HUMBLE, Texas -- Midwestern State's Seth Bearden broke through for his first collegiate win Tuesday afternoon in the Houston Classic played at the Golf Club of Houston.

The sophomore from Crowell fired a 3-under 69 to claim individual medalist honors by four strokes after carding scores of 72 and 71 on Monday. He finished with a 4-under total of 212.

"Seth was so good today from tee-to-green," MSU coach Jeff Ray said. "He was learning to play comfortably when he is nervous. This is another step in his progression. He is going to be a great player."

Bearden's exceptional play combined with a bogey-free 67 by Robert Garcia helped the Mustangs roll to their first win of the season, firing team totals of 303, 293, and 287 for a 19-over 883 to claim a five-stroke win over Central Oklahoma.

It was Midwestern State's first team win since claiming three consecutive titles at UT Tyler's King-Alfred Invitational, the RJGA Palm Valley Classic, and the Lone Star Conference Championship during the 2021-22 season.

Bearden continued his stellar play from the fall when he finished runner-up up at the DBU Men's Fall Classic and was third in the The Hrnciar Invitational.

"It was the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication and was definite rewarding," Bearden said, but did admit to feeling some nerves. "I was thinking of what it would be like to win, but I felt like I did a great job of keeping my mind on the next shot and executing the shot at hand."

Bearden started a run of three birdies in a four-hole stretch on Hole No. 8, then went to 5-under with an eagle on the par-5, 551-yard 13th hole. That gave him enough breathing room to lay up down the stretch, taking bogeys on the final two holes.

"I remember watching the tournament when I was a kid," Bearden said. "It was very special knowing some great golfers had won on this course."

The Shell Houston Open was played at the same course from 2003-19 with notable golfing legends Vijay Singh, Phil Mickleson, and Ian Poulter among the list of the event's winners.

Teammate Robert Garcia rode a hot streak with four consecutive birdies on the Back Nine, then finished with another birdie on No. 1 to polish of a bogey-free round with a 5-under 67.

"What a round Rob Garcia had today. He played the best round of golf he has played since he has been at Midwestern," Ray said. "None of the other guys had their A game, but they battled through it."

The round propelled Garcia into a tie for third place with a 2-over total of 218. The senior posted scores of 78 and 73 on Monday.

Senior Keaton Dickens (76-74-75 225/+9) finished 20th, while junior Gatlin Goad (77-75-77 229/+13) tied for 28th and junior Trevor Walsh (79-75-76 230/+14) tied for 32nd.

Midwestern State returns to action at the St. Mary's Rattler Invitational on February 19-20 at the Dominion Country Club in San Antonio.
 

Houston Classic

Team Leaderboard

Pos	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Midwestern State	+19	303	293	287	883
2	Central Oklahoma	+24	305	295	288	888
3	Henderson State (Ark.)	+30	301	303	290	894
4	Oklahoma Christian	+36	308	304	288	900
5	West Texas A&M	+40	317	307	280	904
6	Arkansas-Fort Smith	+42	320	303	283	906
7	Harding (Ark.)	+45	308	303	298	909
8	Dallas Baptist	+50	309	310	295	914
9	Missouri-St. Louis	+61	320	309	296	925
10	Southern Arkansas	+63	323	302	302	927
11	Mississippi College	+69	322	312	299	933
12	Cameron (Okla.)	+79	326	314	303	943
13	Southern Nazarene (Okla.)	+92	327	318	311	956
14	Washburn (Kan.)	+99	323	337	303	963
15	Arkansas-Monticello	+104	322	337	309	968

  

Individual Leaderboard

Pos	Player	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Seth Bearden	Midwestern State	-4	72	71	69	212
2	Jordan Wilson	Central Oklahoma	E	72	72	72	216
3	Robert Garcia	Midwestern State	+2	78	73	67	218
	Ethan Wilkins	Henderson State	+2	70	77	71	218
5	Jeff Lebeau	Mississippi College	+3	75	71	73	219
6	Leandro Mihaich	Oklahoma Christian	+4	74	75	71	220
	Nathan Cossement	Henderson State	+4	75	73	72	220
8	Jose De La Concepcion	West Texas A&M	+5	77	73	71	221
	Exequiel Rodriguez	Oklahoma Baptist	+5	78	71	72	221
	Jeremy Tandoy	Arkansas-Fort Smith	+5	76	73	72	221
	Jacob Borow†	Houston	+5	74	75	72	221

 

Midwestern State Scorecard

1	Midwestern State	+19	303	293	287	883
Place	Player	To Par	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
1	Seth Bearden (1)	-4	72	71	69	212
T3	Robert Garcia (5)	+2	78	73	67	218
20	Keaton Dickens (3)	+9	76	74	75	225
T28	Gatlin Goad (2)	+13	77	75	77	229
T32	Trevor Walsh (4)	+14	79	75	76	230