Story by NU Athletic Communications
Rudy Sautron used a final-round 69 (-3) to climb into a tie for 25th individually and cap a strong 54-hole score of 213 (-3) at the 2026 NCAA Men's Golf Marana Regional on Wednesday.
Sautron, a junior from Reunion Island, France, opened the regional with a 69 (-3) Monday, before battling his way to a 75 (+3) in Tuesday's second round. He closed with a 69 (-3) on the 7,303-yard layout at The Gallery Golf Club North Course again on Wednesday to wrap up Nebraska's best individual finish at an NCAA Regional since Brandon Crick tied for eighth at the NCAA West Regional in 2010.
Sautron's final round heated up after an even-par 36 on the front nine that included birdies on No. 3 and No. 5, but bogeys on No. 1 and No. 9. After making the turn, Sautron struck for birdies on No. 11 and No. 15, before recording an eagle on the par-5, 550-yard 16th hole to move to four-under. Ironically, his eagle came on the same hole that he took one of two double bogeys of the tournament on Tuesday. He wrapped up his 33 (-3) on the back nine with a bogey on No. 17 before a par on the 18th.
In Monday's opening round, Sautron got off to a solid start with five straight pars before recording his first of five birdies on the day on the 553-yard, par-5 fifth hole. After a par on No. 7, he added back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth holes to make the turn at 33 (-3). He opened the back with three consecutive pars, before his only blemish of the day with a double-bogey on the par-4 13th hole. He responded with birdies on No. 15 and No. 17 to end the day at 69. The Gallery Club North Course played at 7,317 yards in both the first and second rounds.
Tuesday, Sautron birdied the second hole but took bogeys on No. 5, No. 6 and No. 8 to take the turn at 38 (+2). He battled back with a birdie on No. 11, before a bogey on No. 13 and a double-bogey on No. 16 pushed him to +4. He responded with a birdie on No. 18 to close the round at 75.
Sautron, who became the first Husker men's golfer in history to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors this season, closed his season with a school-record 70.27 stroke average over 41 rounds while posting his 12th consecutive top-25 finish to end the season.
The hosts from No. 18 Arizona followed a brilliant 264 (-24) on Tuesday with a solid 274 (-14) on Wednesday to notch a 14-stroke win over defending national champion and No. 5 Oklahoma State. Arizona finished at 815 (-49), while the Cowboys closed at 829 (-35).
No. 8 LSU finished third at 834 (-30), while No. 44 Arkansas State and No. 29 Duke tied for fourth at 840 (-24) to join the Wildcats, Cowboys and Tigers in advancing to the NCAA Championship.
No. 20 Alabama missed the NCAA Championship by a stroke, finishing sixth at 841 (-23), while No. 33 Clemson took seventh at 843 (-21).
William Jennings (Alabama), Zach Pollo (Arizona), Filip Jakubcik (Arizona) and Eric Lee (Oklahoma State) tied for first individually at 201 (-15) with Jennings earning the individual bid to the NCAA Championship out of the Marana Regional.