PLEASANT HILL — Nothing could take away from the impressive start to the week for the Ottumwa High School boys golf team.
Just two days after producing the lowest 18-hole team score in five years, the Bulldogs struggled during their third consecutive day of competition on Wednesday. Ottumwa posted their second-highest score of the season at the Southeast Polk Invitational, finishing with a round of 337 at Cooper Creek Golf Club finishing ninth overall in the tournament.
“We played really we’ve played all season over the course of the past two days,” Ottumwa head boys golf coach Kyle Creamer said. “Anytime you play three days in a row, it’s difficult. It’s more of a mental challenge than anything. Cooper Creek is a really hard course and, if you’re not sharp, it’s going to be really hard.”
Ottumwa opened the week posting a team score of 301 at the Steve Spray Invitational, the lowest team score in an 18-hole tournament since the Bulldogs posted a 298 at the Joe August Invitational in 2019. Chase Thompson was one of three Ottumwa players to post career-best rounds at the Indianola Country Club on Monday before following it up with a nine-hole score of 37 at Blank Golf Course on Tuesday, leading the Bulldogs to a team score of 155 winning an Iowa Alliance Conference south division dual over Des Moines Lincoln by 46 strokes.
“If we can shoot that well again and even get a couple over guys down or below 80, we’ve got a chance to break 300,” Thompson said. “We’d definitely take that at the state qualifying tournament. We proved what we’re capable of. If we shoot around or below 300, we’ve got a great chance to make it to state.”
Thompson led Ottumwa for second time this week, closing out Wednesday’s round with a score of 77. Despite four birdies on the back nine, Thompson could not overcome a tough early stretch that included a pair of double bogeys and a triple bogey on the par-3 12th hole.
“I felt good out there. There were just a a few holes where I had a couple of bad swings that led to three big numbers,” Thompson said. “You take away three of those first four holes, I’m in contention for a top-five finish or maybe even break par.
“The main thing I needed to do was get off the tee better. I hit a few squirrelly tee shots. I didn’t swing club as fully as I should have. I tried to baby the ball up there. One shot went out of bounds. One went in the water. It all led to big numbers.”
Stephen Brinegar followed in Thompson with a round of 82 for the Bulldogs, closing out his round with a triple bogey on the eighth hole just two days after shooting a career-low 72 at Indianola. Milo Canny posted an 88 on Wednesday for Ottumwa while Tate Harness added a score of 90.
“We just didn’t get off to a great start on our first three or four holes,” Creamer said. “The guys did a good job battling back, but it’s a tough course to battle all the way back from.”
Logan Storto posted two of his best rounds for Ottumwa to open the week, bringing in a career-low 18-hole score of 74 on Monday at Indianola before earning medalist honors with a nine-hole score of 36 in the Iowa Alliance south dual win over Des Moines Lincoln on Tuesday. Storto struggled on Wednesday at Cooper Creek, finishing with a round of 91, while Gavin Monaghan closed out the varsity portion of the Southeast Polk Invitational for the Bulldogs with a round of 94.
“The biggest thing we’re talking with the guys about is to hit the ball in play,” Creamer said. “If you can keep the ball in play, you give yourself a chance to limit your mistakes. It’s just a matter of hitting quality shots that will give yourself a chance to lower your score.”
The Ottumwa junior varsity finished with a team score of 376. Ethan Reynolds led the Bulldog JV with a round of 92, edging Brock Garcia by two strokes with Carter Burton and Roen Miller each posting rounds of 95.
“The guys are tired. They just need a couple days off before we get back to the grind next week,” Creamer said. “This overall week is a definite confidence booster. We know we can do it. We just need to recuperate and prepare to get ready for the big state qualifying tournament on Oct. 7.”
The Ottumwa golfers will be competing at Cedar Creek Golf Course on Monday. The Bulldogs will host Burlington, Indianola and Dallas Center-Grimes in a quadrangular starting at 10 a.m.
