Prep golf: Speer outduels Leonard at Flint Hills
Sep. 20—BURLINGTON — Less than two weeks ago, Nate Speer and Cale Leonard battled it out for 18 holes with the final putts on the final green ultimately determining who came out on top.
On Monday, Speer made sure he couldn't be caught sinking four birdies on the back nine to pull away from his current high school rival and future University of Drake teammate. Speer posted a tournament-best six-under par round of 65, beating Leonard by five strokes, as Burlington beat out Ottumwa for both the individual and team titles on Monday at the Grayhounds' home tournament.
Burlington, winners at the Ottumwa Invitational 13 days earlier, posted a team score of 301. Ottumwa, meanwhile, finished second with a score of 349 edging Davenport Assumption by six shots despite the absence of regular varsity scorer Trent Grooms due to other educational commitments.
"This is a tricky course, especially for some of our kids who haven't played it before," Ottumwa head boys golf coach Kyle Creamer said. "I thought all the kids played well. It's another encouraging sign that we're progressing in the right direction at the right time of the season."
Chase Thompson stepped up to post Ottumwa's second-lowest score in the tournament, finishing 11th overall with a career-best score of 89. The Bulldog freshman avoided making any major mistakes over the first three holes, settling for three straight bogeys, before securing his first birdie of the day on the fourth hole before adding four pars including three on the back nine to crack 90 for the first time.
"I'm seeing the drives going straight down the fairway now and I'm improving on my short game," Thompson said. "I had a little swing change. It's a relief to see that ball heading straight off the tee. It's allowing me to be more aggressive in going at the green.
"We've been working with Chase to make sure he doesn't put up as many big numbers during his round," Creamer added. "We can withstand bogeys. What we can have are doubles and triples that bring his score and the team's score way up. If we can cut down on those major mistakes, we'll be right where we want to be."
Leonard, meanwhile, overcame a triple bogey on the second hole to stay within striking distance of Speer, recording three birdies over the next seven holes to finish an even-par 36 on the front nine. Leonard birdied the 10th hole, cutting Speer's lead down to just one, before the Burlington senior responded with back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 regaining a three-stroke lead.
"I expected to Cale to make a run at me even after that rough start," Speer said. "I think it helped be a little more familiar with this course, but the biggest difference was I just swung it better than I did at Ottumwa."
Leonard came home with a one-under par 70 at Flint Hills. The state championship hopeful couldn't complain about finishing second to Speer's round of 65, chalking his final score up to being two swings away from a much better day.
"I had a bad shot on the second hole and a bad shot on the 17th," Leonard said. "That's four shots I gave up because of two swings. I played a lot better overall than I did on Friday at Marshalltown. I made a lot of birdies. Take away two bad swings and I'm right there with Nate.
"Ultimately, you tip your hat to someone when they shoot a 65," Creamer added. "Cale's certainly capable of having that type of round, but it's still tough to beat someone that plays that well."
Ottumwa returns home to Fox Run on Tuesday to host Des Moines Roosevelt with the CIML Metro conference dual title on the line. Action gets underway at 3:30 p.m.
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
