MARSHALLTOWN — It just didn’t feel right on Thursday
Especially after things had been going so well for Chase Thompson and the rest of the Ottumwa High School boys golf team.
The Bulldogs were right in the thick of a battle for the team title at the Joe August Invitational, minimizing the miscues and potential shots that can easily be lost on the tough Elmwood Country Club course. Through the first six holes, led by six straight pars to open the round by Thompson, Ottumwa was just five strokes off the lead pace set by Norwalk and Dallas Center-Grimes at seven-over par.
“We came out really hitting the ball well,” Ottumwa head boys golf coach Kyle Creamer said. “We had a lot of guys shooting right at or right around even par.”
Weather disrupted what might have been a very good day for the Bulldogs last Thursday at the Joe August Invitational. Multiple delays due to brief storms led to a disjointed round of 321 at Elmwood Country Club, leaving Ottumwa finishing in sixth place winning on a tiebreaker with Indianola.
“It just seemed like we were struggling a little bit after the delay,” Creamer said.
That would not be the case on Monday at the Steve Spray Invitational. Ottumwa would open a busy week by posting its best score of the year, finishing in a tie for second at Indianola Country Club posting a team total of 301 matching Indianola, Dallas Center-Grimes and Ankeny in the tournament finishing just 16 strokes behind team champion Southeast Polk.
“We talked about doing the little things well. I think the guys saw what they’re capable of when that happens,” Creamer said. “The course at Indianola is probably the most similar to our home course (the Ottumwa Golf and Social Club), so I think our guys viewed this as a chance to show what they could do on a course that will be similar to the one we’ll be playing for a state tournament berth on.”
Thompson, coming off a frustrating finish on Thursday at Marshalltown, bounced back by posting his best career score on Monday at Indianola finishing with an even-par round of 71 earning third place. Stephen Brinegar added a career-best round of 72 for the Bulldogs, placing fifth overall at the Steve Spray Invite, while Logan Storto added a career-best round of 74 to finish 10th.
“Overall, I was pleased with the decisions our guys made out there,” Creamer said. “The greens at Elmwood were like glass. If you were within five yards of the edges, the ball just fell off. There were some drastic elevations where the ball will roll off the green and head down hills. The guys were able to keep their heads on pretty well out there considering those circumstances.”
Thompson echoed the thoughts of his head coach on Thursday after finishing with a 10-over-par round of 80 at Marshalltown, falling from the top five early in the round to a 28th-place finish struggling with four consecutive bogeys after returning to the course. Ultimately, Elmwood got the best of several golfers down the stretch preventing the Bulldogs from falling plummeting down the leaderboard ultimately winding up in sixth place overall after entering the weather delay in fifth place as a team.
Ultimately, it was Norwalk that would survive both the course and the brief bouts with the weather finishing with a 10-over-par total of 290 on Thursday edging Southeast Polk by just two strokes. Ottumwa would find up posting a team score of 321, just four shots higher than Monday’s dual with Burlington at Flint Hills Golf Course and two strokes better than Ottumwa’s fourth-place finish at its home invitational nine days earlier.
Rounds of 86 by Gavin Monaghan and Tate Harness ultimately allowed Ottumwa to edge Indianola, who also posted a 321, thanks to having the better fifth-place score. Gio Richardson was Indianola’s fifth-place golfer, posting a round of 90.
Brinegar nearly brought home one of the top-18 flags from the tournament using three birdies on the back nine early in his round to post an even-par 35, staying within the top 10 heading back to the front of the course to finish out his round. Back-to-back double bogeys on the third and fourth holes, however, dropped Brinegar into 19th place finishing with an eight-over-par round of 78 losing out on a ceremonial flag for the second time in three meets on a card-off.
“I’m not sure why, but I got a little nervous at the end with a couple of shots,” Brinegar said. “I just need to hit my irons and wedges with more accuracy. My greens in regulation were not good. My drives were alright. I only lost a couple of balls, but having those double bogeys didn’t help.
“I hit one shot right next to a tree, had to hit back out to the fairway and ended up hitting my approach shot over the green on one hole. It’s a challenging course. If I would have stayed out of my head and wouldn’t have thought about all the trouble I was getting into, I think I would have done much better. Golf ultimately is 90 percent mental.”
All told, golfers had to deal with three different rain delays as the beginning of the tournament was pushed back due to weather that initially moved through central Iowa on Thursday morning. After dealing with another delay after just six holes, Thompson struggled to find the same shots that had lifted the Ottumwa senior into contention with an even-par start to his round.
“The first shot I hit after the delay rolled right off the green and into a bunker,” Thompson said. “After that, it just didn’t feel right. I just felt like nothing went my way. I made some good putts and even had a birdie on the 18th. It was hard because I’d hit a good tee shot and follow it up with a bad second shot, or I’d hit a bad tee shot and cost myself the rest of the hole. Even when I had good opportunities, it felt like wasn’t taking full advantage.”
Storto would match Thompson with a round of 80 for Ottumwa, finishing 26th overall on a card-off rolling in three birdies on the front nine. Milo Canny rounded out the day for the Bulldogs with a round of 83, including birdies on the fifth and 15th holes.
“It took us a couple extra holes to get loose after the rain delay. That’s a lesson to learn from this tournament,” Creamer said. “We also learned that every hole is its own. You have to stay locked in for all 18 holes. You can’t let one mistake cost you more than just that one hole.”
The Bulldogs head to Des Moines for an Iowa Alliance Conference south division dual against Lincoln on Tuesday at A.H. Blank Golf Course. On Wednesday, Ottumwa will be at Cooper Creek on Wednesday competing in the Southeast Polk Invitational.
