Valley Sports ReportSTATE COLLEGE — Athens senior Eli Hicks is eight shots off the lead, but only three shots out of the top-10 after a Day 1 round of 77 here Monday afternoon on the Penn State Blue Course.
Hicks carded an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole to finish off a 2-over 38 on the front nine, and followed it up with a 39 on the back nine.
He is currently tied for 29th.
"I hit the ball really good today," said Hicks. "I hit my driver well and gave myself a lot of chances to make birdies and pars.
"Honestly, I was happy with my play, but made two costly mistakes hitting it over two greens, which led to double bogeys," added Hicks.
This is Hicks third trip to States, and the second year in a row playing the Blue Course.
"Playing the Blue Course two years in a row helped me with what clubs to hit off the tees and when to be aggressive," he said.
Hicks said the conditions were also better this year.
"The conditions were better than last year and once we got to the back 9, it warmed up significantly," he said.
Playing in the Class AAA tournament last year, Hicks shot a 79 on Day 1, and followed it up with another 79 to finish in 51st place.
As a sophomore, Hicks shot a 75 on the White Course on Day 1, and followed it up with a 79 to finish 51st.
Athens coach Shane Saxon was impressed with Hicks' mental game Monday.
"Eli hit the ball very solid today," he said. "His score doesn’t reflect how good he hit the ball today.
"A couple flyer lies and a bunch of burnt cup lips, and he is right there with the leaders," noted Saxon.
"I'm proud of the way he kept his composure on the couple of errant shots he did have and kept pushing through," added Saxon. "I know he wasn’t happy with his score, but he played his butt of today."
Scranton Prep's Cole Powell and Annville-Cleona's Ben Allwein are atop the leaderboard after a Day 1 round 69, while Cathedral Prep's Santino Washburn is the only other golfer under-par at after a 71.
Towanda's Graham Welles and Boom Thompson each shot rounds of 82, and Cowanesque Valley's Danny Smith shot an 86.
Hicks will tee off on hole number-1 at 10:10 a.m. Tuesday.
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IN PHOTOS: Athens senior Eli Hicks. ... PHOTOS BY LANCE LARCOM.
