The old adage goes, a bad day at the golf course beats a good day at work.

For Christian Locher and Jason Fitzpatrick, a miserable day on the course two weeks ago was one of the best days in the history of Mars Area High School golf.

Locher, a junior, and Fitzpatrick, a senior, became the first set of Planets teammates to qualify for a WPIAL championship tournament when they each finished among the top 12 finishers at a WPIAL semifinal tournament on Sept. 29.

The conditions were cold, windy and damp that day at The Links at Spring Church near Apollo, but Locher finished tied for second among a field of 29 by shooting a 6-over 78.

Fitzpatrick overcame a slow start to shoot an 81 to finish in a tie for 10th.

Both competed in the WPIAL championships last week at Butler Country Club, but came up short of qualifying for the PIAA Western Regional again under less-than-ideal conditions on a blustery, windy day.

This time, the conditions got the better of both of them. Fitzpatrick shot an 83, missing a playoff spot by a stroke. Locher shot an 84.

"With how bad the weather conditions were that day [of the semifinals], it was nice for both of us to be able to grind it out," said Locher, who last season became the first Mars golfer to participate in a WPIAL championship. "It was tough out there, but to be able to go [to WPIALs] with a teammate was great."

Fitzpatrick's round was especially gratifying because it was his last chance to qualify for a WPIAL championship. One of the area's top golfers in recent seasons, he never was able to break through in individual play.

It appeared that might happen again when he was 8-over through six holes.

"That final round I started off very, very poorly. I was playing one of the worst rounds ever to that point," Fitzpatrick said.

"But knowing how bad the conditions were that day -- it was cold and windy, so I knew people would be struggling, so I thought if I could play a pretty good round on the back nine, I could be there at the end.

"The past few years I played pretty poorly in the individual season, so to finally get through my senior year, knowing it was my last chance, it was a big accomplishment."

Fitzpatrick and Locher are two of the biggest reasons why the Planets had a chance to win a share of a section title for the first time in team history. Mars defeated Knoch last week to win the Division I Section 8 title.

Mars played in the team semifinals yesterday at Castle Hills Golf Course near New Castle. The top three teams out of eight will advance to the team championship tournament Monday at the Cedarbrook Gold Course in Rostraver.

"Everyone's stepping up this year. We've all come together as a team," Locher said. "We had a lot of the same players from last year who have had a lot of success together show what they can do."

Experience has helped. Among Mars' top eight players are six seniors and two juniors.

Fitzpatrick had the team's low scoring average at 38.7 strokes per nine holes. Senior captain Derek Hillegas was next at 39, 0.2 of a stroke ahead of Locher, followed by junior Billy Bender (40) and seniors James Fox (40.8), Brendan Blakeney (41.5), Mike Parrish (42.5) and Jordan Mullins (42.7).

"They've all been on the team since they were freshmen, and they've all improved dramatically," Mars coach Tim Tyler said. "They had averages of 46 or 47 as freshmen, coming up to what you see today.

"They put in a lot of time, and that's what you're seeing now."

Locher finished 40th at the WPIAL championships last season. Also a starter on the Planets' basketball team -- his first love -- Locher discovered golf a little later.

Now he's a two-time WPIAL championship qualifier with a chance to play the sport in college if he so chooses.

"He's such a good ball-striker. He hits the ball perfect every time," Fitzpatrick said. "He never really hits it off line; he hits it straight."

Fitzpatrick has experienced success at the sport, too. For example, he won the Kings Restaurants/Tri-State PGA Junior Tour season-ending player of the year tournament at Nemacolin Woodlands in August.

"Jason has a good short game and rarely mis-hits the ball," Locher said.

"He keeps his head together when he's out there."

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