Sautron Shares Another Title to Lead Huskers at Johnnie-O

Rudy Sautron broke another school record with an 18-under-par 198 over three rounds to share his third individual title of the season and lead the Nebraska men's golf team to a 10th-place finish at The Johnnie-O at Sea Island on Tuesday.

The victory, which followed a shared title at the Hal Williams Collegiate (Feb. 16-17), gave Sautron his second straight individual championship and his third shared title of the season, including a win at Nebraska's Git-R-Done Invitational (Sept. 22-23).

Sautron, a junior from Reunion Island, France, opened the tournament on Monday with a remarkable round of 64 (-8), before adding a second-round 68 (-4) to close the first 36 holes at 132 (-12). 

He continued his championship-caliber play with a final-round 66 (-6) to break his own Nebraska record for best 54-hole score relative to par at -18, which he previously set with his a 195 (-15) at the Hal Williams Collegiate in Semmes, Ala. (Feb. 16-17).

Sautron shared medalist honors with Minnesota's Chun-Ta Wu, who also opened with a 64 (-8) in Monday's first round before taking a one-stroke lead over Sautron with a second-round 67 (-5) heading to Tuesday's final round. Wu closed with another 67 (-5) to finish at 198 (-18) on the 7,060-yard, par-72 layout of the Plantation Course at Sea Island Resort in St. Simons Island, Ga.

Sautron and Wu finished with a four-shot advantage over Georgia Southern's Morgan Blythe, who closed at 202 (-14) after entering the tournament ranked No. 139 nationally.

Sautron's final round on Tuesday featured a pair of eagles, beginning with his opening hole of the day on the 327-yard, par-4 No. 10. He added birdies on No. 14, No. 17 and No. 18, before getting another eagle on the 623-yard, par-5 4th hole. His only blemish of the day came with a bogey on No. 7. 

On Monday, Sautron's opening round featured birdies on seven of his first nine holes before his lone blemish with a bogey on No. 7. He responded with birdies on No. 8 and No. 13 to close out the round with a 64 (-8). His second round started with two more birdies on No. 14 and 15, before a bogey on No. 16. He notched his first of three eagles in the tournament on the 560-yard, par-5 No. 18, before finding another birdie on No. 2 to move to 12-under through 29 holes. However, he settled for bogeys on three of his final seven holes while managing a pair of birdies to finish the round at 68 (-4).

Sautron, who opened the tournament ranked No. 119 in the country, is likely to move up significantly in the national rankings by defeating 82 other golfers in the field, including 11 in the top 150. The highest ranked golfer in the field entering the tournament was Notre Dame's Jacob Modleski (49th), who finished ninth at 205 (-11), seven strokes behind Sautron. No. 58 Calen Sanderson from Notre Dame was the second-highest ranked player in the tournament, and he finished in a tie for 58th in the field, 19 strokes behind Sautron at 217 (+1).

Sautron helped the Huskers to a 10th-place finish in a strong 15-team field at The Johnnie-O. The Huskers posted a three-round total of 845 (-19). 

Florida Gulf Coast and Georgia Southern shared the team title at 822 (-42), while Minnesota and Kansas tied for third at 825 (-39). 

Evan McDermott helped fuel Nebraska's climb up the team leader board in the final round with his career-best-tying 67 (-5). The redshirt junior from Spring Lake, Mich., got off to a hot start with a 31 (-5) on the back nine to open his day, including an eagle on the par-5, 550-yard 14th hole. He added birdies on No. 2 and 3 to move to seven-under through 13 before a pair of bogeys over the final five holes.

McDermott closed the tournament as Nebraska's No. 2 finisher in a tie for 33rd at 211 (-5) to match his career-best 54-hole score.

Jackson Benge added to Nebraska's final-round team score with a 71 (-1), to finish with a three-round total of 220 (+4) in a tie for 66th.

Freshman Caden Mickelson completed the Husker contingent with a 54-hole total of 227 (+7) in a tie for 75th, including a final-round 74 (+2).

Sophomore Brodie Cunningham opened the tournament with back-to-back rounds of 72 on Monday, but did not post a score on Tuesday.

The Huskers return to action next week at the All-American Intercollegiate at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas.

The Johnnie-O at Sea Island
March 9-10, 2026
St. Simons Island, Georgia
Sea Island Resort (Plantation Course - Par 72, 7,060 Yards)

Final Team Results
T1. Georgia Southern - 265-282-275=822 (-42)
T1. Florida Gulf Coast - 276-268-278=822 (-42)
T3. Minnesota - 276-274-275=825 (-39)
T3. Kansas - 269-279-272=825 (-39)
5. NC State - 275-280-272-827 (-37)
6. Notre Dame - 273-277-279=829 (-35)
T7. Cincinnati - 272-282-287=841 (-23)
T7. Rutgers - 280-286-275=841 (-23)
9. Memphis - 278-285-281=844 (-20) 
10. Nebraska - 286-281-278=845 (-19)
T11. UNCG - 278-287-289=854 (-10)
T11. Princeton - 282-281-291=854 (-10)
T13. Penn State - 280-288-287=855 (-9)
T13. Kennesaw State - 284-290-281=855 (-9)
15. West Virginia - 290-289-277=856 (-8)

Final Individual Results
T1. #119 Rudy Sautron, Nebraska - 64-68-66=198 (-18)
T1. Chun-Ta Wu, Minnesota - 64-67-67=198 (-18)
3. Pearce Lewin, NC State - 68-68-65=201 (-15)
4. #139 Morgan Blythe, Georgia Southern - 64-72-66=202 (-14)
5. William Baker, Kansas - 67-69-67=203 (-13)
T6. #138 Hartej Grewal, Kansas - 67-66-71=204 (-12)
T6. Arthur Carlier, Kansas - 66-74-64=204 (-12)
T6. #82 Nate Stevens, Notre Dame - 67-71-66=204 (-12)
9. #49 Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame - 67-65-73=205 (-11)
T10. Christian Figueredo, Florida Gulf Coast - 69-66-71=206 (-10)
T10. #89 Riccardo Fantinelli, Princeton - 67-71-68=206 (-10)

Nebraska Individuals
T1. Rudy Sautron - 64-68-66=198 (-18)
T33. Evan McDermott - 75-69-67=211 (-5)
T66. Jackson Benge - 77-72-71=220 (+4)
T75. Caden Mickelson - 75-74-74=223 (+7)
84. Brodie Cunningham - 72-72-N/A