WEST POINT, Mississippi -- Midwestern State's Seth Bearden was on the way to winning his second collegiate golf tournament, while helping the Mustangs to a team tournament title Tuesday afternoon at The Dunning Invitational at Mossy Oak Golf Course.

And left very little doubt from his very first swing, starting the third and final round with consecutive birdies on the way to completing Front Nine at 5-under. Bearden pushed his way to 17-under before settling back to win individual medalist honors with a 15-under total of 201.

"Seth got going early and we never looked back," MSU coach Jeff Ray said. "Obviously, Seth was amazing. He hit fairways, greens, and made enough putts. It was a very good golf course and he just played on another level.

Bearden carded scores of 66, 67, and 68 to move into a fourth on MSU's all-time list with 33 par-or-better scores over his first 65 collegiate rounds.

The junior from Crowell also matched the lowest 54-hole total in program history with a 15-under 201. The feat equaled Jake Doggett's 15-under total of 198 set in the fall of 2021 in the Midwestern State Invitational at the Wichita Falls Country Club.

Bearden racked up 19 birdies through the rounds, topping the 200 mark for his career.

It was his first individual tournament win since claiming the title at the Houston Classic last spring.

"Congratulation to Seth," Ray said. "He is getting better every year. He works on the right things and is super competitive. He wants to be great, then puts the time and effort into it."

The Mustangs rode Bearden's performance to the team title, turning in three par-or-better team rounds along the way. MSU combinted for tallies of 285, 288, and 286 for a 5-under 859 to win by seven strokes over UT Tyler (866/+2).

The Patriots were trailed by Valdosta State (Ga.) (870/+6), Delta State (Miss.) (872/+8), and Henderson State (Ark.) (879/+15) to round out the top five.

Midwestern State senior James Perry recorded scores of 72, 73, and 74 for a 3-over total of 219 to tie for 12th, while fellow senior Gatlin Goad (74, 74, 72) tied for 14th with a 4-over 220.

Freshman Ryan Griff finished his collegiate debut with his first par-or-better round, loggin ga 73, 79, and 72 for an 8-over total of 224 to tie for 29th.

Senior Trevor Walsh (74-74-81 229/+13) tied for 46th, while freshman Bryce Hoech (74-81-76 231/+5) placed 52nd playing as an individual medalist only.

"This was a great start to the year and a great golf course to play on," Ray said.

Midwestern State competes in the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational on October 7-8 at the Amarill Country Club.
 

The Dunning Invitational

Team Leaderboard

Pos	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Midwestern State	-5	285	288	286	859
2	UT Tyler	+2	287	287	292	866
3	Valdosta State (Ga.)	+6	281	294	295	870
4	Delta State (Miss.)	+8	305	283	284	872
5	Henderson State (Ark.)	+15	306	292	281	879
6	Fort Lewis (Colo.)	+20	290	297	297	884
7	Montevallo (Ala.)	+23	300	293	294	887
8	Mississippi College	+34	298	294	306	898
9	Arkansas-Monticello	+36	299	312	289	900
10	Chrisitan Brothers (Tenn.)	+51	307	308	300	915
11	Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.)	+57	307	308	300	915
12	Loyola (La.)	+60	310	305	309	924
13	Spring Hill (Ala.)	+71	323	313	299	935
14	LeMoyne-Owen (Tenn.)	+249	367	374	372	1113

  

Individual Leaderboard

Pos	Player	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Seth Bearden	Midwestern State	-15	66	67	68	201
2	Ethan Wilkins	Henderson State	-5	70	71	70	211
3	Elad Sebbag	Valdosta State	-4	68	73	71	212
	Zach Olsen	Delta State	-4	76	66	70	212
5	Seth Campbell	UT Tyler	-3	69	73	70	213
6	Eric Boutwell	Montevallo	-1	72	70	73	215
7	Jordan Jennings	Fort Lewis	E	68	71	77	216
8	Jeffery Lebeau	Mississippi College	+1	70	70	77	217
	Landry Rogers (Ind.)	Arkansas-Monticello	+1	77	68	72	217
	Jay Shero	UT Tyler	+1	70	71	76	217

 

Midwestern State Scorecards

1	Midwestern State	-5	285	288	286	859
Place	Player	To Par	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
1	Seth Bearden	-15	66	67	68	201
T12	James Perry	+3	72	73	74	219
T14	Gatlin Goad	+4	74	74	72	220
T29	Ryan Griff	+8	73	79	72	224
T46	Trevor Walsh	+13	74	74	81	229
52	Bryce Hoech (Ind.)	+15	74	81	76	231