RIVERSIDE — For Stephen Brinegar, it marked a seven-stroke improvement.
Tate Harness was able to shave 15 strokes off his score shot in the same tournament one year earlier.
Both Ottumwa golfers, however, felt their scores could have been even better on Monday at Blue Top Ridge. Brinegar's round of 79 and a round of 81 by Harness helped the Bulldogs open the 2025 boys high school golf season with an eighth-place finish at the Iowa City West Invitational, posting a team score of 345.
"I've got high expectations for myself, so I was kind of let down with a 79," Brinegar said. "I had some putts that I should have made. I missed one from basically a foot-and-a-half away for birdie. I missed a couple of those short putts."
Even with those shorts misses on the green, Brinegar was able to crack the top 15 in a tournament loaded with talent. Bettendorf senior Brady Huskey edged out Wahlert Catholic senior Connor Walsh by a single stroke with an impressive four-under-par round of 68 in a battle that could resume at the 4A state golf tournament in October.
Brinegar had his own battle for Ottumwa's top score in the season-opening tournament with Tate Harness, who overcame an early double-bogey by sinking a birdie on the third hole to stay within one of his senior teammate. Harness, after shooting 96 last August in the Iowa City West Invite, nearly broke 80 at Blue Top Ridge for the second time in a week narrowly missing a par putt from just off the green on the 17th nearly completing a scramble that including chipping out of nasty rough from the right side of the fairway.
"I probably could have stuck some irons or wedges closer, but I'm excited about what's possible this season," Harness said. "I've improved a lot since last year. I just didn't hit my driver very well in this tournament. I drove the ball much better last week. Hopefully, by the end of the season, I can average somewhere in the mid 70s."
Ottumwa will be home for the first time this season next week. The Bulldogs host Des Moines East and Des Moines Roosevelt in an Iowa Alliance Conference south division triangular at the Ottumwa Golf and Social Club next Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
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