@SHU_mgolf
The men’s golf team finished sixth at the 2014 Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate in Verona, New York, over the Labor Day weekend.
Competing against 10 other teams, the Pirates struggled on Sunday as they battled some rainy conditions.
“We had our moments but definitely could’ve done better,” head coach Clay White said. “You hope to learn a little bit each time out and I think our guys did that. It’s a tough course and if you aren’t hitting the ball right, you could put up some pretty big numbers.”
On Monday, Seton Hall rebounded behind strong performances from sophomores Lloyd Jefferson Go and Kevin O’Brien, junior-transfer Ryan Snouffer and senior J.T. Harper.
“Can’t blame it on the conditions,” White said of the struggles in weather. “Everybody plays in the same weather. We weren’t as prepared as we could’ve been—it was the first week of school, we couldn’t really practice and there was a lot going on. There were also a lot of nerves for the first tournament, too. The improvement on Monday didn’t really have to do with the weather, I think we just settled down and started playing the game how we knew how.”
Go, the reigning Big East Freshmen of the Year, finished at 7-over-par with a 75-73-75-223. He tied for eighth place overall at the event.
“L.J. is a good player,” White said. “We hope he can continue to get better and improve on what he did for us last year, and we’re confident that he can do so.”
In his first event with the Pirates, Snouffer played well. He finished 31st overall with a score of 16-over-par with a 78-75-79-232. The junior transferred to Seton Hall after spending two years with Adelphi, a Division-II school in Garden City, New York.
Snouffer earned the NE-10 Conference Player of the Year each year at Adelphi, and also came out on top of the conference tournament twice. The Pirates are hoping that he can continue thriving with SHU.
“He had to adjust,” White said of Snouffer’s first event with the Hall. “Different surroundings, new teammates, new schedules, new environment. I think it was good that he got to come on the road and see how we do things and begin adjusting from how he did things at his old school. He’s going to be good for us. We have a lot of confidence in him.”
O’Brien shot a team-best 2-under-par, 70, in the final round on Monday.
While the Pirates did not enter the season with a bang, the team will have a chance to bounce back at the Navy Fall Classic in Annapolis this weekend. Aside from the host school, White said that he had not seen the field, but is expects 15-21 teams to be in attendance, including some big teams from the south.
“We’re looking to shoot in the low 290s and possibly throw in a 280,” White said in preparation for the Navy Fall Class. “I want to see us continue to work on the positives that we had this weekend and take that on the road to Navy. Our scores should be better.”
White and the Pirates will spend this Saturday and Sunday in Maryland before a quick turnaround sends the team to Connecticut for the Hartford Hawks Invitational on September 22 and 23.
Thomas Duffy can be reached at thomas.duffy@student.shu.edu.
