HUMBLE, Texas -- Midwestern State's Seth Bearden stands with the likes of legends Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter, and handful of other PGA greats.

Right at the top of the leaderboard at an event hosted by at the Golf Club of Houston.

The sophomore from Crowell fired scores of 72 and 71 for a 1-under total of 143 to take a one-stroke lead through the opening 36 holes over Central Oklahoma's Jordan Wilson, who logged a pair of even-par 72s.

Bearden's stellar play puts him in a position to join those golfing greats while going for his first collegiate win on Tuesday. The final round begins with a shotgun start at 8 a.m.

"Seth got off to a great start in both rounds," MSU coach Jeff Ray said. "He birdied the first hole and didn't look back."

Singh, Mickelson, and Poulter each won the Shell Houston Open which was hosted at the Golf Club of Houston from 2003-19.

"This is a great golf course that really keeps you thinking," Ray said. "Seth was great off the tee and he flighted the ball left or right the way he needed to."

Midwestern State managed the golf course well as a team on the way to building a four-stroke lead through the opening two rounds. The Mustangs put up totals of 303 and 293 for a 2-over 596 just ahead of Central Oklahoma (600/+24) and Henderson State (604/+28).

Senior Keaton Dickens tied for 10th after firing scores of 76 and 74 for a 6-over 150, while fifth-year senior Robert Garcia tied for 14th with scores of 78 and 73 for a 7-over 151.

Junior Gatlin Goad (77-75) finished a stroke behind to tie for 17th, while junior Trevor Walsh (79-75) tied for 26th with a 10-over 154.

"We were really fortunate to be great off the tee box all day and we were able to play well when it was cold," Ray said. "We finished really well. Our guys did a good job of keeping big numbers out of the equation."
 

Houston Classic

Team Leaderboard

Pos	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Midwestern State	+20	303	293	---	596
2	Central Oklahoma	+24	305	295	---	600
3	Henderson State (Ark.)	+28	301	303	---	604
4	Harding (Ark.)	+35	308	303	---	611
5	Oklahoma Christian	+36	308	304	---	612
6	Dallas Baptist	+43	309	310	---	619
7	Arkansas-Fort Smith	+47	320	303	---	623
8	West Texas A&M	+48	317	307	---	624
9	Southern Arkansas	+49	323	302	---	625
10	Missouri-St. Louis	+53	320	309	---	629
11	Mississippi College	+58	322	312	---	634
12	Cameron (Okla.)	+64	326	314	---	640
13	Southern Nazarene (Okla.)	+68	327	317	---	644
14	Arkansas-Monticello	+83	322	337	---	659
15	Washburn (Kan.)	+84	323	337	---	660

  

Individual Leaderboard

Pos	Player	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Seth Bearden	Midwestern State	-1	72	71	--	143
2	Jordan Wilson	Central Oklahoma	E	72	72	--	144
3	Jeff Lebeau	Mississippi College	+2	75	71	--	146
4	Ethan Wilkins	Henderson State	+3	70	77	--	147
5	Nathan Cossement	Henderson State	+4	75	73	--	148
6	Jacob Borow†	Houston	+5	74	75	--	149
	Jeremy Dandoy	Arkansas-Fort Smith	+5	76	73	--	149
	Exequiel Rodriguez	Oklahoma Christian	+5	78	71	--	149
	Leandro Mihaich	Oklahoma Christian	+5	74	75	--	149
10	Jose De La Concepcion	West Texas A&M	+6	77	73	--	150
	Keaton Dickens	Midwestern State	+6	76	74	--	150
	Bryant Hiskey II†	Houston	+6	76	74	--	150
	Sam Tandy	Harding	+6	75	75	--	150

 

Midwestern State Scorecard

1	Midwestern State	+20	303	293	---	596
Place	Player	To Par	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
1	Seth Bearden (1)	-1	72	71	--	143
T10	Keaton Dickens (3)	+6	76	74	--	150
T14	Robert Garcia (5)	+7	78	73	--	151
T17	Gatlin Goad (2)	+8	77	75	--	152
T26	Trevor Walsh (4)	+10	79	75	--	154