Liberty’s Arnold survives three-hole playoff to capture title at State Farm Youth Classic

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Blake Arnold seemed to take it all in stride.

“It felt like just another tournament,” he said.

However, not every tournament ends in a three-hole playoff.

The Liberty golfer saw his lead in the boys 16-17 division of the State Farm Youth Classic dwindle to a single stroke on the back nine Tuesday at the Den at Fox Creek Golf Course. A bogey on the par-4 17th hole dropped him into a tie at 1-under 143, precipitating the playoff.

After Arnold and Keaton Thissen of Davenport, Iowa, birdied the par-5 10th and parred the par-4 11th, Arnold rolled in a birdie putt on the par-4 12th to win the playoff and the championship and punctuate a busy month on the links.

“Actually, I was more relaxed in the playoff than I was in the last few holes coming in,” said Arnold, who will be a senior at Liberty. “So this feels good.”

Arnold finished 33rd in the St. Louis Junior Invitational, following an opening-round 73 with an 83. He followed that by taking 13th at the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships, carding a 36-hole score of 148.

It led to a flurry of big shots around the turn Monday in the Youth Classic’s opening round.

Arnold made a birdie on the par-5 ninth to post a 2-over 38 on the front nine, leaving him four strokes off the lead. He made eagle on No. 10 and birdie on No. 11, then added birdies at Nos. 15 and 16.

“Everything kind of just clicked,” Arnold said.

It carried over to Tuesday, when he outlasted a field of 91 golfers.

“I hit the ball well both days,” said Arnold, who shot 37 on both nines to card a 2-over 74. “I just didn’t score as well today. I had a couple good looks, but nothing that really fell.”

Quincy’s Gabriel Gold finished 17th with a 158.

In the girls 14-15 division at Ironwood Golf Course, Quincy’s Sophia Gold made a hole-in-one on the 106-yard, par-3 eighth hole. She used a 9-iron. It helped her shoot an even-par 36 on the front nine and post the lowest score of the tournament with an even-par 72.

Gold, who will be a sophomore at Quincy High School, finished second at 152 as Cherry Valley’s Emma Pierson won the title with a 147.

In the boys 14-15 division, Quincy’s Hunter St. Clair finished 15th in a 46-player field with a 169.