FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The No. 11/11-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team posted a second-place finish at the 2026 Mason Rudolph Championship, as the Commodores carded 9-under 843 over three rounds of play on the South Course at Vanderbilt Legends Club.
Vandy finished Round 3 at 3-under 281 to move past No. 12-ranked Tennessee on Sunday and conclude its lone home tournament of the season in second place. Vanderbilt carded under par as a team in all three rounds over the weekend, as the Dores posted scores of 282-280-281.
Freshman Jon Ed Steed continued his recent hot streak, as the two-time SEC Freshman of the Week posted the best finish of his collegiate career for the second-straight weekend. He concluded the Mason Rudolph Championship in a tie for third with a career-best three-round total of 6-under 207. It is Steed’s second-straight top-five finish after placing fourth at the Linger Longer Invitational. The Enterprise, Alabama, native’s 14 total birdies were tied for the most in the field.
“First off, I just want to say thanks to everybody who made the Mason Rudolph Championship such a special week,” said Scott Limbaugh, Thomas F. Roush, M.D., and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Head Coach. “I really thought we put on a first-class event, and I know all the other coaches and players really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about our team this week. Our young guys are continuing to get better and step up, and it was really good to see Jon Ed, Ryan, and Will really kind of carry water for us this week. I’m super proud of that. I love the fight that we put up today. We wanted to have the low round of the day; that was the goal going into the round. We had an opportunity to do that through 15 holes, but didn’t quite finish the way we wanted to. We’ve just had some lapses of concentration, and from time to time, and commitment levels.
“We just got to clean that stuff up. We’ve got one more regular-season event to work on that. Like I told the team, every single thing we want is in front of us. We got to keep taking ownership of our actions and putting in the work.”
Steed was one of two Commodores who placed in the top five on the player leaderboard at the Mason Rudolph Championship. He was joined by sophomore Ryan Downes, who tied for fifth with a 54-hole score of 4-under 209. The Longmeadow, Massachusetts, native carded par or better in all three rounds of play, as he held scores of 69-71-69. Downes’ 13 birdies collected over 54 holes were tied for fourth-most in the tournament.
Freshman Will Hartman posted the first top-15 finish at the collegiate level, as he carded even par 213 in his first appearance at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Fellow freshman Michael Riebe finished tied for 25th at 3-over 216, while senior Wells Williams tied for 32nd after carding 5-over 218 to round out the Vanderbilt lineup.
The Vanderbilt B team wrapped up the 15-team Mason Rudolph Championship in 11th place. The Commodore B team was led by junior Chase Nevins, who posted a 54-hole score of 2-over 215 to end play tied for 22nd.
No. 1-ranked Auburn won the team title at the 2026 Mason Rudolph Championship, as the Tigers carded 26-under 826. Auburn’s Jackson Koivun claimed individual medalist honors after he posted a score of 12-under 201 to win the tournament by two strokes.
The Vanderbilt men’s golf team returns to action April 13-14, as the Commodores conclude the 2025-26 regular season at the Mossy Oak Collegiate Championship in West Point, Mississippi.
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