Rohanna finishes third at Donald Ross Classic
Rachel Rohanna held the lead heading into the final round of the Donald Ross Classic on Saturday, but had to settle for a still solid third-place finish at French Lick Resort in Indiana.
The Waynesburg Central graduate opened the final round with back-to-back birdies to go to 10-under for the tournament, but was unable to hold the early momentum to shoot even-par 71 in the third and final round for a three-day total of 8-under 205.
Rohanna won $17,508 for her finish and moved into 21st place on the Symetra Tour money list with $30,392 in 11 events.
“That was bigger than my first-place check when I won in Sarasota,” said Rohanna.
Casey Danielson closed with a 3-under 68 and won the tournament with a 10-under 203. Beth Wu also shot 68 in the final round to finish one shot ahead of Rohanna for second place.
“I’m really happy for her. She’s a good friend,” said Rohanna.
Rohanna thought she might get a 36-hole tournament victory given the weather forecasted for Saturday.
“I had a one-shot lead into the final round. I was waiting for the monsoon to hit. We had a two-hour delay in the morning and I was pushed back to 11:20 a.m. The radar showed rain (around 2 p.m.) and we weren’t going to finish,” said Rohanna. “I thought to myself you’re going to win a 36-hole tournament.
“But, the cell broke up, so I told myself I have to win this the correct way.”
Rohanna gave one stroke back after the birdie-birdie start with a bogey to go out in 1-under 35.
“I had this calm adrenaline going for me,” explained Rohanna.
She got back to 10-under with a birdie on No. 11, but back-to-back bogeys put her back to 8-under for the tournament.
“They moved the tee up on No. 11. Casey almost got a hole in one. She makes eagle. I had an 8-footer for birdie and made it,” said Rohanna. “I make bogey on No. 12 and Casey made birdie so she picked up three strokes on two holes.
She birdied her 17th hole, but closed with a bogey to play the back in 1-over 36.
“I birdied No. 17 and was only one stroke back. I told myself ‘I got one more in me. I can do this,'” said Rohanna. “I had 142 yards. My max pitching wedge is 140 yards, but I didn’t want to hit it over the green. If the ball doesn’t carry 142 yards, it will come back 60 feet.
“It hit short and came back 60 feet.
“I had a tricky 5-footer for par and missed it. It was so frustrating.”
“I did everything right. I didn’t get the bounces like Casey did,” added Rohanna.
Rohanna needed 30 putts in the opening round and 25 in the second, but went up to 33 in the final round.
“The greens are very undulating. They are the craziest I’ve ever played,” said Rohanna. “I did miss a couple 6-footers (Saturday).
“I was putting a little too much pressure on my putter. I had a ton of 6-footers that were breaking six inches.”
Rohanna said she had a sense of deja vu as she approached the 54th hole of the tournament.
“It was like the final round of the Big Ten (tournament). The same exact pin placement on No. 18, the same second shot and the same third-place finish.”
Rohanna shot up to the top of the leaderboard with a 5-under 66 and entered the final round at 8-under 134. With play in the first round suspended, Rohanna had a busy day Friday after she finished the final six holes of the first round with a 20-minute turnaround before heading back out on the course.
Rohanna made her move on the opening nine of the second round with five birdies after starting on No. 10. She carded a double bogey on the turn, but recovered with two birdies on the final eight holes for the tournament lead.
“I owe most of it to my ball-striking. I had so many easy putts,” said Rohanna. “It was a typical Donald Ross course. If you hit the ball well, you can score.
“The first two days, I was hitting my irons. I couldn’t miss. I had a lot of tap-ins and 6-footers for birdie.”
Rohanna looks to keep the good rounds coming when she travels to upper state New York for the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic in Rochester. The four-day tournament begins Thursday and finishes on Sunday. The tournament has a purse of $175,000.