YORK — Mitch Faulkner had to wait an hour later than he was scheduled to tee off at Monday’s first round of the PIAA Class AAA golf championships due to an early morning frost.

As it turns out, that had little effect on the Bradford junior, who posted a solid score of 82 on the tough Heritage Hills course in York.

That score has him in a tie for 23rd, with Kevin Conners of Bishop Shanahan in first after a two-under 69. Conners was the only player to shoot under par.

“It’s a tough course,” said Bradford coach Travis Faulkner. “I know even some of the kids that placed really high at the western regional were up in the 80s. The greens are huge and you have to be able to put. That was the best part of Mitch’s game today.”

Faulkner teed off on the back nine and shot a 39 (five pars, four bogeys).

“That’s actually the tougher part of the course,” noted coach Faulkner. “He started off really well.”

Faulkner was in position to potentially shoot in the 70s after a birdie on the par five 7th hole, but back-to-back double bogeys left him with an 82.

While a little disappointed at the finish, the two-time defending District 9 Class AAA champion competed with the top golfers in the state, which is what he set out to do.

“He definitely competed,” coach Faulkner said. “He had a couple of bad swings, otherwise he’s in the mid-to-high 70s. We’ll see how tomorrow (Tuesday) goes.”

Faulkner still is within striking distance of earning a medal, which goes to the top 10. He is currently five shots off that pace.

He will once again start on the 10th tee today, this time at 10:20 a.m., and will be paired with Sasha Lobel (Allderdice), Jack Quirk (La Salle College) and Andrew Davis (Eastern York).