Potential PIAA golf rule exposes flaw in district procedures
Carmichaels’ Remmey Lohr follows through on her drive on the ninth hole at Nemacolin Country Club in the WPIAL Section 8-AA boys individual golf qualifier on Sept. 16. (Photo by Jim Downey)
Carmichaels’ Remmey Lohr plays from the sixth fairway at Allegheny Country Club during the WPIAL Boys Class AA Individual Golf Championship on Sept. 26. (Photo by Jim Downey)
Remmey Lohr made history and she feels others are being punished for it.
Last fall, Lohr, a Carmichaels High School junior golfer, became the first female to play in the WPIAL Class AA Boys Golf Individual Championships. She then continued an unprecedented run by placing second in the 44-player field at the PIAA West Regional at Tom’s Run Golf Course in Blairsville.
Yep, she was the only girl competing that day, too.
The course some other female golfers will follow in Lohr’s footsteps took a step in the wrong direction Monday. The PIAA approved a second reading of a new rule that would make any girl playing in a boys individual championship (both WPIAL and PIAA) to play from the same tees as the boys. The longstanding rule, and the one Lohr played by last year, is for girls to play from tees that are 15% closer to the hole than the boys.
The rule will need to pass a third and final reading before going into effect. It would only impact individual tournaments. Girls will continue playing from the women’s tees when competing in boys team matches.
“They are only doing it because somebody achieved something,” Lohr said. “It’s really irritating because I don’t understand why this rule wouldn’t have been in place years ago.”
Lohr’s even-par 72 at Tom’s Run, which included nine pars, four birdies and an eagle, nearly held up to beat all 43 boys. North East’s Isaiah Swann edged her by one stroke to win the regional.
“I don’t think they liked that look,” Briggs said of the PIAA. “I think they were surprised just how well Remmey did. If Remmey doesn’t do what she did last year, I don’t think they change anything.”
Lohr ended last season by shootting 85-85 at the two-day state championships. She finished tied for 30th.
So while a rule helped Lohr as far as shortening the distance of holes in individual tournaments last season, a WPIAL rule put her in a bad spot from the start. Because it does not have a girls golf team, Carmichaels can send only one player to compete in the WPIAL girls individual tournament. It was a problem for the Mikes because both Remmey and her sister, Delaney, were on the Mikes’ boys team.
The WPIAL’s logic behind limiting multiple girl golfers without a team to compete for the individual championship is that it wants to promote team golf – it wants more teams created.
That’s a huge challenge for small schools like Carmichaels.
“There are a couple of issues,” Briggs said. “We are a small school. Yeah, we maybe could have scrounged up some girls and filled a team. Then what’s going to happen in a year or two when they graduate? Who were we going to play? There are two sections in girls Double-A golf, one with teams in Beaver County and the other with most of the teams being from Greensburg. Plus, it would hurt our boys team a lot. It’s just not feasible.”
Limiting entrants to those without a team hasn’t only impacted Carmichaels. Two years ago, Uniontown sisters Danae and Adena Rugola were forced into the same situation as the Lohr sisters. In 2008, Waynesburg’s Rachel and Emily Rohanna were on the Raiders’ boys team and were forced to compete in separate championships.
Those situations didn’t last as long because Danae Rugola and Rachel Rohanna were seniors when their sisters were freshmen.
“We only had one year of overlap,” Rachel Rohanna said. “If you are choosing to play in the boys championships then you should play from the boys tees. But when you are forced into doing that because of another stupid rule, none of it makes sense.”
Rachel Rohanna, who has since gone on to play professional golf, said she contacted the PIAA hoping to get a response. In years past, she asked former WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley why the setup to limit girls without a team remained a rule.
“I didn’t receive a response that seemed sensible,” Rohanna said. “Clearly the WPIAL is not wanting to get their best athletes at their championships. When I was competing in a championship, I knew some of the best players weren’t even there.
“Why is the WPIAL trying to make things slower and harder for everyone? None of it makes sense. I’ve talked to people at the NCAA Division I level, the USGA and the LPGA, and it doesn’t make sense to anyone. Not one person finds sense in it.”
Rohanna played from the boys tees during team events in her days at Waynesburg. She said adjusting the percentage from tee to hole in individual events could be altered to make it more fair for girls.
That, however, wouldn’t have to happen if the WPIAL allowed multiple girls from a school without a team to play in the girls championships.
“It all comes down to if you don’t have a team only one girl can go to a qualifier,” Briggs said. “That’s the issue. This has happened to other schools. It would be one simple rule change. You would still have to shoot the qualifying score. It’s crazy to me.”