BLAIRSVILLE — Worth the wait!
After Bradford junior Mitch Faulkner posted a score of 80 at the PIAA Class AAA West Regional golf championships at Tom’s Run in Blairsville, he knew that he was in 11th place overall, with the top 12 earning a ticket to states.
The problem was, three golfers who finished on the far side of the course were just completing their round, so Faulkner, in his third Western Regional, wasn’t sure if he had made the cut.
“We thought he would be on the bubble,” said coach and father Travis Faulkner. “We probably waited 10 or 15 minutes from when he finished before we found out for sure.”
None of the other three golfers still on the course, however, shot better than Faulkner, thus ensuring his first trip to states.
“He’s extremely excited,” coach Faulkner said. “He’s worked for three years for this and has had a goal sheet written up in his room. He’s been looking to do this and has finally gotten to his goal.”
Teammate Matt Moonan carded an 88 and, while not good enough to get him to states, still had a strong performance in his first trip to Tom’s Run.
“Matt enjoyed the entire time,” coach Faulkner said. “He had a couple of bad tee shots that he would like to have back, but he never lost his head and stayed in it. Just to get to this point is an accomplishment and he had a great season.”
Faulkner posted a 41 on the front nine, but also knew he had a good chance to post a lower score on the back nine.
“His front nine he had a couple of bad holes and one double bogey (on the par 4 fifth hole),” coach Faulkner said. “He kept his composure, knew he could score better on the back and just kept grinding.”
He carded a birdie immediately after the double bogey however and came in with a 39 to finish at 80.
Now, his attention turns to the state championships at Heritage Hills in York.
“He had some bad putting holes, so I think this week he’ll really be concentrating on his putting,” noted coach Faulkner. “Heritage Hills is tricky. You have to be accurate and, with any state course, it’s going to challenge you. All he’s looking to do is go down there and compete.”
Faulkner, as it turns out, was the only male golfer from District 9 to qualify for states.
In Class AA, both Ridgway’s Josh Roselli and Coudersport’s J.T. Maynard came excruciatingly close, finishing in a four-way tie with Alex Tanabe of Quaker Valley and Wes Keeling of South Fayette.
Tanabe went on to win in a playoff to capture the final spot.
Also, Nick Simon of Ridgway shot an 84, while Mitchell Struble of Elk County Catholic carded an 86 and Mitchell Stark of Ridgway an 87.
For Faulkner, he will go down to York to shoot a couple practice rounds before competing in the two-round event which begins Monday and goes through Tuesday.
“Both as a team and individually, this is exactly where I was hoping we would be,” coach Faulkner said. “It’s almost been a dream season for us.”
