Rudy Sautron and Grant Jabenis produced top-10 individual finishes to lead the Nebraska men's golf team to an impressive third-place showing in a 13-team field loaded with 2024 NCAA Regional qualifiers at the Qubein Cup in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday.
Sautron, a sophomore from Reunion Island, France, earned his second top-three finish in four tournaments this fall, joining his individual title at the season-opening Gopher Invitational (Sept. 8-9). Sautron led Nebraska in Tuesday's final round with an even-par 70 on the 7,130-yard layout of the Sedgefield Country Club, despite a quadruple-bogey on the par-3, 165-yard 16th hole. He opened the tournament with a 69 (-1), before adding a 74 (+4) in Monday's second round.
Sautron finished six strokes back of individual champion Camden Braidech from Chattanooga and three shots behind runner-up Hunter Thomson from Michigan.
Jabenis, a senior out of Omaha Westside High School, produced the best performance of his career by tying for sixth. Jabenis closed with a 74 on Tuesday, after firing the second-best round of his Husker career with a 68 (-2) in Monday's second round. He opened the tournament with a solid 72 (+2) that included an eagle on the par-5, 531-yard fifth hole.
Fellow Nebraskan Reed Malleck added a third top-20 individual finish for the Huskers. The graduate student from York closed the 54-hole tournament at 221 (+11) in a tie for 20th, including a final-round 74 (+4). He opened with consistent rounds of 73 and 74 on Monday.
Evan McDermott continued his strong play during the fall by adding a tie for 26th. The redshirt sophomore from Spring Lake, Mich., finished one shot back of Malleck with a 222 (+12), despite a final-round 77 (+7). McDermott opened with a 73, before climbing the leader board with a second-round 71 (+1) on Monday.
Nebraska's success in a tournament field that included nine 2024 NCAA Regional qualifiers came despite not counting a score during the tournament from its No. 1 golfer, Hamish Murray. The senior from Sydney, Australia had his streak of three consecutive top-25 finishes snapped by tying for 58th at 232 (+22).
Nebraska finished at 871 (+31), trailing only the champions from Chattanooga (858) and the runners-up from Texas A&M (865). Both Chattanooga and Texas A&M qualified for 2024 NCAA Regional play, as did Nebraska's Big Ten rival Michigan. The Huskers beat the Wolverines (872) by one stroke, while Furman (867) rounded out the top five.
The College of Charleston (886), Davidson (894) and UNCW (895) all qualified for NCAA Regional play a year ago, as did Colorado State (898), the hosts from High Point (903) and Virginia Tech (921) - giving the Huskers seven wins over 2024 NCAA Regional teams in the this week's tournament.
Nebraska closes its fall season at the Steelwood Invitational in Loxley, Ala. (Oct. 26-27).
Qubein Cup
October 14-15, 2024
Sedgefield Country Club (Par 70, 7,130 Yards)
Greensboro, North Carolina
Host: High Point
Final Team Results
1. Chattanooga - 280-287-291=858 (+18)
2. Texas A&M - 296-280-289=865 (+25)
3. Nebraska - 288-287-296=871 (+31)
4. Michigan - 291-282-299=872 (+32)
5. Furman - 294-292-291=877 (+37)
6. College of Charleston - 292-301-293=886 (+46)
7. Davidson - 296-297-301=894 (+54)
8. UNCW - 302-286-307=895 (+55)
9. Coastal Carolina - 302-300-295=897 (+57)
10. Colorado State - 302-288-308=898 (+58)
11. High Point - 304-294-305=903 (+63)
12. Penn State - 310-307-296=913 (+73)
13. Virginia Tech - 306-303-312=921 (+81)
Final Individual Results
1. Camden Braidech, Chattanooga - 66-71-70=207 (-3)
2. Hunter Thomson, Michigan - 70-68-72=210 (E)
T3. Rudy Sautron, Nebraska - 69-74-70=213 (+3)
T3. Kieron Van Wyk, College of Charleston - 73-71-69=213 (+3)
5. Braedon Wear, Chattanooga - 69-73-72=214 (+4)
T6. Grant Jabenis, Nebraska - 72-68-75=215 (+5)
T6. Wheaton Ennis, Texas A&M - 73-70-72=215 (+5)
T6. Harris Barth, Furman - 73-70-72=215 (+5)
T6. James Rico, UNCW - 77-68-70=215 (+5)
Nebraska Lineup
T3. Rudy Sautron - 69-74-70=213 (+3)
T6. Grant Jabenis - 72-68-75=215 (+5)
T20. Reed Malleck - 73-74-74=221 (+11)
T26. Evan McDermott - 74-71-77=222 (+12)
T58. Hamish Murray - 77-75-80=232 (+22)
*T65. Jackson Benge - 77-76-80=233 (+23)
*competed as an individual outside Nebraska's lineup