Huskers Journey to Georgia for Johnnie-O

The Nebraska men’s golf team returns to action after a five-week break from competition to participate in The Johnnie-O at St. Simons Island, Ga., March 17-18.

The two-day, 54-hole event on a 7,006-yard, par-70 layout at the Sea Island Golf Club is hosted by Rutgers.

Action begins with a shotgun start on Monday at 7:45 a.m. (CT) with two rounds of continuous play. The tournament concludes with Tuesday’s final round beginning at 7 a.m. (CT) with tee times off No. 1 and No. 10. Fans can follow the live scoring at scoreboard.clippd.com.

Nebraska will be part of a solid 13-team field that includes Michigan State, Penn State and Rutgers from the Big Ten, along with Cincinnati, Kansas and West Virginia from the Big 12. Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Marquette, Memphis, Princeton and UNC Greensboro round out the field.

Rudy Sautron leads the Huskers to The Johnnie-O with a 71.47 stroke average over 17 rounds. After an outstanding fall, the sophomore  from Reunion Island, France climbed to No. 77 in the national rankings. He produced three top-10 finishes during the fall, including a title in his Husker debut at the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 8-9). He added a tie for third at the Quebin Cup (Oct. 14-15), before closing the fall with a sixth-place showing at the Steelwood Collegiate. He was ill at the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate and completed just two rounds, slipping to No. 138 in the national rankings.

Redshirt sophomore Evan McDermott, who opened the spring with a tie for 15th with a 214 (-2) at the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate (Feb. 9-11), will play out of the No. 2 spot in Georgia.

Senior Hamish Murray will compete at No. 3 after tying for seventh with a 212 (-4) at the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate to open the spring. Murray carries a 72.11 stroke average over 18 rounds this season and is ranked No. 300 nationally. He closed the fall with a tie for 12th individually with a 211 (-5) at the Steelwood Collegiate. It was his third top-15 finish of the fall, including a season-best tie for seventh at the Git-R-Done Invitational at Firethorn (Sept. 23-24). 

Graduate student Reed Malleck, who played some of the most consistent golf of his Husker career during the fall, will occupy the No. 4 position in the Big Red lineup, while true freshman Brodie Cunningham rounds out Nebraska’s top five.

Senior Grant Jabenis will also make the trip to The Johnnie-O where he will compete as an individual outside the Husker lineup.

Live updates and scoring for The Johnnie-O can be found at HuskersGolf on Instagram and X, and Scoreboard.clippd.com. Complete coverage can be found at Huskers.com.