Rohanna has strong opening round at PGA Q school tourney
If Robert Rohanna could clone the way he played in Tuesday’s first round three more times, the Waynesburg native will likely be one happy golfer when the first stage of the PGA Q school comes to a close Friday afternoon.
Rohanna fired a 4-under 68 in the opening round at Grasslands Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, Fla., with seven birdies and three bogeys. He is one of 10 golfers tied for 15th at 68, five strokes behind first-round leader Mark Blakefield, of Maysville, Ky.
The top 19 players and ties in the 79-player field advance through to the next stage.
“I played pretty well. I hit it good today,” said Rohanna. “I hit a lot of good shots and had a lot of makeable chances.”
Rohanna started on No. 10 Tuesday morning, and secured his first birdie early when he carded a four on No. 11, a 509-yard par-5.
Things took a turn for the worse, though, a couple of holes later.
“My first bogey was on No. 13, a par-3. It played about 225 yards and I hit it into the bunker,” said Rohanna. “I had one bad drive on No. 14 and took bogey.
“I got it going on my backside (the front nine).”
Rohanna recouped the shots before he made the turn with birdies on No. 15, a 429-yard par-4, and No. 17, a 583-yard par-5.
He kept making shots after the turn with consecutive birdies on No. 2, 3 and 4. Two of the holes were par-5, allowing Rohanna to play the long holes in 4-under.
“I hit three of (the par-5s) in two, and two-putted for birdie,” explained Rohanna. “My eagle putts were makeable.”
Rohanna suffered through physical issues through the summer, but felt fine through his first 18 holes.
“My feet are a little sore from all the walking, but I did some work on the foam roller and feel fine,” said Rohanna.
Rohanna is basically taking the “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” approach for the next three rounds.
“I’ll try to do the same thing,” said Rohanna. “Make the par-5s in two when I can, and take no more than a bogey. Big numbers just kill you.
“Play smart and be aggressive when you can.”