STATE COLLEGE - Panther Valley’s Drew Kokinda and Pleasant Valley’s Lydon Patascher had some similar situations, as well as some different ones in the opening round of PIAA State Golf Championships at Penn State’s White and Blue courses in State College on Monday.

Kokinda played in the Class 2A bracket on the White course, while Patascher toiled in the Class 3A bracket on the Blue course. They both had their share of positive and negative experiences with their driving and putting.

Yet, the bottom line for both of them was the excitement of just being there for the first time.

Kokinda shot an 86 - good for 68th-place overall - and Patascher fired an 80 - tied for 59th. Both were considerably off the leaders’ pace, but preferred to look at the bigger picture.

“It definitely was cool playing at Penn State,” said Kokinda. “I played with a guy who is going to Notre Dame next year to play golf. It was great to see how he attacked the course, and watch his overall game. I feel like I did learn a few things from him.

“I never would have dreamed about playing golf here in the state finals. I just want to take in as much as I can. It’s great that I will be playing my final round of high school golf at Penn State tomorrow.”

Patascher shared the same sentiment.

“This is a great atmosphere here,” he said. “The amount of kids is insane. I pulled up and got out of my car to 50 kids on the putting green. The putting green was roped off like a tour event. Overall, it was a really great experience for the first day.”

Kokinda said one of the highlights of his round was getting up and down for par after he hit into a sand trap on the fourth hole.

“From tee to green, I thought I played well,” he said. “It wasn’t a bad round, but I struggled with my putting. I had a few too many bogeys.

“But overall, I thought I got up and down the course fairly well.”

Patascher began his play 1-over through 12 holes, but a few problems arose coming home.

“I lost feeling with my clubs towards the end,” he said. “I had one bad hole, and I usually bounce back, but today I didn’t.

“Today, my strength was my driving. I thought I was strong off the tee except for one hole. But I struggled a little on my shots from 80 yards and in, and also with my putting. I couldn’t judge the speed of the greens correctly at all. That hurt my score. I had too many three putts.

Patascher said one particular hole started his late struggles.

“Hole 13 was my worst hole,” he said. “I hit the ball out of bounds. That was what sent me into a downward spiral.”

Both golfers agreed the mid-50 temperatures and the intermittent rain sprinkles were comparable to a lot of late-season matches they played, and neither golfer was bothered by it.

Kokinda plans a loose approach for Tuesday’s final round, while Patascher will look to make a run. The top 10 golfers will receive medals.

“I plan to go out there and have fun” said Kokinda. “My coach told me to go out there and go for it because I have nothing to lose. Growing up playing basketball and baseball, I never thought I would be here. No matter what happens, this is a huge accomplishment for me.”

Patascher has several specific areas where he will be looking to improve.

“My game plan is to just work on the speed of my putts on the practice green, and also making sure I hit more greens in regulation,” he said. “I also have to make sure my lag putting is better, so I have a lot more stress-free putts. I know I can play a lot better than I did today, so I hope it shows with my score.”

LEADERBOARD ... St. Joe’s Prep’s Aidan Farka and Plum’s Wes Lorish paced the Class 3A field with 6-under 66s. Nazareth’s Zack Miller was tied for 23rd place with a 1-over 73. In the Class 2A bracket, Wyoming Seminary’s Nick Werner led the field with a 4-under 68.