Marysville junior Allee Forrider records first hole

A last-second decision, the root of which could be found in some earlier struggles, led to the highlight of Allee Forrider’s golfing career Friday.

The Marysville junior recorded her first hole-in-one on the 116-yard, par-3 No. 5 at Blacklick Woods during Pickerington North’s Panther Invitational, capitalizing on a switch in clubs to pull off an achievement she did not immediately realize.

“Earlier in the round, I pulled a shot on a par-3 and I lost my ball and had to take a drop, so I really contemplated clubbing down,” said Forrider, who said she typically would hit a pitching wedge on such a hole. “After I saw the girls I was playing with come up short on the green, I decided to hit my 9 (-iron).

“(My shot) came off the club face pretty well. I couldn’t see exactly how it went in, but from what I heard, it hit, it bounced a couple times and it rolled in.”

The reaction of her mother, Michelle, stepfather Michael Huff and Marysville coach Juliet Litzel told Forrider all she needed to know.

“It was incredible,” Litzel said. “The pin was in the middle, so the ball hit halfway between the front of the green and (the hole), it took a few bounces and went right in.”

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Forrider’s ace was part of a surge on the back nine. She shot 10-over par 46 on her first nine, having teed off on No. 10, and trimmed 10 shots on the back to finish with an 82.

“To be completely honest, I was just glad to hit the green (on No. 5),” Forrider said. “It was kind of a rough round, so I was initially just excited to hit a good shot into a par-3.”

According to Litzel, the hole-in-one was the first for Marysville since Olivia Ishmael did so as a freshman in 2017 at Denison Golf Club.

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