BLUFFTON, S.C. — Rutgers men's golf made history in the third round today during the Colleton River Collegiate. They shot 272 (-16) today, tied for the best round in the event, propelling them from ninth to third in the final day.

The Scarlet Knights had their best round in school history. They set the record for best team round of 18 vs par, beating the previous record by three strokes. 272 strokes in round three is good for a second best tie in Rutgers history. The team 54 hole score of 841 is the seventh best event in school history.

"All six guys who traveled this week had some really great moments, especially the final day," Coach Rob Shutte said. "We had a bunch of scorers in the red. Every time you looked up guys were making more birdies and keeping the rounds clean. Super proud of the guys. They knew to keep chopping and keep grinding. They didn't give up. They were a little disappointed last night because they know they are a lot better than the first 36 holes overall. It was awesome to see them get rewarded for their talents. They put together a good day to move up to third. It shows the grit and toughness that we have so I'm really proud of them for that."

Rutgers third place finish today is their best finish since the Grandover Collegiate in late October 2019. Chris Gotterup and Tony Jiang both tied for fifth in the event as they led Rutgers to a second place finish.

Weston Jones had one of his best rounds as a Scarlet Knight. He shot 209 (-7) with 14 birdies over the course of the event, the T13th lowest individual round in school history. His 6-under in round three pushed him up 25 places up to a 13th place tie. 

"It was a good round," Weston Jones said. "I hit it super well today. I hit it super well yesterday and just couldn't hit any putts. I was hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. I gave myself so many opportunities that I just had to hit a couple putts. Just strung it all along and had a nice little day. It was fun. I had my parents and a couple of friends, so there was a little gallery. It was a good day."

Co-captain Xavier Marcoux also tied for 13th place. He tied the team lead with 14 birdies and added 35 pars.

"Today went about as smoothly as you can expect," Marcoux said. "I went into the day a little frustrated with not making a lot of putts the day before. I birdied my first two holes this morning to close out my second round which is probably as good of a start I could get off to. From there I just kept staying patient, waiting for my opportunities to come. I was able to roll in five birdies in the afternoon to come out with a 69. Obviously, the guys did a really good job. We had a lot of really good rounds going and ended up with probably one of the best rounds in program history."

All of the Scarlet Knights contributed in a big way. Co-captain Luke Wells led the team with 37 pars. Rhett Sellers finished one stroke off of the team lead with a score of 210 (-6). He also eagled hole 14 in round 2. Freshman Derek Gutierrez, impressed in his first time in the lineup, shooting even over the last 36 holes. Participating as an individual, freshman Andrew Reyes had his best event as a Scarlet Knight, shooting 4-under for the week. 

The Nicklaus Course at the Colleton River Club seems to be a favorite of the Scarlet Knights. Just a year ago, Rhett Sellers had the fourth-best round of 18 in school history. As a team, they shot 11-under in round one, also the fourth-best team round of 18. Over the course of the event, Rutgers shot 839 (-25), the third-best total strokes for a 54-hole event and the best 54-hole vs. par in school history.

Rutgers will head to Georgia to host the Johnnie-O at Sea Island on Monday March 11^th. 

Colleton River Collegiate: Final Results

March 5th, 2024
Colleton River Club - Nicklaus Course
Par 72 | 7,042 Yards
Field: Rutgers, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Georgia Southern, Howard, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, Missouri, Penn State, and Tennessee – Chattanooga

3	Rutgers	287 (-1)	282 (-6)	272 (-16)	841 (-23)
Place	Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Tournament
T13	Weston Jones	70 (-2)	73 (+1)	66 (-6)	209 (-7)
T13	Xavier Marcoux	72 (E)	68 (-4)	69 (-3)	209 (-7)
T19	Rhett Sellers	72 (E)	69 (-3)	69 (-3)	210 (-6)
T34	Luke Wells	73 (+1)	74 (+2)	68 (-4)	215 (-1)
T50	Derek Gutierrez	74 (+2)	72 (E)	72 (E)	218 (+2)
T26	Andrew Reyes*	71 (-1)	69 (-3)	72 (E)	212 (-4)