Player DQ'd And Un-DQ'd In Rangefinder Mishap At Idaho State High School Finals

Jonathan Wall has the best summary of the bizarre situation in Idaho that led Colby Dean to be disqualified for using his rangefinder out of habit, only to be sent back out on the course to finish eight holes following completion of play, ultimately earning his team the state title while the runner-up team drove back home.

From an unbylined Idaho Statesman report:

According to the Idaho High School Activities Association’s state golf manual, players who use electronic devices — including range finders — are to be assessed a two-stroke penalty.

By the time the mistake was realized, the rest of the 5A field had already finished golfing.

Dean was then sent out to play holes eight through 18 by himself. The sophomore finished with a 2-over 72, giving Eagle (578) an eight-shot win over Coeur d’Alene (586) at Pinecrest Golf Club in Idaho Falls.

“The emotional roller coaster that I was on before motivated me,” said Dean, who said he used the range finder out of habit and immediately alerted his playing partners of the violation.

“I had a bitter taste in my mouth because I was in state last year and I didn’t play very well. I wanted to redeem myself this year. It gave me a huge motivational boost to know that I could seal the victory for Eagle High School and give us a three-peat.”

A staff report in the Coeur d'Alene Press has the runner-up's reaction, and as you can imagine, there is an unhappy coach:

“So it’s another example where Idaho doesn’t know the rules of golf, and should just let the USGA govern the rules of golf,” Duncan said. “What’s unfortunate is they decided to cover up a screwup with another screwup by putting him back out on the course.”

Looking at a 10-hour bus ride home, Coeur d’Alene didn’t stick around to watch Dean finish. Duncan’s comments for this story came from aboard the team bus, which was near Dillon, Mont., by then. At that time, he didn’t yet know how things turned out.

“I didn’t want to stick around for the second-place trophy, because we had won the tournament,” Duncan said.