RHODES – The Harvester Golf Club is one of the toughest 18-hole tracks in Iowa on a balmy day without a breath of wind.

In chilly temperatures with wind gusts howling at 30-plus miles per hour? Good luck.

But that’s what players faced on Tuesday during the Ballard Invitational, as scores and levels of frustration mounted as the round progressed.

Webster City navigated the humps and bumps better than the other five teams in the field, as the Lynx won their second tournament title in as many outings with a team score of 340. Gilbert nipped at the Lynx heels, but settled for second with a 345. Atlantic (351), Creston/Orient-Macksburg (355), Ballard (362) and Nevada (372) rounded out the field.

The winning total was 34 shots north of what WCHS shot to win the Spencer Invite by a single stroke on Saturday. But considering the miserable conditions, the Lynx were more than happy to escape with the win regardless of the score.

“It’s a tough course to play on a good day, and (Tuesday) was extremely difficult,” WCHS head coach Dave Brighton said. “The guys knew the scores would be much higher. We knew that probably a mid-80s score would be pretty good and they were OK with that.”

WCHS occupied three of the top five slots on the individual leaderboard, highlighted by a runner-up round of 82 from Alec Fuhs. Drew Fielder’s 83 slotted him fourth, one spot ahead of Avery Fuhs (85).

Logan Yates’ 90 was a much higher score than he’s accustomed to, but it was good enough to round out the Lynx scoring.

After struggling in the initial three meets of the season, Fielder has come to life over the past two outings and been the Lynx most consistent player in the back-to-back tournaments.

“Drew has really found his stride and he’s playing very well,” Brighton said.

Ballard’s Nash Bucher took the individual title with a 79.

WCHS will return home for Thursday’s North Central Conference triangular with Clear Lake and Fort Dodge St. Edmond – two teams that are expected to contend alongside the Lynx for league supremacy this spring. Play from Briggs Woods Golf Course will get underway at 4:30 p.m.

Clear Lake returns all six players from last year’s fourth-place state finish.