Rohanna settles for 9th at Northeast Amateur
Robert Rohanna had one of those days golfers are all too familiar with in the final round of the 48th Northeast Amateur Invitational at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I. The Waynesburg Central graduate was in second place heading into the fourth and final round, but his front nine went astray and he slipped into a tie for ninth, his best finish. He closed the tournament with a 5-over 74 for a four-round total of 3-under 273, tying with Bud Cauley, Harris English and defending champion Brendan Gielow. Dan Woltman, of Beaver Dam, Wis., tied Wesley Bryan, of Chapin, S.C., for medalist round at 5-under 64 on the final day, allowing Woltman to win the title with an 11-under 265.
Bryan finished tied for second with David Holmes, from Knoxville, Tenn., and second- and third-round leader Adam Long, from Lake St. Louis, Mo., at 8-under 268.
Rohanna opened his final round with a par, then bogey-5, bogey-4 and double bogey-6 in three of the next four holes.
He settled down with three consecutive pars, but finished the front with a bogey-5.
“Miss it in the wrong spots and it’s a bogey,” Rohanna said of Wannamoisett Country Club. “It’s the most frustrating game ever. You just have days like that.”
“I had bad luck. On No. 2, my ball rolls back into a pitch mark. I don’t know how to hit those shots. I bogeyed No. 2, but that’s okay,” continued Rohanna. “I was all over the stick on a No. 3 (a par-3). One bounce, and it catches the fringe and rolls into the deep stuff. It’s another weird lie, and I bogey.
“On No. 5, I missed it a little right. They couldn’t find my ball until I got there. I ended up with a three-putt and a double bogey.”
Things turned around on the back nine, but Rohanna just couldn’t score.
“I hit every green. I burned the lips on every hole. I had six putts for birdie from inside eight feet.”
Rohanna put himself into contention after the third round after tying for the second-lowest score with a 4-under 65, positioning himself one stroke behind Long’s 9-under 198. John Chin had the medalist round with a 64.
The Penn State University grad tied for the low score of the second round as one of five golfers that finished at 5-under 64.
Rohanna opened his second round on No. 1, and did so in style with a birdie. He added birdies on No. 3, 5, 6, and 8, with an eagle on No. 9 and a bogey on No. 7 to go out in 4-under 30, six shots better than Wednesday’s round.
Rohanna birdied No. 11, a 391-yard par-4, and parred the remaining holes for a 1-under 34 on the back.
“I was hitting fairways on the second and third day. It made it easier to score. I was making my putts,” said Rohanna.
Rohanna opened the four-day tournament with a 1-over 70. He birdied No. 11, a 391-yard, par-4, and No. 13, a 383-yard par-4, and carded pars on the other holes until a bogey-5 on No. 18, a 456-yard par-4.
The front nine, Rohanna’s final nine holes, weren’t as smooth with bogeys on No. 2, a 505-yard par-4, No.5, a 372-yard par-4, and No. 9, a 453-yard par-4. He birdied No. 7, a 345-yard par-4, to finish in 36 on the par-34, 3,307-yard front nine.
“I played pretty well on the first day. I had three 3-putts, dumb 3-putts. It could’ve been a 67,” explained Rohanna.
Pittsburgh’s Nathan Smith finished one shot ahead of Rohanna for a two-way tie for seventh. Oakmont’s Sean Knapp tied for 43rd at 5-over 281 and Wexford’s Mike Van Sickle tied for 61st with a 10-over 286.
Rohanna has a busy schedule in the next two months, including the Players Amateur on July 8-12 at Belfair Golf Club in Bluffton, S.C., the U.S. Amateur qualifier on July 30 at Sinking Valley Country in Altoona, and the Pennsylvania Open on Aug. 10-12 at Oakmont.
As he golfs his way through the summer, Rohanna has his sights set on a big prize, a spot on the Walker Cup to be played Sept. 12-13 at Merion Golf Course’s East course in Ardmore, Pa. The amateur version of the Ryder and Presidents Cup, Rohanna hopes to build enough points in the Scratch Players Group to be in contention for a berth.
He currently stands 157th in the rankings with 1,165 points.
“I’d like to have a shot to make the Walker Cup team,” said Rohanna.