Sautron Shoots School-Record 63 at Steelwood

Rudy Sautron fired a school-record nine-under-par 63 in the final round to lead the Nebraska men's golf team at the Steelwood Collegiate in Loxley, Ala., on Sunday.

Sautron, a sophomore from Reunion Island, France, scorched the 7,096-yard, par-72 layout of the Steelwood Country Club with five birdies and a pair of eagles to go with 10 pars and a single bogey in the record-setting round. His performance surpassed the previous school record of 64 set by former PGA Tour pro Brady Schnell at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in 2005-06. Schnell also held the previous sophomore school record with a 65 in 2004-05.

Sautron started his day in a tie for 32nd place individually but jumped 26 spots in the standings to finish sixth and earn his third top-10 finish of the fall. He opened his round with a birdie on No. 10, before adding a second birdie on No. 12. After three straight pars, he notched a third birdie on the back nine, before settling for another par.  He closed the back nine at five-under 31 after an eagle on the 535-yard, par-5 18th hole.

He continued his hot play with a birdie on No. 1 before two more pars set up his second eagle of the round on the 606-yard, par-5 fourth hole. His fifth birdie of the round followed on No. 5 to move him to nine-under through 14, before he took his only bogey on the par-3, 197-yard No. 6. He bounced back with a pair of pars before sinking his sixth birdie put of the round on No. 9 to secure his record-setting 63 (-9).

Sautron finished the 54-hole tournament at 208 (-8).

Senior Hamish Murray added a strong effort of his own with a final-round 71 (-1) to end the tournament in a tie for 12th at 211.

Sautron and Murray led the Huskers to a tie for 11th in a 14-team field with a three-round total of 869 (+5).

Freshman James Ackerman, who was playing as an individual outside Nebraska's lineup, produced the third-best finish for the Huskers with a 219 (+3), including a final-round 70 (-2). Ackerman tied for 43rd overall.

Graduate Reed Malleck put up Nebraska's No. 3 score in the lineup on Sunday with a 76 (+4) while tying for 47th overall at 220 (+4).

Redshirt sophomore Evan McDermott (233) and senior Grant Jabenis (239) rounded out the Nebraska contingent. Illinois won the tournament with an 834 (-30), while Kennesaw State took second at 836 (-28). Kansas State (-18) took third, while Rice finished fourth 850 (-14).

Kansas State's Nick Mason rolled to the individual title with a 199 (-17), including a second-round 64 (-8). Clemson's Andrew Swanson took second at 203 (-13) with a final-round 64 (-8).

Steelwood Collegiate
Oct. 26-27, 2024
Loxley, Alabama 
Steelwood CC (Par 72, 7,096 Yards)

Final Team Results
1. #12 Illinois - 276-285-275=834 (-30)
2. Kennesaw State - 282-281-273=836 (-28)
3. Kansas State - 283-279-284=846 (-18)
4. Rice - 286-279-285=850 (-14)
5. Memphis - 276-292-285=853 (-11)
6. Clemson - 281-296-278=855 (-9)
7. Chattanooga - 289-281-292=862 (-2)
8. Kentucky - 294-281-289=864 (E)
9. Troy - 287-289-290=866 (+2)
10. South Alabama - 290-292-286=868 (+4)
T11. Louisiana Tech - 290-286-293=869 (+5)
T11. Nebraska - 295-285-289=869 (+5)
13. East Carolina - 293-290-291=874 (+10)
14. Virginia Tech - 291-294-295=880 (+16)

Final Individual Results
1. Nick Mason, Kansas State - 66-64-69=199 (-17)
2. Andrew Swanson, Clemson - 69-70-64=203 (13)
3. Jackson Buchanan, Illinois - 67-67-70=204 (-12)
4. Claes Borregaard, Kennesaw State - 71-69-66=206 (-10)
5. Cooper Schultz, Kansas State - 69-70-68=207 (-9)
T6. Reggie Zhu, Rice - 69-67-72=208 (-8)
T6. Rudy Sautron, Nebraska - 72-73-63=208 (-8)
T8. Max Herendeen, Illinois - 70-73-66=209 (-7)
T8. Shaun Cook, Kennesaw State - 68-70-71=209 (-7)
*T10. Jake Birdwell, Illinois - 68-70-72=210 (-6)
T10. Nathan O'Neal, East Carolina - 68-74-68=210 (-6) 

Nebraska Individuals
T6. Rudy Sautron - 72-73-63=208 (-8)
T12. Hamish Murray - 71-69-71=211 (-5)
*T43. James Ackerman - 77-72-70=219 (+3)
T47. Reed Malleck - 73-71-76=220 (+4)
77. Evan McDermott - 79-72-82=233 (+17)
78. Grant Jabenis - 80-80-79=239 (+23)