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Golf Course takes toll on local golfers during 1st day of PIAA play


YORK >> Heritage Hills Golf Resort was not so friendly Monday for the best high school golfers in Pennsylvania.

In the Class AAA boys tournament, the best score was a 2-over par 73 shot by three different players, and many scores soared into the 80s.

Franklin County's two representatives will have a different mind set heading into the final round Tuesday.

Waynesboro senior Nick Frankj posted a 78, so he's in a tie for 14th place and five strokes back of the leaders. His goal Wednesday is to "Go for it," he said. "I've got nothing to lose." He hopes that's good enough to get into contention and hopefully medal.

On the other hand, Chambersburg senior Ian Patterson's goal will be to have some fun. He shot an uncharacteristic 88 Monday.

When told late in the day Monday that the scores were not yet posted on the PIAA website and were hard to find online, Patterson, when asked about his 88, said, "I guess they didn't hide my score well enough.

"I went to hit balls after the round, and I didn't know what to work on because nothing worked for me today. So I just tried to have some fun and hit some putts left-handed. That's all I'm looking for tomorrow, is to have fun."

It's not easy to do at Heritage Hills, which features slick greens and plenty of undulations on those greens.

Franki said, "They have a lot of tight holes and the greens are quick with a lot of slope. Yesterday (practice round) was the first I'd played it and the biggest part of my score today was putting. I actually played pretty well, but I had a rough start and a rough finish."

Patterson said he couldn't get his shots to go where he wanted, and that resulted in two double bogeys, a triple and a quad.

"My mistakes just compounded themselves," Patterson said. "I couldn't get anything going, and I couldn't find a rhythm."

Part of the reason for that was slow play. Patterson said his round took five hours and 40 minutes to play.

"I actually took three naps," he said. "I laid a towel down and shut my eyes for about five minutes each time."

The trio in the lead with scores of 73 included Zach Ford of Meadville, Patrick Kelly of Erie Cathedral Prep and Geoff Rice of Great Valley. There were also four golfers at 74.