SAN ANTONIO – No. 32-ranked Midwestern State was the only team to shoot even-par or better and claimed the title at the Rattler Invitational on Tuesday with Ryan Griff finishing as the runner-up. Nathan Nelson finished third on the leaderboard and Seth Bearden finished in a fourth-place tie.

The Mustangs shot 8-under in the first round on Monday and held on to the lead throughout the tournament, shooting 8-over in the final round to finish at even-par and 13 strokes ahead of No. 6-ranked St. Mary's, which was hosting the tournament at Dominion Country Club.

Midwestern State won the 29th tournament title in program history and lifted the trophy at the Rattler Invitational for the second time in three years. Tthe team finished 1-under for a two-stroke victory over Dallas Baptist in 2024.  

Northern Biais of Northeastern State edged Griff by one stroke for the individual title. Griff shot even-par over the final 18 holes and finished in second place at 3-under par. The sophomore from Bulverde, Texas, was 2-under par through 14 holes in the final round and finished the day with two birdies and two bogies.

Griff and Nelson each had the best finish of their collegiate career.

Griff's first birdie in the final round came on the ninth hole, which he eagled in each of the first two rounds. He birdied the 13th hole for the second time in the tournament to get to 2-under in his final round.

Nelson, who opened the tournament with a 4-under 68 on Monday, closed out the tournament with his fourth birdie of the day to finish the final round at 2-over. He was 2-under through 54 holes and finished two strokes behind Biais.

Bearden was one of three golfers to finish the tournament tied for fourth place at even-par. The senior from Crowell, Texas, shot 2-over 74 in the final round. The No. 25-ranked player in NCAA Division II eagled the 499-yard, par-5 ninth hole on Tuesday and also had a birdie in his final round. He finished the tournament with 10 birdies and an eagle.

Bearden played for the team that won the tournament in 2024, when he tied for ninth place at 2-over par as a sophomore.

Anniston McIlwain finished the tournament with 10 birdies, including two in the final round as he closed out the event with a 4-over 76. McIlwain finished the tournament in 46th place at 10-over par, one stroke ahead of teammate Hank Germany, who also shot 4-over in the final round and finished 11-over par. Germany was 47th in a field of 87 players.

Midwestern State finished 19-under par on the four par-5s at Dominion Country Club and led the tournament with 46 birdies. The Mustangs were one of seven teams with three eagles through 54 holes, while Arkansas-Monticello and Northeastern State each had four eagles.

The Mustangs had the fewest bogies of any team in the field with 45, while Cameron had the second fewest with 51.

Cameron finished third at 14-over par followed by Northeastern State at 21-over par. No. 11-ranked Dallas Baptist, No. 17-ranked UT Permian Basin and No. 44-ranked UT Tyler finished in a tie for fifth place at 22-over par.