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Rohanna recovers to remain in the hunt at LPGA Q School

By Jim Downey, For The Greene County Messenger 3 min read

Rachel Rohanna had a bumpy start, but a smooth finish Thursday afternoon to save her round and remain in contention in Stage 3 of LPGA Q School.

The Waynesburg Central graduate closed with a pair of birdies on the LPGA International Jones course for an even-par 72 to remain at 1-under 143.

Rohanna is in a 9-way tie in 30th place. The low 20 scores gain full status on the 2015 LPGA Tour and Rohanna is only one stroke from being in a tie for those final berths after two rounds.

Rohanna attributed her rough start to a late arrival to the course for her 9:39 a.m. tee time, which was delayed by 15 minutes because of fog.

“I got to the practice tee late and felt rushed,” explained Rohanna.

She bogeyed Nos. 2 and 4 to go to 1-over after four holes.

“I had a bad swing on my second shot on No. 2. I hit a good second shot on No. 4, but the ball bounced over the green and I missed the par putt,” Rohanna said of her early bogeys.

“After the first 4½ holes, I was not feeling very comfortable over the ball,” said Rohanna. “My lower body (on her swings) was a little slow on the early holes. I was chipping well. I told myself I was chipping well and I still have a good feel and good touch today.”

Rohanna felt No. 5 started to turn things around.

“Things started to turn on my wedge shot on No. 5, a par-5,” said Rohanna, who parred the hole. “On No. 6, I had a 5-footer that I made not to go to 3-over.”

Rohanna got back to even for the tournament with a birdie-3 on No. 8. She played the front in 1-over 37.

She got back to even for the round with a birdie-3 on No. 12, but then ran into trouble on No. 14, a par-3.

“I hit it left and it buried in the lip of the bunker. I had to take an unplayable lie,” Rohanna said of her lone double bogey. “After that double, it was pretty frustrating. But, I told myself that was one hole out of 90 holes. This is a marathon, not a sprint.”

But, she closed strong with a birdie-2 and birdie-4 on the final two holes to come back in 1-under 35.

“I felt I recovered well. There are plenty of holes left,” said Rohanna of her second round.

The winds made the Jones course challenging.

“I was very hot and the wind was swirling. That was the hardest thing. It was worse on the Jones course. The Jones course is more open,” said Rohanna, who said rain is in the forecast for Daytona Beach for today’s third round.

Rohanna remains positive as she prepares for today’s third round. The field is cut to 75 golfers Friday after the fourth round.

“I didn’t lose any momentum today. I let my game take over. That’s not easy to do,” said Rohanna.

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