Led by rising sophomore LJ Go, a more experienced Seton Hall men’s golf team looks to take the next step as a program with a familiar seasoned schedule.
Go, who was the unanimous Big East Freshman of the Year and a member of the All-Big East Team, is just a sophomore on a club that will be powered at the top in leadership by seniors Derrick Kim and JT Harper.
The Pirates will open the season at the Tiger Intercollegiate, which is hosted by the University of Missouri. It will be the fourth time in five years that The Hall heads to Turning Stone. Following the tournament, which takes place from Aug. 31 – Sept. 1, SHU will head back to a place that Kim is familiar with: The blue and white will take part in the Navy Fall Classic in Maryland. While they did not compete in the invitational last season, Kim led the team with a 10-over-par in 2012 as SHU took 12th out of 15 teams.
After a week away from competition, the Pirates will head to South Kent, Connecticut for the Hartford Hawks Invitational. Last season, the Pirates finished in the top ten, but it was rival Rutgers that came in first. To close competition in September, the Pirates’ fourth competition will be an inaugural event. Clay White’s team will travel to Lorton, Virginia, to take on George Mason and company at the Patriot Intercollegiate on September 28 and 29.
For the first time in three years, SHU will hit the links at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate hosted by N.C. State. The event will bring a deep challenge for The Hall to open October. The last time that the blue and white traveled to the N.C. State Golf Course was in the fall of 2011, when the team took 14th out of 16 competitors.
The fall finale brings no surprises, as the Pirates will compete in the Temple Invitational at Philmont Country Club in Pennsylvania beginning on Oct. 12. Last fall, Kim shot a 1-over-par, 71, on Sunday to give the team a boost into a tie for fourth out of 17. While Gary Dunne is gone, Go’s surge into his second season is a huge headline after he won the Phillipine Amateur Open and was a major standout in the conference.
"We have a very solid core group returning and look forward to being very competitive in each of these events,” White said.
For a full preview of the Pirates’ squad, check back to thesetonian.com in a matter of weeks.
John Fanta can be reached at john.fanta@student.shu.edu or on twitter @John_Fanta. For complete coverage of Seton Hall athletics, follow @setoniansports.
