GOODYEAR, Arizona -- Midwestern State assaulted the course at the Palm Valley Golf Club with 43 birdies in the opening two rounds Monday at the Riodosa Junior Golf Association's Palm Valley Classic.

But the Mustangs stumbled over the final few holes of the second round and fell into second place despite logging team totals of 276 and a 284 for a 16-under 560.

"I hate to take away from a good day, but we stumbled our way in," MSU coach Jeff Ray said. "It put a damper on the day with the way we finished. It is really discouraging."

Senior Seth Bearden delivered an exceptional opening round by firing in eight birdies on a clean, bogey-free card. It was his eighth round in the 60s this season.

But then he followed with is 16th par-or-better round with four more birdies on his way to a 1-under 71.

He closed out the opening day in a tie with Colorado Mesa's Cole Beyer (70-65) at the top of the leader board. Both golfers finished with a 9-under 135.

"Seth put himself in position to win another golf tournament," Ray said. "Eight birdies the first round was great."

Fellow senior Gatlin Goad notched his fifth score in the 60s by carding a 3-under 69 on the first loop, then added his ninth par-or-better score with a 1-under 71 on the second go around. The Wheeler, Texas, native is tied for 16th with a 4-under total of 140.

Freshman Ryan Griff logged scores of 73 and 69 for a 2-under total of 142 to tie for 24th, while senior James Perry (70-73) is tied for 32nd with a 1-under 143.

Senior Trevor Walsh struggled to a 9-over total of 153 to tie for 91st.

"The overall day was good. The guys made a lot of birdies and we competed hard," Ray said. "This is the type of golf course that you have to go make birdies."

Cal State East Bay used a tournament-low, 15-under 273 in the second round to take a three-stroke lead over the Mustangs.

"East Bay played great golf, but that's not unrealistic out here," Ray said. "We are in position to win, but will need to finish strong."

The final round of the RJGA Palm Valley Classic begins with a shotgun start Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. Central Time.
 

RJGA Palm Valley Classic

Team Leaderboard

Pos	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Cal State East Bay	-19	284	273	---	557
2	Midwestern State	-16	276	284	---	560
3	Chico State (Calif.)	-15	284	277	---	561
4	California State, San Bernardino	-13	283	280	---	563
5	Colorado School of Mines	-12	283	281	---	564
6	Colorado Mesa	-11	283	282	---	565
7	Northeastern State (Okla.)	-10	281	285	---	566
8	Colorado State-Pueblo	-8	281	287	---	568
9	Arkansas-Fort Smith	-7	286	283	---	569
10	Western New Mexico	-6	277	293	---	570
	Lubbock Christian	-6	288	282	---	570
12	UT Permian Basin	E	288	288	---	576
	California State, San Marcos	E	296	280	---	576
14	Texas A&M International	+6	300	282	---	582
15	Fort Lewis (Colo.)	+7	297	286	---	583
16	Saint Martin's (Wash.)	+9	295	290	---	585
17	Northwest Nazarene (Idaho)	+10	290	296	---	586
18	Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)	+16	300	292	---	592
19	Montana State-Billings	+30	300	306	---	606

  

Individual Leaderboard

Pos	Player	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Seth Bearden	Midwestern State	-9	64	71	--	135
	Cole Beyer	Colorado Mesa	-9	70	65	--	135
3	Timmy Cavarno	Colorado Mesa	-8	67	69	--	136
	ARman Rahgozar	California State, San Marcos	-8	67	69	--	136
5	John Kim	California State, San Bernardino	-7	71	66	--	137
6	Oscar Blomqvist	California State, East Bay	-6	71	67	--	138
	Cooper Groshart	California State, East Bay	-6	70	68	--	138
	Parker Rose	Northeastern State	-6	70	68	--	138
	Naoki Easterday	Chico State	-6	69	69	--	138
	Carter Lolli	Colorado School of Mines	-6	69	69	--	138
	Jeremy Tandoy	Arkansas-Fort Smith	-6	68	70	--	138

Midwestern State Scorecards

2	Midwestern State	-16	276	284	---	560
Place	Player	To Par	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
T1	Seth Bearden (1)	-9	64	71	--	135
T16	Gatlin Goad (2)	-4	69	71	--	140
T24	Ryan Griff (4)	-2	73	69	--	142
T32	James Perry (3)	-1	70	73	--	143
T91	Trevor Walsh (5)	+9	74	79	--	153