Rohanna finishes strong in final round
Rachel Rohanna just made the cut Friday in the Symetra Tour Garden City Charity Classic, but recovered nicely in Saturday’s final round with an even-par 72 to finish tied in 45th place at 7-over 223.
The Waynesburg Central graduate was the final name on the leaderboard after the second round after finishing with a 7-over 79. However, she was able to shake off the over-par round with her second 72 of the three-day tournament.
“I had a pretty even round with two bogeys and two birdies. I hit a lot of good recovery shots,” said Rohanna. “I hit my driver pretty well, finally, today.”
Rohanna started the day tied for 61st place, but finished tied for 45th. She earned $460.
Taiwan’s Min Lee shot a 3-under 69 in the final round, propelling her into first place at 6-under 210 for the first place money of $15,000.
Two wayward shots by Rohanna off the tee in Friday’s second round led to two lost balls. She had no such problems in the final round.
Rohanna had a birdie-3 on No. 2, a bogey-4 on No. 4, and a birdie-3 on No. 6 to go out in 1-under 35. She had a bogey-4 on No. 17 to come back in 1-over 37.
The weather was a major factor over the three-day tournament with cool temperatures and gusting winds.
“The wind was tough to judge, especially from left to right,” said Rohanna. “The scores show how tough the wind was today. It was blowing hard and the gusts were really strong.”
The wind caused Rohanna to back off shots, especially one tee shot when she was almost hit with a wind-blown branch.
Using a new putter this week, Rohanna was consistent on the greens with 31 putts in each round. She had no 3-putts in her final round.
“I hit it where I wanted to for the most part,” said Rohanna. “The wind changed in opposite direction from yesterday.
“I thought Friday was the worst weather I’ve played in. It was in the 30s for the first three holes and was in the 40s (in the final holes of her front nine). The wind was so strong. I was so much colder.”
Rohanna was pleased to turn her score around in the final 18 holes.
“It’s frustrating,” Rohanna said of Friday’s 79. “It was a grinding round. I was nice to bounce back with a 72 and move up (the leaderboard). I’m happy about that.”
Rohanna now heads to Florida for the four-round Symetra Tour Championship.
“The field is limited to 120 players and the cut is after the second round,” explained Rohanna.