FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The No. 11/11-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team carded 2-under 282 in the opening round of the 2026 Mason Rudolph Championship, as the Commodores finished the first day of their home tournament in third place on the team leaderboard.
Vandy has a pair of underclassmen sitting inside the top five on the player leaderboard at the end of Round 1 of the Mason Rudolph Championship. Sophomore Ryan Downes and freshman Jon Ed Steed are tied for fifth after 18 holes of play on the South Course at Vanderbilt Legends Club, as each golfer carded 2-under 69.
The Commodores head into Round 2 eight strokes off the lead, as No. 1-ranked Auburn concluded the first round of the Mason Rudolph Championship at 10-under 274. The Dores are also two strokes behind second-place No. 12 Tennessee, which finished the day at 4-under 280.
“I’m proud of how the guys finished the round strong, which should help us have some momentum heading into tomorrow,” said Scott Limbaugh, Thomas F. Roush, M.D., and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Head Coach. “Ryan and Jon Ed played solid rounds and looked in control of their games all day, which was good for our team. There are a lot of things we have to clean up in the next couple of days, and it really comes down to having consistent focus and attention.
“I believe in this team, and we are growing each time out. We need to have all five guys in it, and I’m excited to go from the start tomorrow. There were a lot of fans here today, and I look forward to more of that this weekend.”
Steed was one of four Dores to card four birdies in Round 1, as he was joined by fellow freshmen Will Hartman and Michael Riebe and senior John Broderick, who was playing on the Vanderbilt B team. Hartman concluded play on Friday at even par 71 and heads into Round 2 tied for 22nd, while Riebe’s score of 2-over 73 puts him in a tie for 40th on the player leaderboard.
Vanderbilt has a pair of teams playing at the 2026 Mason Rudolph Championship, with seniors John Broderick and Ben Loomis, juniors Carlos Astiazaran and Chase Nevins, and sophomore Bowen Ballis making up the Vandy B team. The Commodores B team carded 7-over 291 on Friday and sits in a tie for 11th. Broderick paced the Vanderbilt B team in Round 1, as the senior from Wellesley, Massachusetts, finished his day tied for 22nd after carding even par 71.
Auburn’s Jackson Koivun and Ole Miss’ Tom Fischer lead the field after 18 holes of play at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Each golfer carded 4-under 67 in Round 1.
Round 2 of the Mason Rudolph Championship tees off at 8 a.m. CT on Saturday at Vanderbilt Legends Club. Due to inclement weather coming into the area, Round 2 will have teams tee off from Holes 1 and 10. The Vandy B begins its day at 9:23 a.m. CT on Hole 10, while the Vandy A team tees off at 9:40 a.m. CT on Hole 1.
Fans can follow Round 2 of the Mason Rudolph Championship via live scoring by clicking the link here.
For more information on the Vanderbilt men’s golf team, follow @VandyMGolf on Instagram and Twitter.
