Seton Hall had plenty to deal with weather-wise last week, as imminent snowfall, heavy wind and sleet hit the South Orange area. The men’s golf team did not see one inch, however, as it was able to avoid the slew of inclement weather this past weekend when competing in the Loyola Invitational in Goodyear, Ariz. last weekend.
Fittingly named Palm Valley Golf Course, known for its rolling hills and diverse terrain, the Pirates embraced the warm weather. Measuring over 7,000 yards, the par-72 course is renowned in the state and has previously been voted by players as the best in the Phoenix area.
The enormous tournament featured a lineup of 18 schools, including two Big East opponents in DePaul and Xavier, each eager to get a glimpse of Palm Valley’s well-publicized excellent layout.
Seton Hall senior Gen Nagai made his mark on the course early, shooting a 71 and 72 in Rounds 1 and 2, respectively, before firing a career-best 66, which was 6-under-par. The All-Big East First Team member and All-Tournament selection in 2017 also moved up the Pirates’ record book with his dazzling performance, which included seven birdies and 10 pars in the final round, tying the mark for the third lowest par-72 round in Seton Hall history.
His totals would place him second among individual golfers and just one behind tournament champion Evan Brown of Loyola.
Nagai was not the only Pirate with a spectacular outing, though. Deven Ramachandran tied for 11th in the competition with a 73-72-70 for a total of 215, while Gregor Tait rode eight straight pars on Day 3 to a solid 17th place finish. Their play helped the Pirates record a third place finish on the final day of action, vaulting them to sixth overall in the tournament, which is a nice improvement from a 10th place outing in their last contest.
Rounding out Pirate individual scores were Andres Acevedo at 77-75-72-224 for 62nd place, Alex Chalk at 78-74-77-229 for 85th place, and Peter Tyler Po at 79-75-80-234 for 96th place.
Justin Morris can be reached at justin.morris@student.shu.edu.
