Rohanna cards 2-over in second round
The second round of LPGA Q School on the LPGA International Hills course Thursday wasn鈥檛 as smooth or steady for Rachel Rohanna with the Waynesburg Central graduate finishing with a 2-over 74.
Rohanna is in a 15-way tie for 28th place with a two-round total of 1-over 145. Marissa Steen is alone in first place at 6-under 138.
Rohanna played the front nine in 2-over 38. After three consecutive pars, she had a bogey-birdie-bogey-bogey run. She closed out the front nine with two pars.
She had a steadier round on the back nine with a birdie, bogey and seven pars for an even-par 36.
鈥淓veryone played a little worse today than yesterday,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淣o one can make any putts. (Putts not falling) was definitely for me. The greens are not very smooth.
鈥淭he scores are not as low. That tells you girls are not getting as close or not making putts.鈥�
Greens on both courses (Hills and Jones) are hard and bumpy, leading to tough reads and difficult speeds.
鈥淭here is no consistency,鈥� said Rohanna.
Unable to get anything rolling on the greens, Rohanna attempted a different approach.
鈥淚 putted one-handed on No. 14 and made it a for birdie,鈥� Rohanna said with a laugh.
Rohanna is pleased with the way she鈥檚 played after two rounds.
鈥淚 am hitting the ball as well as I鈥檝e hit it all year,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to miss the fairways. The lies in the rough are awful. Miss the green and you have a tough lie.
鈥淭he courses are playing so tough.鈥�
Rohanna continued the thought, adding, 鈥淚 hit the ball longer than most of the girls. I have wedges into the green. Girls hitting hybrids into the green, there鈥檚 no way they can hold them.聽
鈥淥verall, I鈥檓 really happy the way I鈥檓 playing. My score is as high as it could be. But, an off day with my ball-striking and 4 or 5-over can creep up on you. On every single hole, one bad shot can easily turn into a double or triple (bogey).鈥�
The difficult play, coupled with tricky winds, makes for a long round of golf.
鈥淭he wind is tricky. I think the girls are over-analyzing everything right now. The scores are usually low. This is pretty unusual,鈥� explained Rohanna.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they can make (the courses any easier). If they roll the greens (to roll out the bumps), the greens are like concrete now.鈥�
The winds lead to a lot of second-guessing and the occasional ruling, which slows down play in the 165-golfer field even more.
鈥淎 hawk came and picked up a girl鈥檚 golf ball,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淎 ruling takes up 15 minutes.鈥�
The five-round tournament heads into the third round Friday. The field is cut to the top 70 scores and ties after the fourth round on Saturday.
The top 20 earn their LPGA Tour card, with those golfers finishing 21-45 earning partial status.
Rohanna is satisfied where she stands after 36 holes of golf.
鈥淚鈥檓 right there, for sure. If I could get a couple putts to fall, that would help out,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淚鈥檓 hitting the ball well enough.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 shot myself out of it, by any means. I just need to get some putts to fall.鈥�