the day with a four-stroke lead on the field, and it appeared as though it was going to maintain the advantage, but the final two holes proved costly on Saturday. When Marquette finished its round, the Pirates had a three-stroke lead, but where the Pirates were collectively 1-under-par on holes 17 and 18 yesterday, they were 7-over-par today. All five Pirates bogeyed hole No. 17.

Still, the Pirates trail Marquette by only one stroke with 18 holes to play. If history is any indication of what lies ahead, The Hall should like its position. Seton Hall trailed Connecticut and Marquette by one stroke entering round three last year and went on to win the championship by three strokes.

The Pirates shot a 1-under-par, 287, in round two and are currently 3-under-par with a 286-287-573 for the tournament. Marquette is the leader at 4-under-par, while St. John's lurks only one stroke behind the Pirates at 2-over-par. Both Marquette and St. John's shot a remarkable 9-under-par on Saturday to muddy the top of the leader board.

George Fricker (Woodbridge, England) remains the top Pirate competitor for the tournament. On Saturday, he was flawless through 10 holes, but ran into some difficulty on the back nine. The sophomore finished with a stellar 1-over-par, 73. Fricker is currently tied for eighth among all individuals with a 2-under-par, 69-73-142.

St. John's Jack Simon leads the individual field by three strokes at 7-under-par with 18 holes left to play.

Another big breakout on Saturday was Wanxi Sun (Danville, Calif.). The junior shaved off four strokes from his first-round score, using five birdies to fuel a 2-under-par, 70. For the tournament, he's tied for 13^th place with an even-par, 74-70-144.

Freshman David Lally (Wicklow, Ireland) had another strong effort in his first BIG EAST Championship. He had 13 pars in route to a 3-over-par, 75. He's currently tied with Sun for 13^th place at even-par with a 69-75-144.

Joshua Lee (Lantana, Texas) subbed in for the second round and didn't disappoint. The sophomore was even-par through 12 holes, but struggled late. Lee finished with a strong 3-over-par, 75, thanks largely to four birdies.

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

TOURNAMENT LEADER BOARDS

Team Leaders

Player Leaders

Combo Listing

Statistical Leaders

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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 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

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

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. On Championship Sunday, the action will begin at 8:30 a.m. Seton Hall will be paired with golfers from Marquette and St. John's in round three and will tee off the first hole beginning at 9:12 a.m. The Pirate schedule looks like this for Sunday…

LEE (HALL), Josh Robinson (MU) and Cage Wolfle (SJU) – 9:12 a.m.
LALLY (HALL), Max Lyons (MU) and Tyler Gerbavsits (SJU) – 9:22 a.m.
SUN (HALL), Nicolas Evangelio (MU) and Peicheng Chen (SJU) – 9:32 a.m.
XIE (HALL), Tyler Leach (MU) and Ryan Rittberger (SJU) – 9:42 a.m.
FRICKER (HALL), Bhoom Sima-Aree (MU) and Jack Simon (SJU) – 9:52 a.m.

THE RESULTS
Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com. Full day results will also be available at SHUPirates.com.