Rohanna opens Symetra Classic with 3-under
It’s highly unlikely entering a professional golf tournament without a practice round will become all the rage, but if Rachel Rohanna’s first round of the Symetra Classic is any indication, it might just catch on.
Rohanna opened with a 3-under 69 in Thursday’s first round on Raintree Country Club in Charlotte, N.C., and sits three strokes behind co-leaders Augusta James and Haruka Marita-Wanyaolu.
“There were a couple holes on my back nine I wasn’t sure what club to hit, but I shot a 69. I’ll take it,” explained Rohanna.
Rohanna played in the U.S. Women’s Open qualifier Monday at Butler Country Club on Monday, and found out her practice round was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
“That’s not going to happen,” Rohanna said after her rounds Monday.
With the scheduled practice round out of the running, Rohanna expected to get a round of golf in Wednesday in the pro-am, but her team withdrew so she rested up instead of checking out the course.
Rohanna sprinted out of the gate. After a par on No. 1, Rohanna went birdie-birdie-birdie to go to 3-under after four holes. Her fast start was slowed, however, with a bogey-4 on No. 5.
“(No. 4) was a tough par-3. I didn’t hit a good tee shot. I told myself I could chip up, make the putt for par or finish with a bogey,” said Rohanna. “I actually chunked my second shot, chipped up to 10 feet and made the putt for bogey.”
Either way, Rohanna figured to “take your bogey. There are a lot of holes to make up for it.”
The Waynesburg Central graduate made up for it real quick with a birdie-3 on No. 6. She finished the front with three straight pars to go out in 3-under 33.
Rohanna lost a stroke on the turn when she opened No. 10 with a bogey-5, but rebounded with a birdie-2 on No. 14. She parred the other seven holes to play the back nine in even-par 36.
The opening round of the Symetra Classic was a nice turnaround for Rohanna, who had a tough second round Monday in the U.S. Women’s Open qualifier at Butler Country Club, largely due to some issues with her putter.
“I wasn’t too comfortable with my swing on Monday,” said Rohanna.
That wasn’t the case in Thursday’s opening round because Rohanna needed 29 putts and not all were tap-ins. She credited her caddy, younger sister Emily Rohanna, with that low number.
“I didn’t have too many tap-ins. I had a lot of straight-in putts. Emily was reading the greens well,” said Rohanna. “You catch yourself overanalyzing putts. I just took my three practice swings, lined up the putt and putted.
“I was hitting it very well today. I was playing solid all day.”
Over 30 golfers finished under par in the opening round.
“There wasn’t too much wind. That’s a big factor to score well. The fairways are pretty narrow and pretty tricky,” said Rohanna.
Rohanna believes the way she played Thursday will carry over into today’s second round. The field is cut down to the low 70 scores (and ties) for Saturday’s final round.
“I feel it was a carry-over round. I prefer afternoon tee times,” said Rohanna, who has a time around 2 p.m. today. “The last time I went morning-afternoon I won, so that could be a good sign.”