Obscure penalty can’t derail Timberline sophomore. She cruised to 5A district golf title
A page from deep in the rule book threatened to erase Timberline Ella Arnzen’s lead at the 5A District Three girls golf tournament Wednesday. But instead of despairing, the sophomore rallied for a three-stroke victory at Lakeview Golf Club.
Arnzen turned in a 1-over 73, sinking an eagle moments after the penalty to put the moment behind her and run away with the district championship.
“I got kind of nervous after I found out I was about to get a penalty,” the 15-year-old said. “But I still got pars. I still had a birdie in there. And I believed in myself.”
The drama started on No. 8, when Boise’s Kelly Goulet wondered aloud where the water hazard on the hole was. Arnzen off-handedly said she planned to use her 3-wood.
The comment wouldn’t earn a second thought during a casual Saturday round. But it violated USGA’s competition rules by giving advice to an opponent, earning her a two-stroke penalty.
Timberline coach Todd Simpson debated telling Arnzen about the potential penalty. He didn’t want to worry her for no reason. But he also didn’t want her to end the round thinking she had won, only to receive a surprise.
So he told her, and Arnzen rewarded that decision with an eagle on the par-5 No. 11 moments later. She dropped an 8-iron from 137 yards to 2 feet from the hole, then tapped in to erase any damage from the penalty.
“That’s pretty money,” Simpson said.
The district title adds to a dominant fall season for Arnzen. She’s won six of the eight events she’s entered, turning in scores at or under par with regularity. But Simpson said the way she handled a rare second-place finish was the most impressive.
“The day she took second, she went straight to the golf course and worked for a couple hours to get it dialed back in,” he said. “.. She’s put a ton of time in also lifting and getting stronger, gaining about 35 yards, which changed her ability to be consistent.
“Now that she hits it out there, she can score pretty much every time.”
ROCKY MOUNTAIN DISTRICT CHAMPS AGAIN
The Grizzlies won their third straight team title Wednesday, shooting a combined score of 322, 26 strokes ahead of Mountain View.
Rocky Mountain finished with four golfers inside the top 10. Emry Gibbs led the charge, finishing second behind Arnzen at 4-over 72. Jane Barry also earned a medal in third place (77). Maggie Urian tied for sixth (84), and Anna DaBell finished ninth (85).
Timberline (360) and Boise (362) finished third and fourth, rounding out the 5A Southern Idaho Conference’s state bids for the Oct. 7 and 8 tournament at Teton Lakes in Rexburg.
GIRLS GOLF
5A District Three Tournament
Thursday
At Lakeview, Meridian
Par 72
Team scores (top 4 to state)
1, Rocky Mountain 322.
2, Mountain View 348.
3, Timberline 360.
4, Boise 362.
5, Eagle 371.
6, Middleton 375.
7, Meridian 401.
8, Capital 420.
9, Borah 433.
10, Owyhee 445.
11, Centennial 456.
12, Kuna 525.
13, Nampa 548.
Top 13 individuals (all to state)
1, Ella Arnzen, Timberline, 73.
2, Emry Gibbs, Rocky Mountain, 76.
3, Jane Barry, Rocky Mountain, 77.
4, Olivia Lammey, Middleton, 79.
5, Lilly Miller, Mountain View, 83.
t-6, Maggie Urian, Rocky Mountain, 84.
t-6, Anna Li, Timberline, 84.
t-6, Kelly Goulet, Boise, 84.
9, Anna DaBell, Rocky Mountain, 85.
t-10, Sara Andrus, Mountain View, 86.
t-10, Katie Yu, Meridian, 86.
12, Natalie Nichenko, Rocky Mountain, 87.
t-13, Audrey Schummer, Eagle, 88.
t-13, Sammy Saroyan, Mountain View, 88.
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 9:06 PM.
