Fricker, Lally Fuel Pirates in BIG EAST Round One

OKATIE, S.C. – Senior George Fricker (Woodbridge, England) fired a 2-under-par, 70, to fuel the Seton Hall men's golf team in round one of the 2025 BIG EAST Championship at Callawassie Island Golf Course on Saturday.

Fricker used six birdies to power his seventh sub-par round of the year. He now has 26 sub-par rounds for his three-year career at Seton Hall, which ranks fifth-most in program history. After 18 holes, Fricker is tied for sixth place among 50 individual golfers. He has now had a sub-par round in each of his three years playing at the BIG EAST Championship.

Marquette's Mason Schmidtke is the current leader at 5-under-par.

As a team, the Pirates were a tale of two nines. Seton Hall shot out of the gate as three of the five Pirates birdied the par-4, No. 2 hole. In fact, at the turn, the Pirates had a three-stroke lead on the field and were collectively 7-under-par. The back nine was a very different story, however. After collecting 12 birdies on the front nine, The Hall had only four on the back, and no Pirate was under par over the final nine holes.

Still, the Pirates are within striking distance after 18 holes with a 4-over-par, 292. No. 46-ranked Marquette and Butler are tied for the team lead after shooting a 3-under-par, 285. Xavier is third after a 1-under-par, 287. Creighton is fourth after an even-par, 288. Connecticut is fifth with a 1-over-par after a 289. Georgetown is sixth following a 2-over-par, 290.

Seton Hall had two players shoot under par on Saturday, and the second was David Lally (Wicklow, Ireland). The junior got off to a strong start with birdies on the first two holes and he remained consistent throughout the rest of the round. Lally finished with a 1-under-par, 71, and is currently tied for 10^th place. It's Lally's 15^th career sub-par round and his second at the BIG EAST Championship.

Will Hennessee (Tulsa, Okla.) was emblematic of Seton Hall as a whole on Saturday. The freshman was brilliant on the front nine, shooting six straight pars to start his round and carding birdies on holes No. 7, No. 8 and No. 9. On the back, however, Hennessee was 6-over-par, and suffered double-bogeys on holes No. 10 and No. 15. After round one, he's just 3-over-par with a 75.

Sophomore Eli Shah (Newtown Square, Pa.) had a pair of birdies on the front, and was even-par at the turn, but also struggled on the back nine. He had four bogeys over the final seven holes and finished the round with a 4-over-par, 76.

Patrick Kahanek (San Antonio, Texas) played opposite of his teammates. When everyone was thriving on the back nine, Kahanek struggled, and back-to-back double-bogeys to close out the front nine put him at 6-over-par at the turn. The senior, however, rose to the occasion, and carded nine straight pars on the back nine to finish his round. Kahanek ended up with a 6-over-par, 78.

Tournament Details:
2025 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Host: BIG EAST Conference
Location: Okatie, S.C.
Resort: Callawassie Island Golf Club
Course Vitals: Par-72, 6,911 yards
Dates: April 26-28, 2025

TOURNAMENT LEADER BOARDS

Team Leaders

Player Leaders

Tee Times (R2)

Statistical Leaders

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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 2024 BIG EAST Championship will be played on the Magnolia and Dogwood courses.

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 national ranking.

Marquette – 46
Xavier – 136
Connecticut – 152
Butler – 172
SETON HALL – 173
St. John's – 180
Georgetown – 185
DePaul – 198
Creighton – 204
Villanova – 221

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 2025 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. Competition on Friday and Saturday will begin at 8:00 a.m. On Championship Monday, the action will begin at 8:30 a.m. Seton Hall will be paired with golfers from Villanova in round two on Sunday. Patrick Kahanek will get the Pirates started with a tee time of 8:45 a.m. off the first hole.

THE RESULTS
Live scoring will be available via Scoreboard.clippd.com. Full day results will also be available at SHUPirates.com.