SURPRISE, Arizona -- Midwestern State's Seth Bearden finished runner-up at The Thunderbolt Invitational held from December 29-31 at the Sterling Grove Golf and Country Club.

The junior from Crowell, Texas, fired scores of 72, 67, and 68 for a 9-under total of 207 on the par-72, 7,258-yard course to finish one stroke back of tournament winner Zander Grant (69-67-70) of the University of Denver.

Because of the huge success of the Patriot All-America Invitational, which was started in 2011, the organizers decided to implement a second tournament to the Patriot lineup. The inaugural playing of The Thunderbolt was held in 2022 and included players that met the initial eligibility requirements, but did not make it into the Patriot.

The Patriot All-America Invitational features PING All Americans from all NCAA divisions and is played at the Wigwam Resort in Goodyear, Arizona. Over the years, the tournament featured players like Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, and Daniel Berger. This year, Mississippi's Cameron Tankersley won the Patriot All-America Tournament with scores of 65, 66, and 69 for a 10-under total of 200.

Bearden recorded 15 birdies on his way to three par-or-better rounds, including a pair of scores in the 60s against a field dominated by top Division I talent.

Bearden was one of only 11 non-NCAA Division I student-athletes in the field which included on other out of NCAA Division II, three from NCAA Division III, five NAIA athletes, and one junior college golfer.

Bearden, a second-team PING All-Amierca selection last season, was behind five NCAA Division II golfers that were a part of the Patriot All-America field.

Colorado Christian's Adam Duncan and Xavier Bighaus tied for 41st and 46th at the big event, followed by Grand Valley State's Drew Coble (T-67) and Winston-Salem State's Godfrey Nsubuga (81st).

Bearden is currently 27th in the Clippd Division II rankings and sports an adjusted scoring average of 71.2.

Midwestern State begins the spring semester at the Houston Classic on February 10-11 at the Golf Club of Houston.
 

The Thunderbolt Invitational

Individual Leaderboard

Pos	Player	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Zander Grant	Denver	-10	69	67	70	206
2	Seth Bearden	Midwestern State	-9	72	67	68	207
3	Aidan Thomas	New Mexico State	-8	67	70	71	208
	Ryan Abuan	San Diego	-8	71	67	70	208
5	Cole Rueck	Boise State	-7	70	66	73	209
6	Zack Missigman	St. Mary's (Calif.)	-6	66	72	72	210
	Adam Miller	Loyola Marymount	-6	70	68	72	210
	Charlie Wylie	Texas Christian	-6	70	68	72	210
9	Clark Van Gaalen	Oklahoma	-5	69	69	73	211
10	Javier Delgadillo	New Mexico State	-4	71	70	71	212
	Cooper Humphreys	San Diego	-4	68	70	74	212
	Carson Herron	New Mexico	-4	68	69	75	212
13	Ben Sawaia	UNLV	-3	69	75	69	213
	Jack Vojtko	Ohio State	-3	71	74	68	213
	Jacob Tarkany	Ohio State	-3	69	73	71	213
	Chris Kamin	Bradley	-3	71	71	71	213
	Brody Leid	Wyoming	-3	71	70	72	213
	Tyler Spielman	Auburn	-3	69	72	72	213
19	Francisco Taboada	Incarnate Word	-1	70	74	71	215
	Patton Samuels	Austin Peay	-1	70	73	72	215
	Vincent Cervantes	Marquette	-1	73	71	71	215
	J.F. Aber	Marshall	-1	72	73	70	215
	Jack Dozer	Denver	-1	71	71	73	215
	Luke Strako	Nebraska-Omaha	-1	72	70	73	215
	Keigo Takehara	Waseda	-1	69	72	74	215
	Eddie Coffren V	Lynchburg	-1	67	70	78	215